Thursday, November 07, 2002

"Dan K.'s Wild Ride"

Well if read Dan K. Hemphill: Race Car Driver? a week ago, you know that Dan K. was about to put the pedal to the metal. Well the predictions were half right. Thankfully he is not dead, but he did crash his car. What follows is an email I got from him hours ago. I honestly thought it was a hoax, like the time he told me Eric Lindros was in a coma after a car accident. Okay Here is the e-mail. TGIF loyal readers!

I'm in pain. My neck hurts, my shoulders hurt, and my chest hurts. This is the result of driving an Indy car right into the back of another driver at 100mph. The sad part is, my prediction came true, the accident happened right before big bend on the straightaway. All of the cars had manual transmissions, the guy in front of me in the green car was about half way down the straightaway. What I didn't know at the time was that he was in 2nd gear and couldn't get the car into 3rd, so he was only going 35 or 40mph.

On the straightaway I was in 4th and had it floored, doing about 100mph. As(the) big bend came up I noticed the green car was right in front of me, he came up so quick! I smashed into the back of him, causing him to spin out of control and fly off the road. The front half of my indy car was cut off, the electrical system died, and my body catapaulted forward, causing the restraints to slam into my shoulders and chest. The car just hobbled to the side of the road. The car was majorly f**ed. The instructor said that was the first accident to happen there in awhile. Leave it up to Dan K to go overboard. I was hoping to rip around big bend at 90 or so. I didn't even make it that far.

And no, this is not a joke.
Time for Tucker’s World Double Header folks, and I am sick of election talk so ..you wont find anything here about it! At least not at this time. This mean there are two NEW posts. That confused people last time.

“Stages of Love”

Being no expert on love and unable to sustain any kind of meaningful relationship, I figured to break down the stages of love for all my loyal readers. This from what I gather is how it plays out.
Stage 1:
Boy meets girl. He consults his friends to see what course of action should be call her? How many days must you wait?

Stage 2: Boy becomes comfortable with girl and brings her out with his friends. He spends most of the night mauling her openly and publicly. His buddies awkwardly stand there and look all around with their beer in their hands.

Stage 3 :
Boy’s cell phone doesn’t work when anyone with a penis dials it up. Boy starts getting laid on a regular basis which is and upgrade over watching sports with friends and making gay jokes. When the boy shows ups to see his buddy’s it is like when Kent Manderville scores a goal. They all cheer and hug. Everyone is smiling.

Stage 4: Boy may or not be dead. All contact is lost. His buddies decide to go on a search for him. They get sidetracked and end up at a bar and forget why they were driving around in the first place.

Stage 5:
The boy reappears, but as a unit. He is like Christopher Columbus telling this single friends about his vast discovering of coupleville. He than shows gives advice to his single friends. He tells his friends they should go to grocery stores or bookstores to meet people, because that is where people meet. I worked at a grocery store for like a year and never saw love blossom. I also used to frequent borders, and just saw people reading.

Stage 6:

The couple grow the desire to collect knickknacks and stuff made of wicker. This is the stage of no return. You friend as you know him is dead. They get a place together, and it smells like cinnamon. They have china.

Stage 7


Boy bumps into one of his friends in a mall. It is all awkward and they stand there swaying. The single friend tries to elude that he is getting laid a lot more than he is. You decide to make plans sometime. You end up over the buddy’s house only to find that your being set up with his girlfriends big boned friend.

Stage 8

Your friend who writes a web column starts to wonder if writing for the column after 1 am is a good idea.

Stage 9.

Many years pass. The happy couple gets all giddy one night and decides to go to a bar. When they get there they see all the friends of the boy now a man. They are sitting at a table watching hockey games. They have chart out in front of them and are trying to figure out their stance in a fantasy hockey league. None of them seem to have any females near them at all.
The man looks to his girl and she nods. The man pulls out a revolver and fires a shot at one of the three guys sitting there. They guy does a face dive into a plate of all you can eat wings. The blood spills all over the white fantasy league sheets. The 2nd one is shot down, but he doesn’t notice because he is talking about a Dr. Who episode he enjoys. The third guy wrestles the gun from the man shoves the barrel down his throat and pulls the trigger. It doesn’t go off. The 3 of them laugh and go to the diner together. It is seafood bisque night


“ Beached Whaler”

Kevin Dineen former Flyers Captain and whaler retired this week. He was never one of the most talented players in the league but he made up for that with heart and grit. He was one of the best players on the Flyers in the early 90s. He was one of the players that brought back to following hockey. I am very glad he did.

I recall how awkward it was for him to be coached by his dad. I remember how he never gave up even when the team didn’t make the playoffs for five years. I remember how he scored many a goal, and got the old building rocking loud. He was the last really good captain of the team, although Prims might finally fitting the role.

He spent time with the Sens, Whale, and ended with the Blue Jackets. He has already gotten a cushy office job. His leadership in the locker room with the young team .

From NHL.com. Dineen scored perhaps the most memorable goal in the history of the Whalers in the 1986 Stanley Cup Playoffs against Montreal in the Adams Division finals. He intercepted a Montreal pass in the neutral zone and then turned Canadians defenseman Larry Robinson on his way to roofing a shot over Patrick Roy.

Good Luck Kevin.

Not that your reading this. But Rey might be. So that’s good enough.

Tuesday, November 05, 2002

“Lame the Vote”

It is election day so I felt obligated to make voting a topic today. I guess that makes me a sheep, but not one of those gay ones with the different brain. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

In my social problems class we realized that 8 people were actually voting and about 27 said they were not. That’s is why my friends that we will always have a two party system and things may never change. Certainly there are enough people in this country to support a third party and silence the bitching that is done by everyman American.

Some students sat and scratched their head in bewilderment with a not so look bright look on their face. Others were jaded saying since the voting system is not based on the popular vote there is no point to vote. Of course that is not the case in the Senate Election. For those of my loyal viewers that are not aware the president is not up for re-election for another two years. That was thrown in for Chris Arter who likely already stopped reading this entry because he cares about as much about politics as I do cars. I just hope he doesn’t kill himself before leaving his current school.

What was I talking about ? Uh….Oh yeah. This one girl said she just likes to hit the little buttons. She is adorable and it was really cute when she said it. One guy in the back actually was voting republican. Because, they are all about making money! Another person claims he jumps the democratic ship because of their recent behavior. He mentioned how they the recently broke the law by entering a last minute candidate (see Feeling Minnesota). However Technically since the court ruled that it was cool. It was legal. Wrong sleazy and under handed, but legal. So me and that dude were wrong.

HORN BLASTS!!!!!!!!

Either that means the Flyers are giving someone a smack down again or its time to read a little READER MAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here is an email from Andrew “Puma” Vogel from Stratford. Drew writes.


When you say that the Democratic party overturned laws to get Lautenberg into the race, that is simply not true. The law said that you CAN change candidates at any time at least 51 days out from the election. That is not the same thing as a law saying that you CANNOT change candidates after that deadline. Some states (New York) have laws that say that. Other states (New Jersey) do not.

