Who robs banks? Seriously? I had no idea that robbing banks was so common, and thus so easy, these days. Hmmm. Check out my new favorite site on the Interwebs:

This website is devoted to the identification and apprehension of bank robbers (a.k.a. bank bandits) in the Southern California territory, which specifically covers the following seven counties: 1) Los Angeles 2) Orange 3) Riverside 4) San Bernardino 5) San Luis Obispo 6) Santa Barbara and 7) Ventura. The region we cover is typically referred to as the “Bank Robbery Capital of the World” – a title we would love to lose.

LA Bank Robbers

This guy on Flickr is all about representin’ my hood Valley Village. He’s FOR REALZ!!

Wow. I really liked Kung Fu Panda, and came out of the movie saying “skadoosh” every five seconds. I thought it was just me, it felt like an obscure takeaway that really was not a “catch phrase” or anything. I mean it was only used in the movie once. One time! That’s no way to coin a hip term.

But, I guess it resonated with more people than just me. Sometimes, something can enter the public consciousness that’s not the result of a deliberate marketing campaign. (Shocker!) And, that’s a bummer.  I can’t use skadoosh! mysteriously anymore. Everybody knows!

Skadoosh!is featured in The Boston Globe and then followed up in Language Log of all places.

Having just waited 78 minutes this week for a bus that rolls every 30 minutes — the target bus and the one after it were driving together! — I can only hope these supa-vizors are really crack aces:

Metro to hire 10 more supervisors in response to L.A.’s poor on-time bus rating – Los Angeles Times

I’ve never heard of the site MAPlight.org until today (via Slashdot). “Money and Politics. Illuminating the connection,” is their tagline. This is the report they issued which got the attention.  Apparently your average representitive will sell out the constitution for a mere $4,000. That seems a paltry sum, so something is weird here. Is it really so cheap? This seems to just be the top of a smelly iceberg.  Here’s an excerpt from the report:

Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint gave PAC contributions averaging:

• $8,359 to each Democrat who changed their position to support immunity for Telcos (94 Dems)
• $4,987 to each Democrat who remained opposed to immunity for Telcos (116 Dems)

88 percent of the Dems who changed to supporting immunity (83 Dems of the 94) received PAC contributions from Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint during the last three years (Jan. 2005-Mar. 2008). See [the report] for list of these 94 Dems.

SPOTLIGHT: Telco PACs Gave $8K to Dems Who Changed Their Vote on FISA Bill | MAPLight.org

 

 

Confidence: Low

Agitation: High

Ability to focus: Low

Wisdom: Med

Productivity: Low

Anger: Low

So why not dump some five random links from today:

Michel Gondry Wants You To Watch These 25 Videos

Get 101 Photoshop Tips in Five Minutes

Fantasy Baseball Owner Rips Team in Media

Atom Films Relaunches as Atom.com

Attempt at Escalator Spinning Fails Miserably

Sorry about the sucking. I hate it too.

This force of nature enjoyed some astounding early success from their unique talent that thrust them into the brightest of spotlights. They quickly developed a rabid and devoted fan base that believed they’d do great things for years to come.  Their early success also resulted in a lot of irrational and bitter opposition from those offended by success and threatened by new ways of thinking.  Then, spurred by the impatient culture around them — perhaps it was the mix of driven confidence and the egotistical desire to show up their critics that’s shared by most of the strong personalities that shape our world — they got ambitious and shot for the ultimate prize in just their second big project.  In this Icarian attempt, they flashed youthful and undeniable brilliance, but ultimately they lacked a sound fundamental core that only time and experience can develop. They fell just short of their goal in heartbreaking fashion.

Now, I’m desperately and selfishly hoping that they didn’t peak too early, and that this attempt doesn’t ruin their promising career past this year, because that would rob me and the rest of the world of the potential enjoyment and fulfillment to come.

In this way, Panic At the Disco are the Barack Obama of Rock.

In reading about another brutal rape of the Constitution today, I came across a quote that summed up my feelings on the other violation of our most cherished human rights. My man TJ said it better than I could (via Salon):

In 1799, Thomas Jefferson echoed that: “Free government is founded in jealousy, not confidence . . . . Let no more be heard of confidence in men, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitutions.” [Salon continues] Between (a) relying on the limitations imposed by the Constitution or (b) placing faith in the promises of a political leader not to abuse his unchecked power, it isn’t really a difficult choice — at least it ought not to be, no matter who the political leader in question happens to be.

Obama’s support for the FISA “compromise” – Glenn Greenwald – Salon.com

Domain name: kobetellmehowmyasstaste.com
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Damn!

I remember playing this game as a kid. It was so fun — for some reason I am really craving it right now. Is it weird to crave a non-gambling card game? The Wikipedia says it was only in print for a couple years.  It’s not on ebay. Oh well.

Raise the Roof | BoardGameGeek