Things went so well with our “Tell it to Sara Jessica Parker’s severed HEAD!!!!” open thread that I thought that I’d do it again, with a a different celebrity head. So, feel free to open up and talk about whatever you like. I can’t speak for everyone else, but I promise not to judge you.
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Just to get the ball rolling… I think I’ll probably be spending part of my weekend at the Detroit Maker Faire.
As for traumatic memories, I’ve had a few. Maybe I’ll share some of them later, under an alias.
$100 to the first person willing to make love to a person wearing this mask.
I’ve been enjoying the rain these past few days.
What an interesting looking faire!
It looks like the Boehner plan was too left wing for the Republicans in the House.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/07/29/john-boehner-stuck-in-a-partisan-debt-ceiling-trap.html
Edward, would I just need to make love, or “make love until completion”? There’s a difference.
I’m looking forward to seeing Todd Williams at Maker Faire. Hopefully they’ve got a dark place for him to perform.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvprJtJzka0&list=PL557A6A4A6A67D4EA
My god it is so amazing how people will try and make a buck off anything, even rape. When a story came up on the AnnArbor.com webpage dealing with the rapes there, right next to the story was an online ad for the “Ann Arbor College of Martial Arts and Fitness” offering womens defense training. Oh yeah, right, the business is offering a “service”. This reminds me of all the scum right after 9/11 selling “memorial” items and making a buck off the lives of people killed in the attacks.
I’m going to maker faire too! And then to the rockin’ Foreigner/Journey/Night Ranger concert at the Knob. I can’t f’in wait!
Speaking of the sexual attacks in Ann Arbor, I have no way of corroborating it, but I heard yesterday from a friend that he’d met a young woman in an Ypsi bar and struck up a conversation, during which she told him that she’d never hung out in Ypsi until now. It seems that, because of the sexual assaults, she decided to venture outside of Ann Arbor. I found that interesting.
Discounted Presale Ticket Sales End TODAY July 29th!
The Michigan Roots Jamboree is almost here! With bands like Ella Riot (formerly My Dear Disco), NOMO, The Werks, Steppin’ In It, Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise, Ben Miller Band, Hoots & Hellmouth, Dragon Wagon, Black Jake & The Carnies, October Babies, Caravan of Thieves and more, it’s the best entertainment value in the area! If you’d like to save a few bucks by purchasing discounted pre-sale tickets, get over to our Ticket Page and pick up your passes for the best lineup of the summer.
Prices will increase to general admission gate prices on Friday evening at 5 p.m. Camping passes are also going quickly, and we expect them to sell out. Remember, kids under 12 are always FREE!
Weekend Camping passes: $50
Weekend Day Passes: $30
Friday and Saturday Day Passes: $15 per day
http://www.rootsjamboree.com
Hustler has offered Anthony $500,000 for a “spread.”
http://gawker.com/5825986/casey-anthony-offered-500000-for-nude-hustler-spread
My favorite headline from today’s Ann Arbor News, or whatever in the hell they’re calling it now.
“Lewis the cat, longtime presence at Ann Arbor’s Downtown Home and Garden shop, goes missing”
I would SO love to pick up my daughter at her daycare wearing that!
Have you guys seen the trailer for Tucker and Dale Vs Evil yet? It looks great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFFh25DmPNU
No one wanted to talk about childhood trauma?
Ty, agreed…I actually want to see that!
Mark, I had no trauma and in fact had an awesome childhood! Being an only child is the BEST!
If the debt ceiling doesn’t get raised, I would like to see Pres. Obama make a TV apperance and say, “congress couldn’t get it together, “I’M RAISING THE DEBT CEILING WITH MY 14th AMENDMENT AUTHORITY.”
A lot of people would applaud this; the President taking a BIG Stand.
It would be nice to see that, if nothing gets finalized, IMHO.
Watching Laughing.
The Obama admin has already come out and stated that they don’t believe the 14th Amendment gives the President the power to raise the debt ceiling.
Personally, I felt it was an honorable statement, quite different from anything the Bush admin would have said.
I thought that Obama’s Justice Department had come out stating that, in their assessment, it would be legal.
That’s not what I wanted to comment on, though.