Even leaving that aside for a moment, the New Jersey Supreme Court is the highest authority for interpretting New Jersey law. The highest authority, period. As long as it doesn't conflict with the U.S. Constitution, anything they decide to do is legal, by definition. To say that Lautenberg only got on the ticket by breaking the law is just incorrect; no less incorrect than saying that 2+2=5. There is simply no room for argument on the matter. The New Jersey statute was ambiguous, the Supreme Court interpreted it to answer the question, and that's the end of the story. By all means, vote for Forrester. By all means, consider the switch unfair. But to call it illegal is factually incorrect.

I hate the US Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore, but I've never said it was illegal. It was perfectly legal. It was an abomination of transparent legal reasoning designed to appoint Bush to the presidency at any price, but it was legal.


Okay. There you go. Tucker can be wrong.

However most people in our generation grew up hearing tales of Watergate, and corrupt politician after politician. Many people would rather just stick it to these fellows by not going anywhere. People think votes don’t make any difference. I can understand why. Perhaps these people could get together and support a third alternate party (The green party is getting no where fast). However most these people are to apathetic or lazy. MTV can beg to rock the vote all they want. People our age and at this point just most people generally could give a rats ass. More people are likely to vote for the next American Idole than some rich guy running for office.

I cast my vote a few hours ago. But voting republican in a state like this is pointless. I have more of a chance convincing people I am not in love with Jenna than the democrats losing this state. The same blue haired old ladies were there. Not a soul under 60 in sight. As of now Tucker’s world exit polls show that the democrats have won control of the house. Some would say I wasted 5 minutes of my life. At the very least I earned myself the right to bitch about the way things are, which is more than I can say for people who don’t vote at all.

If you want to learn more about gay sheep cut and paste
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20021104/sc_nm/science_sheep_dc_1

Thursday, October 31, 2002

Okay since I knew this story was coming I hyped it up a lot. If it actually lives up to the hype will be for my readers to decide. It is Sweeps month on Tucker’s world so it is time to crank it up a notch!

“Dan K. Hemphill, Race Car Driver?”


Dan K. Hemphill’s girlfriend might be crying her eyes out this weekend. No, he is not refusing to go to a wedding or a funeral with her again. However, his days on this Earth might certainly be numbered.

The chain of events that will either end being an experience of a lifetime or the cause of death on a police report started earlier this week. When he got an e-mail from his boss that simply stated:


"Hey, let me know if you want to drive a race car next Wednesday. You have to be in Connecticut at 6am.”

At first of course he thought he was kidding, but he wasn't. Dan K. will be going to Skip Barber Racing School, on one of the most popular racetracks in the country, Limerock Park in the Berkshire Mountains. Many Nascar drivers get their start here.

Dan K. will race a real Indy car like the big boys. This ain’t no street car night at Atco raceway. He is skipping that step and going right for the big leagues. His history of going over board, and showing off might be a lethal combination. Perhaps it will be the glorious start of his amateur racing career.

check out these links
http://www.skipbarber.com/images/tracks/full/LR.jpg
http://www.skipbarber.com/

“The track is 2 miles long. I could very easily crash and die… all manual transmissions, (I) haven’t driven a stick in years. If I crash I’m not making it out alive” stated the reclusive Hemphill during an instant message conversation with Tucker’s world.

The people that are running this have not heard the infamous Aldi story. Nor are they aware of his lack of will to live. However, it is dangerous enough that he has to sign a waiver.

“Worst thing is Big Bend comes after the straightaway, so ill most likely plant my foot in big bend at 140mph praying to Allah.” Continued Dan K.


“This might be Dan K's final stunt”

Previous stunts include crashing a brand new car during a test drive, and smoking out the Sterling High school parking lot on graduation night.

“I’m going to crank heavy metal in the viper as I m flying around the track
of course it will make me drive more violently”

When asked about his girlfriend's negative reaction to the news. He said he simply blew her off. You wonder if someone with little race experience might even chicken out. Not this black sheep.

“How the f*** could I turn down 100+ mph in a damn Indy car on a REAL race track? I’m going to push all of the vehicles to their limits.”

God speed Dan K. God Speed!
I was going to compile a bunch of ghost stories for today, but I was too lazy. You will have to settle for this. ITs pretty long so dont forget to scroll down and check out last nights post about the DemoRATS.


"Monster Mash"

I was working in the lab late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my monster from his slab began to rise
And suddenly to my surprise

He did the mash
He did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
He did the mash
It caught on in a flash
He did the mash
He did the monster mash

>From my laboratory in the castle east
To the master bedroom where the vampires feast
The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
To get a jolt from my electrodes

They did the mash
They did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They did the mash
It caught on in a flash
They did the mash
They did the monster mash

The zombies were having fun
The party had just begun
The guests included Wolf Man
Dracula and his son

The scene was rockin', all were digging the sounds
Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds
The coffin-bangers were about to arrive
With their vocal group, "The Crypt-Kicker Five"

They played the mash
They played the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They played the mash
It caught on in a flash
They played the mash
They played the monster mash

Out from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring
Seems he was troubled by just one thing
He opened the lid and shook his fist
And said, "Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?"
It's now the mash
It's now the monster mash
The monster mash
And it's a graveyard smash
It's now the mash
It's caught on in a flash
It's now the mash
It's now the monster mash

Now everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band
And my monster mash is the hit of the land
For you, the living, this mash was meant too
When you get to my door, tell them Boris sent you

Then you can mash
Then you can monster mash
The monster mash
And do my graveyard smash
Then you can mash
You'll catch on in a flash
Then you can mash
Then you can monster mash



Wednesday, October 30, 2002

“Feeling Minnesota”

For those of you who don’t follow the political world or pick up a newspaper you missed the democratic party sink to a new low. This from a party that has inserted 78 year-old Frank Lautenberg to replace Bob Torricelli since, the torch was getting his ass kicked among political scandal. This would be cool had they not have to over turn laws (or break) just to meet their own political agenda. Also since there is no way Lautenberg, has any intention on serving a six-year term people casting votes for him either are cool with this or are totally naive. Many feel that Torricelli will eventually just be appointed anyway eventually, after last night I would not be surprised. Remember these are the people who are all about feelings.

A democratic senator Paul Wellsone was killed in a plane crash along with his wife and daughter last week. The kind of event that makes people take stock and put political BS aside. The Democratic Party even begged the republicans to cool off on the campaigning. They told Dick Cheny (he is our vice president.) to stay home because his appearance would over shadow the memorial to the late senator. The Republicans totally respected this. The lost of life is bigger than a stupid campaign.

The tribute didn’t last to long. I mean I am not saying they shouldn’t try to make it a really depressing experience, but it was a funeral. They still have no idea why the plane crashed, because the black box was not recovered. Kinda like when Ron Brown (a Clinton buddy term enemy) went down in a plane crash. The night turned into a political prep rally for the party. Walter Mondale another old man, will now run for the senate for the Democrats. He showed up last night at the democratic prep rally er memorial service. The mood was happy go lucky for the most party there were many laughs and many speeches talking about how important it is to win the election. Clinton was there yucking it up and rallying the troops.

A speaker basically told republicans of the state that they are terrible people if they betrayed their friend and didn’t dick over their political party and drum up votes for Mondale. Wellstone would want it that way! The came off completely crass, but it was nothing compared to what they did to republican Trent Lott. Whatever beef they had against him you think they would put aside seeing as where people had just been killed. Nope. They booed him even though he spent his own money and flew out there to say goodbye to a man who he respected. Gov. Jesse Ventura and many others got so disgusted and left.

