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THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST?
Bingo from C. Wright Mills: “People with advantages are loath to believe they just happen to be people with advantages.”
C. Wright Mills Photographed By His Wife, Yaroslava
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TREE STOLEN. WAIT — WHAT? TREE STOLEN?
The Herald Times reports this morning that vandals stole a tree from Bryan Park.
The tree, a blue spruce, was donated by a neighbor some 22 years ago. The neighbor was able to look at the tree each morning through his apartment window. He’d nursed the tree through some tough times and considered it his “baby.”
A Typical Blue Spruce
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And yesterday he discovered that some punks — apparently — had sawed the whole damned thing down and hauled it away!
If that isn’t bad enough, city tree boss Lee Huss says it’s not terribly unusual. Huss says some twelve trees a year are stolen.
Man. Have I not awakened from my beauty sleep yet and this is just one of those stupid dreams?
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COFFEE CHATTER
Did you catch the puff piece on Soma Coffee in the weekend IDS?
If not, here it is.
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THE JANUARY SAGA CONTINUES
Chad Carrothers, the big boss at Firehouse Radio, says January Jones resigned as WFHB News Director to, in her words, “spend more time with my family.”
Sheesh. I can’t even make a smart-assed comment about that other than to say any good news hound — and January was a fine news hound — knows that’s what you say when what you really want to say will burn bridges.
Her resignation was, in Chad’s words, “unsolicited and unexpected.”
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The news operation at our town’s community radio station undoubtedly will suffer without her even though Assistant News Director Alycin Bektesh is among the sharpest pencils in the drawer and would be a fab choice as January’s permanent replacement.
I’ll redouble my efforts to get January’s take on the split.
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THE WATER CYCLE
Go see another comic by Randall Munroe, the brain behind the strip “XKCD.”
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WE DO FACEBOOK SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO
◗ The radical attorney Jerry Boyle, who’s been running around downtown Chicago for a couple of months now trying to keep the town’s Occupy people out of hot water, posts a Venn diagram of the US Government-Goldman Sachs unholy union.
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I’ll have to repro the diagram here. Dig it, and then tell me our elected officials will do their utmost to rein in those cash cowboys.
Man! It’d be like Jack and Bobby Kennedy putting Sam Giancana in charge of the Justice Department.
◗ Delia Chandler of Brighton, UK, reminds us Sunday was the anniversary of the assassination of charismatic Black Panther leader Fred Hampton — in his bedroom — by Chicago cops, the FBI, and members of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office in 1969.
Don’t be confused by the line in the Democracy Now! teaser calling it the 40th anniversary of the rub out. Amy Goodman‘s piece ran in 2009.
◗ Bloomington video auteur Chris Rall discovers some good clean spiritual fun for the kids.
◗ Bleeding Heartland Roller Girl Shanda Rude takes her life in her hands by blaspheming Oprah. Or at least pointing out — approvingly — that Bill Maher has soiled the name of the most powerful woman on Earth.
Check the vid — if you dare. Maher skewers Oprah’s consumer goods orgy during her farewell week prior to being assumed into heaven.
Me? I didn’t worry about watching it — I’m slated for hell already.
◗ Finally, uber-Cub fan Al Yellon, proprietor of the Bleed Cubbie Blue fansite gushes over the long-awaited election of Ron Santo to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
If you’re wondering about my own feelings on Ronnie’s canonization, you need only read my Salon.com piece on his death, almost exactly a year ago.
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Yep, coniferous trees go missing this time of year for use as Xmas trees. Poor people usually grab the smaller ones – not as much money for lights, ornaments, presents, etc., so it would all look pretty lonely with a big tree. And who can blame them. Nope, the big trees are usually grabbed by some prick with money and a sense of entitlement who’s been eye-balling that tree for a few years, waiting for it to grow to full height. Someone with a good- sized truck and equipment who can pull it off in ten minutes or so, and then re-sell it for a nice quick profit. Yep, Mike, you and I WILL be seeing him in Hell.
Ten minutes?!
If you’re prepped with chain saw, rope and truck, 10 minutes max. Even a sharp tree saw would only take 3 or 4 minutes to get thru the trunk. In other words, done by people with resources.