I wanted to let folks know that charges had been dropped against the woman in Oak Park who was in trouble with the law for growing vegetables on her own property.
http://www.naturalnews.com/033175_Julie_Bass_Oak_Park.html
This doesn’t count as a traumatic childhood event–thankfully, when I sought one from memory, instead a lovely old memory showed up. The good memory is of my mother and sisters dressing me up as “Greta Garbage,” giving me a suitcase, and dropping me at the bottom of our long driveway. (I was maybe four, too young to spend the night out, but I wanted to badly.) Then they went up to the house, and I started walking up the driveway with my wig, funny clothes, and suitcase. They ran down to greet me like a long-lost cousin; they hollered, “Greta! Greta!” What I would give to have the entire memory or to go back in time.
But the yucky memory is being with my sisters in our Pinto wagon after bringing one of our friends home. We were a half-mile from home, my eldest sister driving, and a car full of boys somehow got us to pull over long enough for them to jump on the car, four of them, and start pounding and jumping on it, scaring us. I guess my sister drove off and the knuckleheaded boys jumped off. Am curious about exactly what happened but also a little unsettled from the memory–probably because when the memory came to me, it was in the context of the debt ceiling debate, Boehner, McConnell, Cantor, and the other privileged bully boys stomping and thrashing and scaring people with their frightening values and agenda. And voila, an otherwise simply unpleasant memory feels sort of traumatic.
I heard today that Miley Cyrus is in Ypsi.
Gardener:
I don’t know. That’s what I read this morning, though now I’m having a hard time locating it. Perhaps I misread in a pre-coffee haze.
No, I really did see it:
“Obama has questioned his ability to raise the debt ceiling on his own.
In response to a questioner at a town hall meeting, he said his lawyers “are not persuaded that that is a winning argument.””
Oh great, maybe Miley Cyrus will just add to downtown being shut down for filming and events, and businesses selling less. GEEEZZZZZ.
Watching Laughing.
According to my sources, she got a tattoo at Liquid Swords last night. No word if she hit the pole at the Vu.
Now I’m reading a really good “Ask Me Anything” thread on Reddit by a member of the Michigan Potawatomi tribe. You can too.
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/j59y1/iama_native_american_for_over_a_year_now_i_have/
Today I learned that you cannot sell “devices of simulated human genitals or devices designed for sexual stimulation” in the D1 District of downtown Ann Arbor.
http://annarbor.com/business-review/construction-on-bongs-thongs-retailer-delayed-amid-zoning-concerns-from-the-city/?cmpid=NL_33_block_headline
I would like to take a few moments and thank law enforcement in Ypsilanti in the area around Hamilton, Emmett, Washtenaw and Ballard, recently.
I’ve lived on Hamilton for years, backing up to the alley, and the last couple have been really bad in this area.
Break ins, strong arm holdups, armed robberies, fights, extremely shady individuals hanging around all day and night, etc, etc.
I used feel safe walking to Ferris Market, now Eagles market at night to get some food or pop. I no longer risked it. It was that bad.
Early last week, 2 unmarked new black Capri Classics pulled up across the alley behind my apt.
2 neatly dressed, I assume Federal Agents got out of each car, with a badge hanging around their necks. They approached the individual, who has been dealing drugs for over a year now at this apt, handcuffed him and drove away.
I may be jumping the gun; but since this arrest of, I feel safe to say, a heroin and hard drug distribution operation was shut down in one swoop of an individual.
The area is the quietest, I’ve seen it in years. Nobody is wondering around, no shady characters. The place feels safer and it is truly amazing.
It’s a completely different area with this one arrest.
I commend Law Enforcement for this bust.
This was no doubt a Federal operation, from the look of the law enforcement officers.
If anybody lives in this area, please post if you have noticed the difference in just one week and the big drug dealer behind bars.
It’s truly amazing what spawned in the area for years with one drug dealer.
A huge snowball effect. It is now gone.
Hopefully the area stays safer, PLEEEAAASSSEE.
Thank you whoever was behind this arrest.
Watching Laughing.
now laughing…you will have to watch that the landlord at the property does not just rent to another looser…seems like the owner of the property should hold some responsibility too.
Psychopathic Killers: Computerized Text Analysis Uncovers the Word Patterns of a Predator
ScienceDaily (Oct. 14, 2011) — As words can be the soul’s window, scientists are learning to peer through it: Computerized text analysis shows that psychopathic killers make identifiable word choices — beyond conscious control — when talking about their crimes.
This research could lead to new tools for diagnosis and treatment, and have implications law enforcement and social media.
The words of psychopathic murderers match their personalities, which reflect selfishness, detachment from their crimes and emotional flatness, says Jeff Hancock, Cornell professor of computing and information science, and colleagues at the University of British Columbia in the journal Legal and Criminological Psychology.