To make matters worse (and a borderline violation of FCC regulations) they got 3 free hours of political air time, that republicans are not likely to ever get back. The media was completely misled (or so they say) about what was to transpire during the course of the night. I mean I know they are pressed for time with the election being next week and all, but there is no reason to exploit the dead. It is in horrible taste to turn someone’s memorial service in to a political soap box. What happened to the days of I feel your pain? They were having a blast last night! The Democratic party is more evil than the Republican party by far. I don’t know how the other became such a main stream opinion.

Upon leaving the memorial service, a republican political figure (I can’t recall who) was asked by a reporter for his rebuttal to the democratic speeches.

“Do you realize what you just asked me?” he asked the reporter.





Tuesday, October 29, 2002

Sorry for the delay in posts...for that you get a double-header. Sadly more people will read this post than watched the World Series.

“The Secret Life of Ralphie Cifaretto”



Sometimes when a tv show or a movie becomes popular and you don’t realize that some of the actors had done previous movies that you have seen. Like it took me awhile to realize that Josh Hartnett who has had much success of late, was the kid in the AWFUL Halloween H20. I didn’t realize till I flipped pasted the USA broadcast premier of the ultra-dark Nicolas Cage flick 8 Millimeter that Tony Soprano and “The Machine” were one in the same. I mean when I first tuned into The Sopranos, I didn’t even recognize him from anything.


I learned to accept that one. But I was totally blown away after reading an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer profiling Joe Pantoliano who plays Ralphia Cifartetto has been in many movies I have seen before. He appeared in such movies as Bad Boys, and the Fugitive. I guess small roles that I don’t recall. But when I read he was in last year’s Memento I could not imagine who he was in the film. Since it had such a short cast I figured he had to be Teddy. The sleazy friend of the lead character of the movie, but he was bald and looked nothing like Ralphie. Clearly the paper had mad an error.


Well I looked up on the IMDB and they were right. Apparently, he wears the best damn wig on tv. He has really short gray hair, and is almost bald. He did however really grow up in North Jersey and his step-dad might have been connected. I can’t get over that it is the same actor! I guess in a world of featherless chickens anything is possible.


“Snow Business”

Sleet is being said on my TV right now, and so is wet snow. Of course it is in regards to the Pocono’s. However, it was reported as close as Mullica Hill today. Philly might see some wet snow this weekend. The last several winters have been really mild. In fact I am pretty sure we skipped winter last year. The one snow “storm” that hit South Jersey was a distant memory when it hit over 50 degrees the next day.


This fall however seemed a bit on the chilli side, at least to this cold weather loving south jerseyan. So when I checked the Fox Philadelphia Weather page as I usually do I decided to drop an email to Rob Guarino. I did this as a loyal service to my readers (both of them) and because I am a huge dork.


Since I heard El Nino was returning after a brief hiatus for this winter I knew that something crazy was going to happen this winter. Honestly in the same article that I read in the Courier-Post they said it would be really mild, but ended by saying it could also be wet and wild. So lets see. It will either be really cold and wet or warm and dry? Well…I could have told you that. So, anyway I sent him an email asking him if the cool fall could have anything to do with a colder winter. Also to clear up what the right call was for the return of El Nino. I also pressured him to predict the total amount of snow fall in our region this winter. Something he has not done on TV or on his webpage as of yet. THEREFORE, YOU HEARD IT AT TUCKER’S WORLD FIRST!


Here is the response he wrote me.


BOTH CALLS ARE RIGHT AT THIS POINT AND YES THE FALL WEATHER IS VERY IMPORTANT TO WINTER. OCEAN TEMPS DROPPING UNLIKE LAST YEAR.


LOOK FOR 15-22" OF SNOW THIS SEASON. BELOW AVG. BUT BETTER THAN LAST YEAR.


--ROB GUARINO
FOX WEATHER


Don't expect NBC 10's John Bolaris to tell us we will be up to our eyeballs in snow this year, at least not from a Philadelphia affliate. He is leaving NBC 10 at the end of November (sweeps month of course). The popular weatherman known for banging lots of hot chicks and dating Lauren Hart (Gene Harts daughter) for 4 years made an ass out of himself a few winters ago. He predicted for the storm of the century, and all we got was wet snow and some wind and it was like 50 degrees. He literally got 3,000 death threats e-mailed to him. He will leave for NYC to be back and already might have a job at a CBS affliate. I doubt Howard Eskin can cock block him that far away.


Also my friend Duke who claims to be in touch with the weather is predicating a cold possibly snow filled winter. But we once had to convince him to use Soap.


Saturday, October 26, 2002

Here is a short story that I wrote a few years ago. Some of you read it back than. But as Dennis Miller used to say. It is not a rerun but an encore presentation!

A M E R I C A N MONKEYS

It seemed like the day I decided to take my own life that the weather some how knew. It was fitting what was to be my last day on Earth was one of those extremely dark days when you began to wonder if the sun still existed. I guess it didn’t even matter where I stood now. Standing in the dark, damp subway station. Finally my train pulled up and I got in. Not a moment too soon either the stench of the urine in the subway was particularly strong that night.

I took the first seat. The train was quite full for such a messy night. The only reason I was out in this mess was to say goodbye to my friend Peter. Peter and I had grown up together, although I haven’t seen him too much these days since he went to school in the city. When I got there some spaced out guy who I have met before greeted me, I think his name was Darren, or Jared, or something one of those names you don’t hear that often. He told me Peter had gone to his girlfriend’s house for the weekend. I couldn’t believe it . I couldn’t even get my most important goodbye in. To top it all off it reminded me that I was dumped a month ago. I guess I wouldn’t had been that big a deal if it hadn’t been so close to me flunking out of college. I can’t look back. I’m going to do it tonight.

Looking around the train I was on I wondered why it was frowned abound to take your own life. In fact, society would be much better off with out some of my fellow passengers. For example, the fat man two seats ahead of me. I mean this guy must have been without exaggerations 600 pounds. I don’t understand people like him, you would think when he broke 400 he would have decided to lay off the Twinkies. The man’s rolls of fat jiggled as the train moved. It was jiggling almost in perfect timing with the metal squeezing sounds the train made.

As my eyes scanned the car I found another cancer to society. Miles Peterson, I graduated high school with him. We were good friends for the first two years or so, he was acutally kind of a quiet geek type. However, one day he decided to pretend he was a bad ass. He started wearing chains, dressing differently, calling everyone YO. What really pissed me off was that everyone but Peter and me seemed to have bought it at the time. He became one of the most popular guys in school. He would tell me every Monday about the girls that he would get laid by. I never understood girls. I guess that’s why Gina left me.

I clinched a bottle of aspirin in my hand. It was shoved way down deep in my pocket. I figured that’s the way to go. It’s going to be tough enough for whoever discovers my body. No need for me to add to the horror by putting a bullet through my skull and having them not only see my dead body but my brains scattered all over the room.

When the doors opened again to let the next wave of passengers in and a fresh dose of urine air, Miles spotted me. He got up and walked towards me swinging his arms like he would turn around and hit anyone who gave him crap. Its funny I still see that quiet kid he used to be. He used to have a Ducktales lunchbox our first year of high school. Not only was it odd for a kid that age to still have a lunchbox, but to have one with a cartoon on it made it even funnier. He sat down across from me.

