Happy Halloween !

Hope you're enjoying the Halloween Saturday. I had to work, then make a beeline to the Stop & Shop, where I saw about ten Dad's, all buying candy bars for the kids. Apparently, some didn't stock up enough. I never had that problem - Ben and I would buy three bags, and have 2 1/2 bags left over to munch on afterwards...

For those oldtimers to SC6, you might remember my pumpkins series two years ago. Well, I thought I'd rehash a few funny pics from then for you. Enjoy !!

SC6 Picture of the Day..

A beautiful Fall sunset on the beach .... This pretty much concludes our series on Captree and Robert Moses. Looks I need to get out of the house with the camera again !

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Good News In Case Maria Belen Chapur Becomes a Lesbian Over Mark...

No, This Is NOT The New Flag of Argentina ... Yet.

True story just over the wire today ..... The Argentinian government is considering making Gay Marriages legal. They've been a very friendly gay country for some time. From what I've read, it's a cool place to go on vacation. Normally, I'd pass on this story to avoid the whole Gay Marriage debate - we've already covered this a while back - but when I heard it was Argentina, I could help it....

Hey, I didn't crack a single joke all Summer about this... I'm entitled. Hey, you never know about Maria. How many times have you seen a girl get dumped by a guy, then do some experimenting? It happened on Seinfeld, didn't it?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ild8w0rHQU

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Picture of the Day..

Sorry I've been away for a few days. Work and the World Series have taken up all of my time this week. This is the beach at Field 2 at Robert Moses.... It looks in pretty good shape. It's by far the widest beach of the 4 fields at RM, which is why all the kids hang there - and why there was always so much trouble going on.

I started working here in the Summer of 1986. In just over a month, we had a guy shoot his girlfriend, a bodysurfer break his neck, an 800 pound sea turtle wash up (he got attacked by a shark), and the pelvic bone of an 8 year old girl who drowned at Jones Beach 15 miles away float onshore.... Yeah, it was pretty busy. After that Summer, I begged them to send me somewhere else....

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Citadel Cadets Blow Off Steam This Weekend..

I read an article in the Post and Courier today, where some cadets at The Citadel got a bit rowdy this weekend - or maybe rowdy is an understatement. One group caused soem problems on Vendue Range - where bad behavior is not tolerated. The second incident occurred on campus, where a riot ensued at Watts Barracks, after a cadet was punched in the face when he got a bit belligerent.

For this, we can only assume one thing ......... Mitch Baroody is still causing trouble down in Chucktown ! Here's the link to the article...

www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/oct/27/arrest-of-cadet-sparks-disturbance/

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SC Legislators Stick to Business - Thank God

The news seems to be coming out faster than I can type it today... The Senate and House met today in Columbia, as promised, and although an attempted sidetrack occured, they stayed on course - for once - and passed an incentive package for Boeing to build an assembly line for it's 787 Dreamliner airplane.

Today was one of those rare occasions where Twitter and Facebook were nice tools as events unfolded. Thanks to Eric Bedingfield, Nikki Haley and Hugh Leatherman for updating those of us outside of the Vista today. According to Leatherman, the additions will give South Carolina another $750 million in capital investment and add 3800 jobs over the next seven years. The incentive package required a change to the state constitution to give $170 million in incentives to Boeing, and that required a 2/3 vote to approve by the Legislature, hence, today's special session. Nothing is official, of course. South Carolina is one of two finalists, the other being Washington State - home of Boeing, and site of a 787 Dreamliner assembly line already.

Still, some tried to jerk the steering wheel on today's proceedings, but Speaker Bobby Harrell ruled it out of order. Of course, if business gets done ahead of time, they could always try again. Patience guys .... Next January will be here before you know it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIshbtQ6LqA&feature=related

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The Real Reason the Obama's Won't Come to SC

Credible Threat, Indeed ......

Seeing is believing, folks... We got this Top Secret photo from a buddy of ours in the Secret Service. Apparently, the whole brouhaha about the President and Mrs. Obama not wanting to come to South Carolina was justified paranoia..