Hancock and his colleagues analyzed stories told by 14 psychopathic male murderers held in Canadian prisons and compared them with 38 convicted murderers who were not diagnosed as psychopathic. Each subject was asked to describe his crime in detail. Their stories were taped, transcribed and subjected to computer analysis.
Psychopaths used more conjunctions like “because,” “since” or “so that,” implying that the crime “had to be done” to obtain a particular goal. They used twice as many words relating to physical needs, such as food, sex or money, while non-psychopaths used more words about social needs, including family, religion and spirituality. Unveiling their predatory nature in their own description, the psychopaths often included details of what they had to eat on the day of their crime.
Past as prologue: Psychopaths were more likely to use the past tense, suggesting a detachment from their crimes, say the researchers. They tended to be less fluent in their speech, using more “ums” and “uhs.” The exact reason for this is not clear, but the researchers speculate that the psychopath is trying harder to make a positive impression, needing to use more mental effort to frame the story.
“Previous work has looked at how psychopaths use language,” Hancock said. “Our paper is the first to show that you can use automated tools to detect the distinct speech patterns of psychopaths.” This can be valuable to clinical psychologists, he said, because the approach to treatment of psychopaths can be very different.
In addition to Hancock, co-authors were Michael T. Woodworth and Stephen Porter, from the University of British Columbia.
What’s your point, Robert? Is this an invitation for us to go back through your former comments and see if you fit the profile?
There appears to be a lot more to this Penn State pedophile case…
http://www.nesn.com/2011/11/ray-gricar-original-district-attorney-in-jerry-sandusky-trail-went-missing-in-2005-declared-dead.html
Ray Gricar, Original District Attorney in Jerry Sandusky Trial, Went Missing in 2005, Declared Dead
When an investigation first started in 2005 over allegations that Jerry Sandusky was engaging in sexual acts with young boys, district attorney Ray Gricar was working on getting to the bottom of things, disregarding Sandusky’s position at Penn State and in the community. Unfortunately in April of that same year, Gricar went missing.
A few months later, his daughter, Lara, petitioned to declare her father dead so that the family could have closure, according to The New York Times. But the Sandusky case was left wide open, with much of the evidence and momentum dying with Gricar.
Gricar’s disappearance has been a mystery ever since that April day in 2005. His car was found in a parking lot 50 miles from his home, with his laptop, wallet and keys missing. Investigators later revealed an Internet search on Gricar’s home computer that read: “how to wreck a hard drive.” Foul play is still suspected because the former district attorney’s body still has not been found.
Anthony De Boef, assistant district attorney while Gricar was serving, explained how adament Gricar was when dealing with a case as serious as the Sandusky accusations.
“No one got a bye with Ray. He didn’t care who you were, he had a job to do.”
No good news has come from the Sandusky child sex scandal. Joe Paterno has been fired as Penn State’s head football coach, the school’s president Graham Spanier has tendered his letter of resignation, students were rioting in the streets over the news and the latest reports include Sandusky “pimping out” young boys.
Police: Robert Wagner not a suspect in new probe of Natalie Wood’s death
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/18/justice/california-natalie-wood/index.html
Monterey Park, California (CNN) — Actor Robert Wagner isn’t a suspect in the reopened investigation into the 1981 drowning death of his wife, actress Natalie Wood, but authorities have received “substantial” new information to initiate a new inquiry, Los Angeles County authorities said Friday.
“We have several sources coming forward with additional information and we have found it credible enough to take another look at the case,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. John Corina said outside the sheriff’s headquarters in Monterey Park, California.
“This new information is substantial enough to make us want to take a new look at the case,” he added.
Corina declined to comment directly on new statements made by the captain of the yacht on which Wagner, Wood and actor Christopher Walken were passengers off Catalina Island near Los Angeles at the time of Wood’s death.
The yacht captain, Dennis Davern, offered a new account Friday about how Wood’s death was reported and said Wagner waited hours to call the Coast Guard after Wood went missing.