“How you been Yo?” he shouted loud enough to make sure everyone knew he was cool.

“ I have been”
You would think with the blatant roll of the eyes I gave him he would have gotten the hint.

“Where you working these days? he asked.
“Ralph’s market.”

“Still? What are you up to about 4 bucks an hour?” he asked followed by a fake laugh.

“About that.”
Now notice I didn’t ask him anything about his life. However, he saw fit to tell me anyway.

“I’ve been working for the Central Federal Computer Data. Its easy cash. Because, I know my shit so well. I get on the phone and sell people software and shit. I even go to their homes to help fix problems. I make commission on selling them a warranty from our company. I’ll go in there and scare the crap out of them by telling them horror stories of all the viruses going around. Not only do I get them to buy warranties and make commission, but I exploit the real dumbasses. I’ll run a disk in their computer and charge them 50 bucks telling them they are protected from all the newest viruses. Although it doesn’t even do that. It just runs through the files. Its totally meaningless.”

I started pretended in my mind to punch him and throw him into the wall of the train. I always make stuff up in my mind when I’m bored As I looked around the train I was amazed to see this incredibly sexy woman about my age sitting, alone. As Miles rambled on and on, I began to think maybe I could postpone my plans for the night and make a new friend. She had straight dark hair and a low cut red tank top on. Peter once lent me a book about how men and woman get together. The one theory was the monkey theory. That if two people were forced to stay in the same spot for a long period of time they would end up having sex. Like monkeys in a cage at a zoo. I got out of my seat while the train still moved. I figured I had at least thirty minutes until we reached Stewart Street, which was my stop. She wasn’t going anywhere. Might as well go out with a bang. I always wanted to put that monkey theory to a test.

My first move to make and impression on her wasn’t very good. I kinda fell into the seat next to her. I wondered if Miles was still talking.
Our eyes met. I had to say something other than hello. That would be pretty lame. I took notice of her wearing shorts.
“Aren’t you cold?” I asked. Although one look at her tank top gave me the answer to that question. I didn’t want to look, so I sent my eyes to look at the chair in front of me. There was a bunny sticker on the back of the seat in front of me. I just sat and looked right at it.

“Yeah well it’s always hot where I work so my boss let’s me wear shorts. She’s cool like that” I turned back facing her just to see her smile after she said that. I saw her big brown eyes widen. She has such a nice smile, that it made me feel guilty about all the sinful things I thought of her while crossing that train.

“Melissa’s my name but call me Missy” she extended her soft little hand.

“I’m James.” We shook hands. “So where do you work?”

“American Bagels you know on 45th and market?”

“Oh yeaaaah” I lied.

“Do you want one?” she asked she leaned over to get a bagel out of the bag sitting on the floor. My eyes went straight back to the bunny. I took the bagel and wrapped it up and set it on my lap for later. I wanted to talk to her, but not about me. I’m sure she wouldn’t want to hear about me going to school to become a doctor and failing. Or how everyone seemed to have better luck than I do, even guys like Miles who didn’t deserve it. Or that if this train wasn’t moving so slow, that I would be downing a bunch of pills right now.
“Where you heading?” I asked.

“Back to my apartment in Amesbury.”

“That must be so cool to be out on your own. I mean my parents drive me nuts. Everybody has it better than me. What made you finally decide to get out?”

“Actually my parents are dead”

No where in that monkey book did it mention about what to say after that.

“I’m really …”

“When I was ten my mother was killed in a drunk driving accident. My father was never the same. Six years later I came home from school to find my father lying on the kitchen floor. He was dead of a heart attack. I sat there holding him waiting for the ambulance. But I knew he was gone. I could feel it. I have some relatives down south, and a grandmother in a home. But I have been on my own since I was sixteen its been me and my Little sister. I work at the bagel place and take classes when I can. I’m not going to be there my whole life. I’ studying to become a vet I love animals”

When I first saw her I could only think about what she would look like naked. Now I couldn’t. I just thought about holding her when she was crying and holding her in sense to say it wasn’t fair that she was dealt a lousy hand in life. But its amazing when I looked at her she didn’t seem defeated. In fact, she had a look of total confidence when she told me where she saw herself. I placed my hand on hers for a second. She looked back and pointed with her head. She pointed right to Miles.

“Friend of yours?” she asked.

“Far from it”

“He comes in my work a lot. Her asks me to go clubbing with him every time. I just keep telling him no but he doesn’t listen. I told him to his face one time that I didn’t like him,but he still comes.”

Speaking of the devil. He came to us as the train had reached his station. He walked up to say goodbye. Or so I thought. He just looked at her.

“ I see you are talking to my boy Jimmy over here,” he said, hitting my shoulder. But it was the way he said it like I didn’t have a chance in hell with a girl like her that pissed me off. “Maybe I’ll stop in and see you tomorrow Missy.” As he finished that sentence missy and I both noticed the enormous piece of snot hanging out his nose. It was funny how he was trying to put me down in front of her, and he had a ten-foot booger clinging for dear life to a nose hair. When he left, we both broke into laughter. I hadn’t laughed that hard in I don’t know how long.

“Its funny most girls are into Miles big time,” I said once I caught my breath.

“Yeah there are a lot of naive girls that I could see buying into his act. I guess he sees other guys get girls who act that, and he figures he my as well pretend to be like them. Instead of actually being himself. I mean he may live a happy life with girls he dupes. But he isn’t honest with himself. I can even tell that. I guess his act is just his way of taking the easy way out.” I realized the irony of her comment as I clinched the aspirin bottle once again.

Before I knew it we arrived at Stewart station I got up. I realized what I slid on when I came over. It was little red plastic monkey, with two hook arms. It looked like it was from one of those barrel of monkeys from when I was a kid.

“Oh how cute,” she said. “ My little sister gave me them for Christmas one year. She said she liked the way that one monkey would always hold on with all his might to keep the other from falling.”

“Thanks,” I said softly. I think she thought I ment the for the bagel.

I gave her the monkey and told her goodbye. I stepped out of the train. I thought about doubling back and getting her number. Instead, I took the aspirin and threw it as hard as I could, and took a bite of the bagel. It was sweet.

Wednesday, October 23, 2002

“Jersey Girl”

There is a good chance that many of my readers (okay maybe 2 of them) have no idea that major movie stars are bouncing around in the tri-state area. Kevin Smith director of such watermark 90’s flicks as Chasing Amy, Clerks and Mall Rats, is currently making his next movie Jersey Girl in our own Garden State.

The movie which wraps production next Wednesday boasts two major Hollywood stars in Ben Affleck and J-Lo, who are apparently now GETTING IT ON! I am not sure if their love blossomed over cheese steaks or not. In addition Kevin Smith favorite Jason Lee, American Pie’s Jason Biggs (recently sighted in a Philly club), George Carlen, Liv Tyler and the fat guy from Dumb and Dumber will appear in the flick, and have been in the area to shoot parts of the film.

Most of the Jersey filming was done in Paulsboro. The town is supposed to be central Jersey though. The movie also has scene that was filmed right in the Berlin diner. The Silver looking one right on the White Horse Pike. Since the movie was to take place in the winter, the tree sitting out side was stripped of its leafs. You can actually still see it if you drive past.