According to my buddy, who shall remain a figment of my imagination, Air Force One took a low-fly over the Palmetto State during a recent trip to Florida, so that Mrs. Obama could see the area where her family came from - and you see what happened to the plane! Jim Clyburn was right after all.......



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How to Bag Your Own Cougar ....

Tread Lightly When You're In the Jungle, Fellas !!

You gotta love Bobby.... True, he is as indecisive politically as anyone you'll ever meet, and he hates every team that I like..... But, the man can find some kooky websites. Today, he texted me (thanks for the .25 charge, buddy) a new one - Cougar Life !!!

It's pretty much the same as eHarmony, True or Match.com, except for one tidbit ...... The spot where you put the age parameters doesn't go below 35 !!!! The pictures are pretty funny too. Half of the women are kinda naked, although you don't see anything. For a single guy in his early 40's looking for some new action, this could be a Godsend...

I know, I know. I already have about 15 female friends around that age that live nearby now. Why not hook up with one of them? Well, most of them are married or dating someone. secondly, and most importantly - you NEVER go Cougar Hunting near your own den! But you probably know that already. If your name is Earl Capps, or anyone else for that matter, this should give you a good laugh,and it's free - but they do make you put a picture on the site. Happy Cougaring ......

www.cougarlife.com

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Oyga Boyga ??

The Daily Show had a good segment about the Catholic-Anglican tiff this week on last night's show. Of course, they included a couple other religions as well. Here's the clip.....

www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-october-26-2009/ecce-no-homo

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Sorry Buddy, It's Not REALLY, REALLY Bad Where You Live ...

Whether You Get an Extension On Unemployment May Depend On Where You Live ......

Here at SC6 , we have a little bit of a soft heart sometimes, but we always believe in fairness. Things should always be distributed equally, and similar rules should apply for everyone, regardless of race, color, gender - or in this case, what state you live in. That's why we're a little peeved at a piece of legislation making it's way through the Senate right now.

Let's talk about HR 3548 or the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009. It sounds just like it's name. Congress wants to extend insurance for those who have run out of their standard unemployment by 13 weeks. hey, I've been out of work plenty of times, and I understand that for some of us, it takes longer for your skill job to open up. But there is one small glitch in this bill that has us crying foul....

You see, the bill extends those benefits only in states where the unemployment rate is 8.5% or higher. Apparently, you're only worthy of benefit extensions if you and your neighbor are both out of jobs. That way, it's not your fault you're unemployed - but if you live in a state where not everyone worked for GM, it IS your fault.

Why 8.5%? I have no idea, although that is where about half of the states are currently at or higher. But it does make for some interesting situations. Lets say you work for company in New York City, but you commute from Connecticut, and you got laid off. The Nutmeg State's rate of unemployment is currently - AWWWWW !! - 8.4%. So close, but not quite in the cup. meanwhile, if you worked for the same company, but you live live in New York, you would get an extension, because the rate there is 8.9%. Congrats, New Yorker - enjoy those extra 13 weeks off.... If you live in the Dakotas, where apparently the recession never hit, you're SOL, becuase with only 4.2% out of work, you should have found that job in animal husbandry in Pierre by now...

Are we against extending benefits totally. Not necessarily. But, if you are going to extend them, do not discriminate based on their geographic location. I don't live there, but it's pretty obvious that this bill is biased against the Plains and Midwestern states. Maybe they'll get their act together, and start firing some people too.....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqHkuHy39eA

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SC6 - Picture of the Day

No, It's Not a Jack in the Box .......

I lied. Actually, we're going to do pictures of the day today. Why? Because they're mostly landscape pictures. This is the famous Par 3 course at Robert Moses. Just go to Field 2, drive to the far right corner of the parking lot - walk about 100 yards down the path, pay the $4 toll to the Cigar Store Indian greeting you at the gate, answer ye the questions three, and on the other side ye shall be !

What special distinction does the Golf Course have? It was the only part of Robert Moses that I never worked at! They knew better. I was here on my days off all the time. It was also the pace that I became a legend......Let's go back in time.