After almost 30 years, the case of Natalie Wood’s drowning is being reopened because of additional information. The “Rebel Without a Cause” actress was found dead on November 29, 1981, at the age of 43. heart failure and did not perform an autopsy, fueling murder speculations. Bruce Lee, the martial arts expert and “Enter the Dragon” actor, died on July 20, 1973, from a brain edema caused by a prescription painkiller. He was 32 years old. While some believe that Lee was murdered, claims that his family was cursed also arose when his son Brandon Lee died in 1993. “Hogan’s Heroes” actor Bob Crane was found beaten to death in his apartment on June 29, 1978, at the age of 49. The case was reopened in 1990, but his murder has not been solved because of a lack of evidence. On September 7, 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur, or 2Pac, was shot several times while riding in a car in Las Vegas. He died six days later at the age of 25, and his killers were never caught. Shakur’s death is still a talked-about mystery. On March 9, 1997, just six months after Shakur’s death, rapper Christopher Wallace, better known as Biggie Smalls or The Notorious B.I.G., was also killed in a drive-by shooting. He was 24 years old. His murder is also unsolved. The body of “Kill Bill” actor David Carradine was found hanged in a Bangkok hotel room closet on June 4, 2009. He died at the age of 72. At first, officials ruled his death a suicide. They later said he died from accidental asphyxiation. Natalie Wood (died November 29, 1981) George Reeves (died June 16, 1959) Marilyn Monroe (died August 5, 1962) Jim Morrison (died July 3, 1971) Bruce Lee (died July 20, 1973) Bob Crane (died June 29, 1978) Tupac Shakur (died September 7, 1996) Biggie Smalls (died March 9, 1997) David Carradine (died June 4, 2009)
When asked if the captain could face charges for possibly lying to authorities during the 1981 investigation, Corina responded: “That, I can’t say. We’ll probably end up talking to the captain sooner or later, and we’ll assess what he has to say then and now.”
When asked whether authorities will question Walken, Corina declined to say whom two investigators will be interviewing.
“I’m not going to comment on who’s going to be talked to or who’s not going to be talked to. I think you can speculate on that,” Corina said.
The approaching 30th anniversary of Wood’s November 29, 1981, death isn’t playing a factor in the new inquiry, he said.
“We’re not concerned with the anniversary date,” Corina said.
“We’re going to follow up on leads we have,” Corina said. “We’re going to interview some people. We’re going to interview some new people.”
Wood’s death is still ruled an accident, he said.
“Her death is ruled an accidental drowning. … Until we find something that says it isn’t, until that time, it’s still an accidental drowning,” Corina said.
Earlier Friday, Davern said Wagner told those aboard the boat what to say to authorities about the incident. Wood was later found drowned.
Davern said he first searched the boat to check whether Wood was anywhere on board. He said he then wanted to turn on the searchlight to see whether she was in the water, but Wagner told him not to.
“We don’t want to do that right now,” Davern quoted Wagner as saying.
After four hours, Davern called the Coast Guard. He now says he regrets waiting so long.
“It was like a mistake that I made. I do regret that, yes. I do, really,” Davern said Friday.
“We didn’t necessarily really lie. We just didn’t tell everything, and it was agreed that what we spoke about between the three of us is what we’re going to tell the investigators,” Davern said.
Despite authorities’ assertion that publicity surrounding the 30th anniversary of Wood’s death isn’t a factor in reopening the case, one legal analyst who’s a former federal prosecutor believs otherwise, saying media accounts are playing a role.
“The fact that it’s the 30th anniversary makes more people interested in it again, including the investigators who might be interested in opening it again and maybe willing to put extra time in and make a finding on what actually happened,” said Annemarie McAvoy, a Fordham University School of Law adjunct professor and a former assistant U.S. attorney in New York.
But McAvoy said it’s “probably very unlikely” any criminal charges will be filed. “They are going to have to show a motive for murder.”
“It’s a true Hollywood mystery,” she added. “It’s like a movie you would see, except it’s real life. I think it’s one of those things that will stay a mystery.”
Authorities announced Thursday the reopening of the investigation into Wood’s death, which happened after an argument as the couple was boating off Catalina Island.
Wagner’s publicist Alan Nierob issued a statement Thursday saying the actor’s family “fully support the efforts of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and trust they will evaluate whether any new information relating to the death of Natalie Wood Wagner is valid, and that it comes from a credible source or sources other than those simply trying to profit from the 30-year anniversary of her tragic death.”
Nierob said no one from the sheriff’s department has contacted Wagner or anyone in his family about the case, one of Hollywood’s most enduring mysteries.
Last year, the actress’ sister, Lana Wood, and Davern asked the sheriff’s office to reopen the case. L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy Benjamin Grubb couldn’t say whether the sister and the captain prompted the renewed investigation.