Scenes in Philly are supposed to be NYC, such as the Hard Rock Café, because its obviously cheaper to film there. The people of Paulsboro were so delighted to get some press that, they named a street after Kevin Smith. As of this week there is officially a Kevin Smith Way in the town of Paulsboro.

I’m told people have been cool when people have been asking them for autographs. Sadly its about the biggest thing movie wise to have come here in a long time. This girl that writes for the Daily News became so obsessed with Ben Affleck being around, that she wrote about one time about voice mails that he left her. She also took paper space to tell him where to get soup and cheese steaks.

You will have to wait till fall of 2003 to nudge your friend and say. Hey I know that place! I have no idea what the plot is about. Maybe it is about a girl that comes back from college to work a crappy retail job and make half the garden state fall in love with her. I didn’t see any Puerto Rican cast members in the cast list though. Don’t worry loyal viewers she NEVER reads my blogg, no matter how many times I tell her to. So no harm will come on to thee!


Other movies that I know of filmed in Philly:

Rocky
Fallen
Mannequin
Mannequin 2: On the Move
Philadelphia
Witness (parts of)



Monday, October 21, 2002

You know how sometimes when you tune into a talk show you like, and there is a guest host. This is kinda like that. Im too tired, and busy to write anything today, so I have cut and pasted Ryan's thoughts on modern day life in the suburbs. It was actually a paper he did in 1999 (was it really that long ago?). Its pretty interesting though.

"Suburbia"


“Turn right at the Golden Arches and hang a left at Sal’s Pizza, go down two traffic lights, and that will bring you to Winding Way.” Are those the direction to you house? If not, I’ll bet they’re pretty close. That’s how it is in the suburbs. Middle class suburbia, which I am and always have been a part of, has become in recent years a predictable and patterned society in which almost any town in the US can be moved to another part of the country and fit right in. There are fewer and fewer distinguishing features in these suburban towns that once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. I know we all have grown very accustom to our food markets, fast food restaurants, and video rental stores, but its gotten to the point to where they all seem to be in the same order and the some distance apart from each other.

Suburbs are a product of the city and country. They are a breeding ground for contact zones. Mary Louise Pratt defines contact zones as “social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power, such as colonialism, slavery, or their aftermath as they are lived out in many parts of the world today”(Pratt 530). These zones have become so abundant in suburbia, it is almost as if there are no contact zones but just contact.

Suburbia was a new concept in the early 1950’s. It seemed to be a perfect mix of city and country. The suburbs had the food stores and restaurants of the city without the inconvenience of bumper to bumper traffic to get to them. They had the clear skies and quiet nights of the country, but had not without the occasional carnival or celebration to break the silence. The houses were just far enough apart to where you can have your personal space but close enough to where you would be able to visit your neighbor without having to travel 5 miles. They definitely had the best of both worlds. Now that they have become a world of their own, I’m not sure if those “bests” are even there anymore.

Today, it’s a little different. First, another question. How many times have you gotten lost in a development? People think it is easy to get lost in the sea of cars and buildings that is the city. They also picture getting lost on that never-ending dirt road in the country. These both are true, however, the suburbs are now just as easy to get lost in. Let’s start with where the houses are: developments. The idea behind developments is that all of the houses are designed almost identically. They all look the same! Maple St., Oak St., Washington or Lincoln Blvd., Yale or Harvard Ave., it doesn’t matter.

On the other side of my town, there is a development and I get lost everytime I go in there. It is a maze of split level houses with bushes, basketball nets in the driveway, and American flags hanging outside front doors. If I get lost in my own town, what chance do I have in another one?

Then once you get out of the development, you have to find the thrift store and Marco’s Italian Eatery. Is it two lights past Evesham Ave. or three? Do I go right at the Wawa or stay straight? These are the suburbs of today. They aren’t a bad place to live in, they are just a little monotonous. Sure, there’s a lot to do, but its all pretty much the same.

Another thing that brings out the similarity of suburbia is the seasons. With spring there is gardening. Make sure your daffodils and tulips are in the ground and ready to bloom. Memorial Day comes around and its bar-b-que time. When you really think about it, everyone is doing the same thing. Dad is grilling burgers and dogs while mom is fixing potato salad. The neighbors bring the apple pie.

Summer rolls around and it’s the town swim club for passing those long days away. As August gets under way, it’s time to get to the mall for those back to school sales. Football and soccer tryouts occupy the kids while raking leaves and painting the shed occupies the parents.

Halloween is always nice as long as no one gets lost trick or treating in their own neighborhood. Thanksgiving is a chance where we can visit our relatives in a suburb out of state and not be too impressed.

Now the days are colder and the snow is falling. Santa is at the mall, along with the rest of the civilized world and the kids are making some extra cash shoveling driveways and sledding down the hill behind K-Mart.

It is pretty common knowledge that changing schools is a nerve-racking experience. This is true but to different degrees. If a student from a city comes into a suburb to a new school, the change may be overwhelming at first. But when they come from just another suburb, the transition is much smoother.

In her article “Arts of the Contact Zone,” Pratt discusses two different kinds of cultures. There is the conqueror and there is the conquered. What forms a contact zone is the blending of these two cultures. Languages, traditions, among other customs are given and taken from both sides. Pratt uses a quote from Guaman Poma’s New Chronical and Good Government to give an example of “a conquered subject using the conqueror’s language to construct a parodic, oppositional representation of the conqueror’s own speech.” In essence, this is an example of how a contact zone is created from two cultures, a conqueror and a conquered. The common ground here is language. The Andeans dream of the Spanish bringing them gold and silver from Peru. When they end up brining nothing, the Andeans say something to express their feelings of disappointment in a “parodic” manner.

In this particular case, the result of the contact zone is negative. The Spanish were depicted as a higher power in Puman’s book. The second half, which is called “Good Government and Justice,” “combines a description of colonial society in the Andean region with a passionate denunciation of Spanish exploration and abuse”(Pratt 533). The Andeans were being decimated “at a genocidal rate” (Pratt 533).
In the case of the suburbs, however, it is positive. As time went on, views of suburban life from city and country inhabitants become somewhat negative. The stereotypes began to form. For starters, there are the snobbish, lazy twenty and thirty-somethings living at the mall and coffee shop slash bookstores. Then there’s the high schoolers with their own car (but can’t parallel park since they never have to) who drive to the mall and spend hours walking its floor without making a single purchase and sometimes not even entering a store, are among some of the many. I’ll admit that I am guilty of the latter along with a countless number of my peers. That’s what’s happening in these towns. The mall, bookstores, Taco Bell, and Blockbusters are the things to do.

With the contact zones of the Spanish and Andeans, the Spanish were the dominant culture. It is hard to say which culture is the dominant and which is the conquered when talking about the suburbs. If I had to choose, and I pretty much do, I’d say that the city has had a bigger impact than the country has. Many of a big American city’s qualities can be found in suburbia. Today, there IS bumper to bumper traffic. Ever since that multiplex cinema and new deluxe Shop Rite went up across the street from each other, there’s gridlock pretty much anytime of the day. And as far as roads go, they always need fixing. When one gets fixed, another is shut down. This creates detours, which create more traffic, which creates a mini city, if you will. Because of this, those in the country have similar perceptions of suburbians as the city residents do, but for the opposite reason, since they are on the other end of the spectrum.

