Chez Pazienza, Fired From CNN for Blogging

Chez Pazienza was an accomplished producer for CNN with many years in the television industry. In 2006, he began blogging under his own name. To his surprise, the CNN "internal affairs" folks dug up his name and HR canned him. This is a couple days old, but if you haven't read his article at the Huffington Post, you need to read it. Now.

Too many times in today's economy, people are simply fired for convenience and the words that come out of HR's mouth could be just about anything, whether they made it up or keep it in a book they keep in a vault. Having worked in the television industry alongside producers like Chez, having a father from the same background, I can honestly say I feel for him; it's a barbaric business, as savage as the African savannas, and as devious as Dick Cheney and Carl Rove.

CNN fired me, and did it without even a thought to the power that I might wield as an average person with a brain, a computer, and an audience. The mainstream media doesn't believe that new media can embarrass them, hurt them or generally hold them accountable in any way, and they've never been more wrong.

I wish him luck.

March 19th Iraq War Blogswarm

It kind of speaks for itself. On March 19th, it's been 5 years since we illegally invaded Iraq. Over a million bodies have piled up because of this single action. Tune in on March 19th here at Cause for Concern and visit the official March 19th Iraq War Blogswarm Blog to see the other posts on this historic, sad day. Reminder is in the column on the left. We've also got everyone at All Things Democrat on board and will be posting there about it too. This is going to be big. Check the Blogswarm Blog link above to see the other folks involved.

As of this posting, over 150 blogs are part of this wondrousness, and 3,973 American troops have died because of our part in Iraq.

Death and Taxes ...and, mmm Beer

I started this post as a basic Tavern Tax thing, but realized quickly that I've got a couple more updates to make thanks to my "Read it Later" thing.

Tavern Tax

What goes better together than taxes and alcohol? Nothing, really; Mrs. Shambles and I kill two bottles every year prepping our taxes.

And now you can go to the pub. And get your taxes done. No, I'm not joking.

TavernTax.com is currently arranging events at local taverns, but so far it looks pretty local to NJ, oddly enough.

Spray the Riders

I saw this on Reuters the other day:

Indonesian commuters riding on the roofs of trains will be sprayed with colored liquid so that security officers can identify and arrest them, a report said Saturday.

Good job, Indonesia! Your inadequate public transportation has caused a problem and instead of trying to remedy the problem by expanding said public transportation system, you're going to visibly criminalize people who are risking their very lives to get to work every day.

I hope your economy poops on you.

Imagining the 10th Dimension

Rob Bryanton is friggin' hot, and I don't mean in the sexy way that makes me look at men with a wink and a nod.

Imagining the 10th Dimension is a book written by said hot author, but also a completely accessible site that will walk you through the mental exercises you may need to see what String Theory is talking about with multiple dimensions.

This is violently mind-expanding and probably needs several hits; honestly, after being through it twice (and after reading A Brief History of Time and The Universe in a Nutshell), I'm still struggling. Brilliant. Must-read.

In Brief: Jim Ogonowski

Jim Ogonowski is running for congress on the Repub ticket, running to "retire John Kerry," running to end wasteful spending, blah blah [insert typical Republican bullshit here].



Quick note to Jim:

Hey. You. Yes, you. Fat Shatner. I hope you lose.

The Whitest Kids U Know: Totally Gay for America

I don't know if you've seen The Whitest Kids U Know on IFC, but it's the funniest sketch comedy I've seen since The Kids in the Hall. This is called "The America Song."

Name 'n' Date: Jimmy 1972

Yay! Something New!

It's not complicated, but it is fun. Here's the setup: I go to Google Image Search, enter a first name and a date and pick the image I like the best. Boosh! The image only has to be the end result of the search, too; it may be an image on a page that came from the GIS. Let's get it on.

Jimmy 1972



What do I like about this image? The boy who is a total douche, obviously primped by Mom; the girl who looks not only confident, but mildly evil; the baby who is almost an afterthought in the picture. In this case, the baby's name was Jim.

And what fun would it be if there was no macro?



And what fun would it be if there was no Photoshop?



Yes, she's still evil.

Pope: Everyone Has an Inborn Need for God

From the Vatican Information Service:

Turning then to consider the Gospel account of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar, Benedict XVI highlighted how at a certain point the woman asked Jesus for water, "thus showing how everyone has an inborn need of God and of the salvation that only He can achieve".

Yes, and Billy Budd was a Christ-like character. This is what we refer to as literary analysis and symbolic representation and is the trunk of the tree of the Catholic bureaucracy.

Does every person have an inborn need for God? I don't think so. I do believe that deeply embedded in our psyches is a natural inclination to ask "Why?" and to look for answers to the big questions in the world and/or the universe. For some people, stopping asking that question is something they're comfortable with when they find God. Others keep asking.

But in the same article, something a little more creepy to fit with Benedict's personage:

"In how many circumstances, rather than meekly conforming ourselves to divine will, would we like God to accomplish all our designs and fulfil [sic] all our expectations. In how many occasions does our faith appear fragile, our trust weak, our religiosity contaminated by magical elements of merely earthly origin?"

Ah, yes. Blessed are the Ori.

i.e., "Fit in my fucking power structure mold or I will eat your soul!"

Jesus wept.