Natalie Wood once said in a televised interview that her greatest fear was of dark seawater. Davern said that’s why he felt it was doubtful Wood had taken the yacht’s dinghy to try to go ashore.
Wood’s body was found floating in the water about a mile away from the yacht.
According to police reports, Wood was found wearing a long nightgown, socks and a down jacket.
“My sister was not a swimmer and did not know how to swim, and she would never go to another boat or to shore dressed in a nightgown and socks,” said Lana Wood.
The autopsy report shows that Wood had two dozen bruises on her body, including an abrasion on her left cheek and bruises on her arms. Davern said he saw no bruises when the actress was aboard.
Although the county coroner’s office ruled that Wood’s death was an accident, others say the case hasn’t made sense.
In 2010, Lana Wood said that she believes a highly charged argument between her sister and husband on the yacht’s back deck preceded Wood’s drowning. She said she does not suspect foul play.
“I just want the truth to come out, the real story,” she said last year.
Davern broke his long silence with a detailed account in “Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour,” a book he wrote with his friend Marti Rulli. It was published in September 2009.
He said Friday that he is not trying to profit from the anniversary and that he has no reason to lie.
Davern has said he believes Wood’s death was a direct result of the fight with Wagner.
In 2010, Davern said he believes that the investigation of Wood’s death was incompetent and suggested that there was a cover-up. He said he regrets misleading investigators by keeping quiet at Wagner’s request.
Wood and Wagner married in 1957, divorced in 1962 and remarried in 1972. They often sailed their yacht off the coast of California and they had invited Wood’s “Brainstorm” co-star, Walken, to join them on a sail on Thanksgiving weekend in 1981.
Walken and Wood had been filming “Brainstorm” at the time and the Hollywood rumor mill was abuzz with speculation that Wagner was jealous over Walken, but authorities have said Walken witnessed only the events leading up to an argument between the couple.
Walken couldn’t be reached immediately for comment.
Wagner admitted his jealousy in his book “Pieces of My Heart,” also published in September 2009. He acknowledged that there had been a fight with Wood, writing that he smashed a wine bottle on a table.
After Wagner argued with Walken and broke the wine bottle, Wood left in disgust and went to her stateroom, Davern said. Walken also retired to a guest room, Davern added, and Wagner followed his wife to their room. A few minutes later, Davern said, he could hear the couple fighting.
Embarrassed, Davern said, he turned up the volume on his stereo. At one point, Davern recalled, he glanced out of the pilot house window and saw both Wagner and Wood on the yacht’s aft deck. “They’d moved their fight outside. … You could tell from their animated gestures they were still arguing,” he said.
A short time later, Wagner, appearing to be distraught, told Davern he couldn’t find Wood. After failing to find Wood aboard and noticing the dinghy gone, Wagner shrugged and poured them both drinks, Davern said. He suggested his wife had probably gone off in a temper.
Wagner’s story, as told in his book, differs from Davern’s. He maintains that after the argument with Walken, Wood went to her room and prepared for bed while he and Walken sat on the deck, cooling off.
Wagner writes that he went to check on Wood, but she wasn’t there. Wagner wrote that he assumed his wife had gone ashore on her own.
He radioed the restaurant on shore where they’d had dinner and called the harbor master to see if anyone had seen Wood.
The dinghy was found about a mile from the yacht and a mile from where Wood’s body was found.
Wood’s first starring role was as a child in “Miracle on 34th Street” in 1947, and she played alongside some of Hollywood’s top leading men:James Dean in “Rebel Without a Cause” and Warren Beatty in “Splendor in the Grass.” She was nominated for Oscars in both of those films, as well as for “Love With the Proper Stranger” (1963), according to the IMDb website. One of her more memorable roles was as Maria in “West Side Story.”
Wagner’s striking good looks landed him roles in dozens of films in the 1950s and ’60s before he hit it big in television. He starred in two popular series, “It Takes a Thief” (1968-70) and “Hart to Hart” (1979-84), and more recently as Number Two in the “Austin Powers” spy spoofs.
“The first day we were shooting, we did that scene with the Italians around the table. And Chris says to me, ‘I don’t like pointing a gun at another actor.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, man, we’ve got to shoot a whole movie with guns and you’re telling me you don’t like pointing a gun at another actor?!’ And then we did the scene and Chris shot that guy five times after he was dead; that wasn’t in the script! He says he’s afraid of guns, and then you say ‘Action’ and he became — how do you say it? – very efficient.”