Autoethnography, transculturation, critique, collaboration,
Bilingualism, mediation, parody, denunciation, imaginary
Dialogue, vernacular expression-these are some of the literate
arts of the contact zone.(Pratt 536).

Miscomprehension, incomprehension, dead letters, unread
Masterpieces, absolute heterogeneity of meaning-these are
Some of the perils of writing in the contact zone.(Pratt 536).

Pratt said this referring to literature but these terms also fit the way we live in communities. As I said before the suburbs aren’t a bad place to live in, they just have become barren. Not barren in the literal sense, but in the overall feeling they give off. They are all I have ever lived in and don’t mind them at all. I’ll probably continue to live in them as I get older. I’m sure there are many people who live in cities and in the country who will agree that there habitats are all the same. It’s just that the suburbs were the new way. They were the mixture of two extremes. Now they have just become an extreme of their own.




















"Monday Morning Blues"

The alarm goes off. Your feet hit the floor. The most possible time to exist bettween you and your weekend stands in front of you. You are almost getting yourself killed for a parking spot on campus. Perhaps your going to a job you hate. Perhaps your going off to grad school. Most likely your running into traffic of some sort. Listening to your morning show of choice, trying to ease back into the work week.

But lets face it, some times life can just be mundane. Like I have and pretend I care about my customers, or that I am doing work at my internship. You know you will be asked to perform tasks you would rather not do. I know that I would rather just go home, lay down on my bed face down and close my eyes. Lay there in total slience with out a soul around and pretend I don't exist. But there is one thing that will get you through it all. And know its not beer.
IT is simply this.
http://user.tninet.se/~prv247p/hatt/hatten.swf

When Monday blues have gotten you down. Just close your eyes, and think of these people. Think of that man with the black glasses and the beard. Think about how happy they are to be singing the Hat Baby song. Think of the haunting song. Think of the dance. Think of all the fingers pointing at the guys hat. Think of all the floating hands.

Hum the song all day. This will certainly cure the blues.

Friday, October 18, 2002

"Sweet Avril"

Oh my sweet Avril. I saw you rocking on the MTV last night. You were bouncing up in down with your little tie flapping all around. Your wear that black makeup around your eyes ever so seductively.

You belt out those words of yours. Singing and rocking as hard as you can. You make that cute little face, and do that little kick.

I see that smile, your enjoying your moment in the sun. Sticking it to all those kids in school that laughed at you. Making your millions.

But I see a certain sadness in your eyes, but dont worry! Look no farther. I may not make a lot of money, I may not be a cool punk or skater like you. But I will love every square inch of your young body. And your music charged by your passion. You little Canadian all full of spunk.

Sweet, Sweet Avril.

I know you could easily make a fist, and throw a punch and kick my ass. But I don't buy that hard ass girl routine. I know you just need some sweet loving from a blog writing college super senior. Of course you and I can only be together when im a sleep curled up in a little ball.


Sweet Avril, if only you were fat, not rich, and drunk. Perhaps you would be in my league.

Oh Sweet Avril...see you in a few mintues when I drift off to dream land!

Wednesday, October 16, 2002

"Six Theories on the Sniper”


Call him the Suburban Sniper, or the Beltway Killer call him whatever you want. Unless you live under a rock you know what I am talking about. Although one of my readers had no idea that we had a problem with our economy so maybe some of you don’t know what I am referring to. All the major news outlets have been covering this story 24/7. Even if nothing happens for 23 of those hours. So just from hearing co-workers, students and other random people’s view I am going to put some theories here.


Theory # 1
The killers are a high school couple sort of like Natural Born Killers the early years. There is a video game out that once your done the level the phrase “ I am God” appears. The same phrase left on a tarot card at a crime scene. So perhaps they got their training from hours and hours of playing video games. Since, I don’t play video games I don’t know the title of this one. I just know the basic premise is to try to kill people with a bullet. I know Duke always has games where you just randomly kill people.

Why it’s unlikely

I can not imagine that a high school student would be so accurate. Especially they last one, had to have been done by a skilled marks men. This theory is pretty much dead in the water, although the video game part is intriguing.



Theory # 2
Vietnam vets would tell you, that when a hitman took someone out a tarot death card was placed. This would make sense because snipers of that time were some of the best that ever lived. Just ask Martin Riggs. A free beer will be given to the first person to e-mail me who Martin Riggs was.


Why It is unlikely:

There is a good chance the card was planted by some random person for kicks and giggles. Plus, it only happened once.


Theory # 3
A disgruntled ex-cop. They only reason that this theory exists is again because of how accurate the shootings have been. The only reason that I think it wouldn’t be, is because I think they would have been able to figure out who the hell it was by now. The person obviously lives in the area.


Theory # 4

The shootings are Al-Quida related. A person who claims to have seen the shooter (Monday Night) claims that he had “Olive colored” skin. Quite a few of the shootings took place at gas stations. Supposedly the new post Bin Laden ( I happen to agree with the theory he was blown to bits last December) Al-Quida would like to go after the economy. Surely, people being afraid to leave their house would result in less spending. Making Americans feel unsafe, every minute of the day seems like something the good old Al-Quida would do.

Why it is unlikely:

I am honestly starting to think this one might the closest to the truth. However, I would think that other cells would get in on this in order to raise more hell all over the country. I mean supposedly, there are cells all over. But if this guys name is Bukeerahek-em Muhamand- Abul I would not at all be surprised.


Theory # 5

There are two sets of killers. They are in a competition based on the video game, or at least similar to the video game. That would explain why people have claimed to see different vehicles leaving the scene of the crime. I would imagine each shooter would have a driver too. Maybe they get extra points for killing a kid.


Thoery # 6

Dan K. Hemphill has gotten fed up with all the “Sheep” and has decided its his job to thin the heard. Thin the herd of those who pretend to have fun. Thin the herd of those who stand in line in front of him at Wawa whose mere mannerisms cause him annoyance. Thin the herd of people who still use the VCRs. Thin the heard of the flock people who conform to the norm. Live by obligations. Those who go to the funeral of their girlfriend’s dead grandmother. Those who still have analog cable.
Think about it. When was the last time any of my readers saw the man? Did he even really move to MainStreet? His mother used to use tarot cards, and on many occasions he spoke about his disgust for humanity.


Why it is unlikely:
Dan K would never put that kind of mileage on his car. Also his eye sight’s about as good a 75 year old man.


As I type it the local police led by a Forrest Whitaker look alike, have instructed scared citizens to zigzag their way around. This way the sniper can’t take you out. You may look like a total ass walking down the street like a drunk, but I guess you would be a harder target. Also, I am still waiting for the liberals to say that pulling people over in white vans is profiling, and in violation of people’s civil rights. Wonder if he will strike tonight.

Monday, October 14, 2002



“The Unhappy Meal”

I am pretty sure that McDonald’s is using subliminal messages in their latest commercials. As many of my readers know I’m currently interning in Pennsauken. Luckily, there are many food options for me during my lunch break. I usually go to this “grease truck” called Jimmies, where you can get a lot of good food for cheap prices. Burgers, cheese steaks, wings, spicy sausage sandwiches, etc. you name it!

Anyway last week I week, when I woke up all I could think of was McDonalds. The minute I woke up, I thought of that little burger with the odd tasting pickle, and strange blend of cheap cheese and warm ketchup. Well it was raining, which made me write off Jimmies entirely. Despite the fact that their burgers are pretty good. I had golden arches dancing in head all morning.