Summer, 1990. The 100 yard Number 1 at RM. I stop by on break, watching the old people suck, and I tell Debi Decatur that I could spank these guys. She calls me on the challenge. Since there were no waiters, I calmly grabbed the 9-iron with 'RM' stamped in whiteout, and walk to the tee. My drive was straight and true, hitting the green at about 90 yards, where it smoothly rolled right into the cup. Hole in one on a dare, baby!! I handed her back the club - her mouth agape - and jumped back into the truck. Then I sped off, yelling 'Holy Shit!!' for about 15 minutes......







For a Par-3, it actually is a fabulous course. It's just like the British Open courses, with the tall grass and beach sand just off the fairways, and you can hear the ocean churning the entire time. This is the 18th Green, but the best hole is Number 13, 1 130 yard Par-4 with a dogleg right. All the manly men like to try and drop the tee shot over the trees and directly onto the green. But, every year, the trees get taller, and the shot gets tougher.




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Michelle Obama Hula-Hooping It ..

The Audacity of Hoop .......

I stole that line from the Washington Post. Here's a pic of the First Lady hula-hooping with some local kids on the South Lawn of the White House. Apparently, she's done it before, because she hooped it 142 times around before it finally dropped off her hippy figure. I just want to know who was the poor schmuck who actually counted how many times it went around...... And people say I have no life !

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Metallica Assists In Helping Find Lost Fan .

Band Offers $50,000 Reward For Help In Finding Missing Va. Tech Student ......

Normally, I don't post things like this, but there's always a chance that one of you guys might be able to help in this case, so I thought I'd try... Metallica has added a $50,000 bonus to a reward pool being raised by the family of a Virginia Tech student who was last seen at one of the band's concerts recently....

20 year old Morgan Harrington was last seen at the band's October 17th show in Charlottesville, Virginia. She is a student at Virginia Tech, and she was last seen wearing a black Pantera shirt, black skirt and black boots. No, it's not a lot to go on, but it helps. Her family has already raised $100,000 on it's own, so Metallica's donation raises the total to $150,000 for any assistance in locating her.

Why do I have this on my blog? Well, the drive from Blacksburg to Charlottesville is probably close to two hours, so there is a wide swath of where she could be. Also, and more importanly, Metallica had a show in Charlotte the day after that, so there is a chance that she hooked up with some people and ended up in Charlotte - where some of you guys may have been. Yeah, it's a longshot, but funnier things have happened....

Friends are asking to check your photos and videos of the shows, and see if anyone matching that description was there. For more info, you can go to www.findmorgan.com.

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Bolchoz Enters Atty General Race ..

The State newspaper announced that there will be a third Republican entry into the race succeed current Attorney General Henry McMaster. Robert Bolchoz, a Charleston native and Columbia attorney, joined Alan Wilson and Leighton Lord as GOP hopefuls to take over for Henry Mac, who is running for Governor.

I'll be honest, I don't know Bolchoz. The picture I got here is from his Facebook page. It looks like he's pushing a Matchbox car along his desktop, but I'm not sure. He's does have some pedigree and connections for the job: He was a prosecutor in Charleston and Berkeley counties, a deputy AG under Charlie Condon, and as special assistant US Attorney and law clerk for Carroll Campbell - it's always good in SC to be able to attach your name to Campbell.

Whether those connections are as good as Wilson's or Lord's remains to be seen, but he would have to be considered a bit of a dark horse in this race right now. On the personal side, he's a family man, with a wife and three kids, one who is at Annapolis. However , there is one black eye on his resume ........ he's a Catholic, which in parts of SC, is a religion on par with Voodoo.

Bets of luck to him, and I'll try to learn how to pronounce his name in the meantime. Is it Bowl-choz, or Bowl-koz? With names like these, I like to reverse them, and see if it's easier - Zohclob . Nah, sounds like an alien. I should be one to talk, right? BTW, it's pronounced like Reno, Nevada....

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Pic of the Day ..