While I waited in the line, I decided to up the anti and go with the classic Big Mac. Yep Keith…eer uh. Tucker was having a Big Mac Attack! I placed my order, and got it the # 1 and got the big size. MMMM can’t wait to eat it! I remember when my parents took me there as a kid, how great it tasted. I wanted to experience that flavor again.

Sadly, the Big Mac was given to me before I got my change from my 20. Never a good sign if you want a fresh burger. I mean I know its fast food and all, but. I sat down in solitude (my imaginary girl friend is pissed at me and didn’t meet me for lunch this time). Apparently, Big Macs have dwarfed in size since the last time I ordered one. I think they tried to put an abundance of lettuce in order to make up for the lack of meat. I took a bite, and it was lame. No taste at all, and the fries were even blander. I sat there thinking. I knew I hated McDonalds, so why the hell did I come here? I never enjoy my meals here. The MC tasty is okay, but I am not even sure they make them anymore. I recall vowing never to go back there again several times. Why did I think about how good it would be all day? Did they use some sort of mind control on me? I mean my desire for their food was pretty intense.

Speaking of intense, later that night while I was watching the Simpsons I felt a horrible feeling in my stomach. Despite the fact that I had not seen that particular episode in awhile I could not hold out any longer. I had to crap bad. I think the discharge that shot out that night could have been clocked faster than a Al Maclinnis slap shot. Not once, or twice, but three times in the matter of an hour I filled the toilet. The kind of crap that makes the entire toilet water look like thick chocolate pudding. It was something out of Dumb and Dumber I tell you. Sound effects and all, it was night a pretty sight, sound or aroma my friends. I am not sure that their meat is still made from cows. I am leaning towards kangaroo or pigeon. Regardless it did not stay in my body long.

I am not a scientist, so I can’t say for sure that the Big Mac was the cause of it all. It all fairness it was 6 hours after the fact, but its all I had all day long. So I will make them the scape goat, for first suckering me in again to eat bad food. Secondly, making me miss two simpsons I had not seen in a long time. So if you see Ronald McDonald in your travels this week fellow readers, kick him in the balls for me. When he is crying for mercy on the cold hard ground before you kick his ribs in, ask him where the Frig do you go to sign up for the Flyers Power Play Payoff.


Quick thoughts:
Apperently I missed a hell of a 3rd period Saturday night. And if you want to check out the coffin Dan K. has picked out for his ultimate demise. Go here.
http://w3.one.net/~spungy/wallpaper/arscasket.jpg
Last I heard he was touring Maryland, and Virginia gas stations.
Also I think last Night's Curb Your Enthusiasm( usually really funny) will likely be a topic of Monday morning conversation. The show made light of terroristic attacks and came off as pretty tasteless.

Wednesday, October 09, 2002

"New Age Hockey"

The new look NHL arrived earlier tonight. The game is new and improved!
The down time should be less, because players will have just 5 seconds to take the face-off. This doesn’t allow teams to have time to decide what lines to put on the ice. In days of old teams would take about 40 seconds trying to match up lines. A method made famous by Roger Neilson.

In addition, the obstruction will supposedly be cracked down on again. I know we have heard this one before, but this time the are policing the referees. If they don’t call the clutching and grabbing which make the defensive trap possible, than they might be sent to officiate AHL games. I guess this mean that we will only hear a lot less Bon Jovi than we did last season.

Of course, the stupid net is there too. What how the announcers try to tell you how great it is. In addition, how necessary it is despite the fact that fans are already complaining. Last I checked Gary Thorne was not shelling out 80 bucks or more for front row seats.

My favorite change is the one that regards the All-Star game. They deiced to go back to East vs West. Hopefully this an early hint that the days of playing in the Olympics are over. Hopefully the game will open up and scoring will be up.


At the same time Theo Flurey is still a drunk (why the hell did the black hawks make him a replacement for tony Amonte?). Mark Messier is still playing. I guess the more things change…..

Tuesday, October 08, 2002

"Crash,Crash,Crash"


Gonna, work on this brochure for my class at school. Wait, the computer is running really slow….here comes an hour glass. Surely it will go away soon. Nah. The buttons they do nothing .There goes the whole network!! I can’t get anything done. I thought maybe I could get this project done today.

No way, cause Keith’s computer is going to crash, crash, crash


At the internship;, time to do some work for the good old Food Bank of South Jersey. Let us see here, just load up the program. Sorry the computer is performing an illegal operation. None of the programs are going to open at all. Nothing to do again. Maybe this guy will help. Nope he just stares blankly at the computer and pretends he knows what he is doing.. Everyone thinks they are a freaking tech all of the sudden. Wait, I think we figured it out. Nope.

No way, cause Keith’s computer is going to crash, crash, crash.


Time to sign on the Internet for a little leisure time. Wait it won’t let me on something about the modem. Time to go on and update Tucker’s world though…nah, the hour glass is back. Can't update the blog cause…


Keith’s computer is going to crash, crash, crash.

Sunday, October 06, 2002

"The Trouble with Roman"


Flyers backup goalie Roman Cechmanek almost got his head taken off during warm-ups last spring before the final game. His teammates didn't appreciate him pulling himself out of the previous game and skating to the center ice yelling at them in a foreign language. Cechmanek was tired of his team letting up break away after break away up. The next game Brian Boucher played, but the Flyers were ousted from the post season anyway.


Flash forward to a few months later, and Boucher has been traded, and Cechmanek is our number one goalie. The only problem is he didn't really iron out anything with the players who were irate with him. He showed up to camp late, and has had little or no focus. He has been lit up in the preseason and had a major problem with rebounds. His focus has been so bad people already are wondering if we traded the wrong goalie. Boucher is several years younger, and always had a better attitude.

Back up Robert Esche seems like he wouldn't mind taking the number one job over. Its a long season, and he is likely to get his shot. But from what I hear he is mediocre at best. This means the season will end in a debate about which one of the Flyers goalies suck the least. Here we go again..sigh......


"“Hypocrisy: The Lost Thought”


I got distracted while writing my last post, and forgot to bring up a good point. Al Gore also has been criticizing Bush for the threat of war on Iraq. This from a man who had no problem with letting American troops go to Bosnia for no good reason. Not only that they were sent in totally unprepared, and accomplished nothing. I haven't met a person who could even justify why we sent troops there in the first place, but the objective certainly wasn't met. But those events were cheerfully swept under the rug during the happy go lucky 90's. I none of my readers out there are suffering from a case of the Mondays!


Friday, October 04, 2002



In order to graduate in December I have to submit a form to the offices at Rowan University by October 14th. Perhaps when the deadline passes I will just innocently shrug my shoulders and tell them New Jersey deadlines are meaningless. I doubt this will go to well.

“Hypocrisy”


For years since I started paying attention to the political world all republicans have been described as liars and only look out for the rich. There have been many examples to lead you to believe that people who think this are simply hypocrites.


One such example is in the garden state (soon to be renamed the Comcast Sate) with Torricelli backing out. The main reason for him dropping out of the race was that the Democratic Party could simply not get away with lying anymore. If he had not slipped in the polls, you can bet your right testicle his cronies would have had no problem with letting an openly corrupt man represent New Jersey. When they realized the race seemed over they put pressure on him to resign. Now even though the deadline has passed to submit your candidate it was ruled by the state yesterday that it was cool if they put up another candidate. The democrats are going to foot the bill for the new ballots, but what about all the Republican’s now useless literature with Torricelli’s name on it?

I guess its’ cool the race will be more interesting now( if the US courts allow it) , but is that a reason to over throw the law? Just because it would really suck to see a man run against someone who is not running. The democrats could have just been a real pain in the ass, and said write in the vote for our new candidate. This would most likely disgruntle poll workers, and turn into a disaster. Maybe they should just vote for none of the above, like Richard Pryor instructed in “Brewster’s’ Millions”

Most the people who moaned about the Florida debacle in the 2000 year are unlikely to tell you that the panel was mainly democrats, and two of them contributed to the “Torch’s” campaign. These same people think the Dubbya’s brother rigged the voting machines. This would have been a brilliant idea but it would have required a time machine. The machines were done in the same confusing fashion long before the 2000 election, but that’s another story.

Torricelli is a democrat so is supposed to be a people person right ? (Not to be confused with the Philadelphia Daily News: The People Paper) Well instead of apologizing to the people of New Jersey for being corrupt he told us several times how great he was and how many things he accomplished. Save it for the book “Torch”. I only hope the investigations continue.

Meanwhile in a speech not too far away, former vice president Al Gore spoke his mind. Gore’s tirade about Bush knowing about 9/11 is about as fresh as the latest Mathew Perry vehicle. Apparently, Gore thinks since Bush who was an owner of a baseball team and governor of Texas at the time should have acted on Bin Laden. Who ever was vice president during a time period when most the red flags were flown certainly should not have to do anything. Bush was in office for 6 months when America was attacked. No one ever mentions that. Or since Clinton thought that Americans were at such a risk, why he didn’t use one of his million dollar speeches to open everyone’s eyes about the looming threat. I look forward to Gore actually saying something new. I would like to know where the lock box is 2 years later. I m not saying Bush didn’t drop the ball he did.

I admit when republicans make gaffs like I did on here before. I do not even consider myself a republican. I certainly would not want to be a hypocrite. I know there is a great deal going on out there that I am ignorant to. I hate how when republicans over turn a law it is abuse of power, and when democrats do this (how is this not looking out for their own personal interests?) it’s a bunch of honest to goodness fellows fighting for the justice for all.

Wednesday, October 02, 2002

“Radio Head”


For those of you that don’t know nor care about Torricelli ( go to http://terminusblog.blogspot.com/ for additional comments) or like one person the Courier-Post interviewed in the after math of Tuesday’s events this blogs for you.

As I was driving to my internship this morning I heard some of the best talk radio I have heard in years. Tuned to the Y-100 morning show with Preston and Steve I heard a cute and sexy voice for their guest. I was surprised when I realized it wasn’t some Hollywood bimbo pitching a new movie. I was even more surprised when I heard the woman openly talk about what she did for a living.

The girl talked about how she would blow anyone for 20 bucks. So I’m not sure that this makes her a hooker technically, but obviously this is not legal. She hangs out in chat rooms for men to seek her out and makes a descent living. She services anyone that wants it. 20 bucks is all she charges.

She said she got into the business not for the money, but for the pure love of going down on a man. It is her passion and what she wants to do with her life. I am not sure what her guidance counselor had to say about this, but I bet when she left his office he had a smile on his face. Preston asked how many she has done in one night and she told him 20. She has to take 15 minute breaks, and downs lots of beer to make …the…er…. discharge go down smoother.

This interview went on for a good 20 minutes or so non-stop. She told about how she is does get checked for STDS a few times a year. She also spoke passionately how dedicated she is to give the best performance possible. Some of her clients are simply husbands’ whose wives no longer have any interest in that form of pleasure. Lots of them have girlfriends, but she doesn’t care. One time she got punched in the back of the head and almost thrown out of a car. She doesn’t care about meeting random people off the internet, because it is all about her work. She loves it.

One time she was having intercourse with her boyfriend (she is single now) in the middle of the Sea Side Heights boardwalk and got caught by a cop. She offered her services to the police officer in order to get them out of trouble. The cop declined, but let them go. What a good sport.

In the day in of over payed baseball players, and movie stars making crappy movies for millions of dollars it is uplifting to hear a story like this. A mere 20 bucks to make someone’s day, or even month. She spoke with such passion about her job that it made me wish I could find something I cared about that deeply. She even inspired a woman to call up and inquire about being her assistant. What an amazing and special indivual excuse me….I have…..something in my eye……..

Tuesday, October 01, 2002

"Torricelli Peaces Out !"

In a surprise move yesterday Robert Torricelli decided he would drop out of the Senate race. For those of you who don't read newspapers or are not currently in South Jersey (like Price who apparently has been an avid reader of Tucker's world) Torricelli got himself in a pickle.

He accepted money, suits, jewlery for his girlfriend and other presents from a Mr. Chang (what the heck is first name?) a wealthy businessmen and political operator. Common sense would say these gifts would result in political favors from the “The Torch”. But if you ask Torricelli about the gifts he will say, “what gifts??” and innocently shrug his shoulders. If he were innocent, why would he resign? Not to mention its in volition of the Sentate rules.

In the last few weeks, Torricelli has fallen behind republican candidate Douglas Forrester. Despite this many loyal democrats said they would vote for him not matter why to regain control of the house. The same democrats who accuse Republicans of always just looking out for their rich friends (little known fact the 2000 Census defined rich as anyone that makes as much or more than Dan K. Hemphill. It is true look it up!) The same democrats who call for campaign finance reform. The same people that are also witch hunting this type of corruption. The same liberals who want to see a two party system were willing to cast their vote just for someone who will look after their interests, no matter at what cost. The hypocrisy amazes me.

I’m not saying what Torricelli has done is the worst thing ever in the history of politics. I am not dumb enough to think it doesn’t happen more often than we hear about it. However, he was caught red handed and Mr. Chang now rots in jail. It would have been a disgrace to let the man win office (the blinded state of New Jersey likely would) with his dirty laundry out in the open. He even tried to fight a memo from being released to the public. A memo that put the final nail in his coffin. It would send a message, not only don’t we care if you break the rules, but we don’t care if we read about it in the paper everyday. Of course, this is important because it will likely swing the house in the republican favor, so I guess I can see why they are mad. In his press conference, he lied about what happened. Since his career’s over I would have liked to see him come clean He said he was sorry to Clinton. Clinton could have easily gotten away with this one.

Now the problem gets even messier. The law states that the democrats are way past their deadline to submit a new candidate for this election. It is a strange condition to a certain extent, but it is a law. The democrats will fight to over turn the law. Not to mention the fact that many people over seas from the Garden State have already voted via absentee ballets. They have already accused the Republicans over being vicious for bring up the law. Although, anyone who with a brain would have brought up this law. I might not even vote, cause I know nothing about the Republican candidate. If I don’t learn anything, than I won’t vote. I certainly don’t care what letter is next to a canidate’s name.If he was doing something illegal its not worth me missing Home Improvement reruns to wait in line and vote. Some people on the other hand will vote for anyone with a certain letter next to their name. Whether that candidate is Mickey Mouse or Negative Mickey Mouse.