It's Monday.. You're probably at work, all stressed out, so I thought a nice calming picture of the beach would help out a bit. It more than likely didn't work, but I tried...

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Cartoon of the Week ..

This was by far the toughest week so far to pick one. Lots of them were Halloween related, so we've got some time for those. There sure were a lot of good, smartass cartoons this week, but the top story by far was the Balloon Boy story, so we chose this cartoon - before Balloon Boy's fifteen minutes are up. Timing is everything ...

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Picture of the Day...

Ahh, this brings back memories..... The Robert Moses Park Office! Where all the fun happens.. Whe I worked tolls, this is where I'd bring my Rifkin Bag full o' cash, and turn it in. The last two years, this is where I would check in each afternoon when I ran all the machinery they had - Surf Rakes, trucks and the hydraulic garbage truck. You won't believe it, but once I walked off the job when I got pissed after the garbage truck broke. Some things never change.... What was it that Einstein said was the definition of insanity?




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Music to Stomp People By ...

It's Saturday, so I thought you'd enjoy some light fare: Drowning Pool's 'Bodies'. With the Yankees preparing to knock out the Angels tonight in Game Six, I decided it was a nice song to get me in the mood.

It's a shame the singer died shortly after they hit it with this song - he was a real good screamer. One question I had with the video - is it just me, or does the guy in the mental ward kinda look like George W. Bush? This was in 2001, when GWB had a good approval rating, so it may just be a coinkydink. Have a nice weekend .....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY_I6doz6Qk

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Excessive Spending and Red Ink Aren't Exclusive to DC These Days ....

U2's Extravagant 360 Tour Is Still Losing Money.....

We all know that Bono is a huge fan of Barack Obama. He and the rest of U2 played at Obama's Inauguration celebration, but it seems that they even more in common. Bono has always had a soft heart, so he's tried to do whatever he can for the people, and just like Obama, it often involves spending money - lots and lots of money.....

In this time of economic woe, U2's 360 degree tour has been a lonely high point as far as juice and attendance have gone. I planned on going to the Raleigh show - mainly because MUSE was the opening act there as well - but stuff happens. But, plenty of other people have gone instead. You'd think that with such attendance, Bono , The Edge, Adam and Larry would have enough cash to BUY Northern Ireland by now. Nope. Despite grossing over $300 million, the tour is still in the red, and it may not turn a profit when it ends soon.

How do you not make money when all you do is play music? Easy - excess, baby! The tour has three separate stages which take almost two days to dismantle when they're done. The setup is so big that thye can't even use it for indoor shows, so now that it's getting cold, the tour is over...It keeps the union guys busy, but it adds a ton of overhead to the bottom line. Just like a huge government bureaucracy ends up bloating our budget. There's another similarity between the tour and government - the tour is now in it's 5th month, and it's still paying out - just like you have to work until May every year just to get free from your tax burden. Hmmm........

I'm a rock and roll purist.... I go to a show to hear the music and see the band. That's it. I think video screens, pyrotechnics and giant revolving stages are bullshit, and it's purpose is to distract you from a sucky group. U2 doesn't suck. They were a band with a message, and when they played live, it was just them and the music. Now, it's a big freakin' carnival, and the music is a sideshow. Too bad. Both the Democrats and Republicans had a message too, but that often seems lost as well. That's OK - Congress is having Lollapalooza '10 next Summer. Maybe they can borrow U2's stage.....

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Pic of the Day

We're on the other side now, taking a look at the Inlet Span from the Robert Moses side. If you look closely at the center of the bridge, you can see a huge C-clamp looking contraption doing some kind of repairs. Hopefully, they'll paint the bridge when they're done, because it looks like crap right now....

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Attention Passengers, We Are About to Land In ..... Hey, Where The Hell Are We ?

Northwest Crew Proves That Planes "Don't Land Themselves" .....

This week's edition of 'one of THOSE stories' has to be the Northwest Airlines plane crew that somehow passed it's destination of Minneapolis, and ended up 150 miles past it in Wisconsin, before they turned around and landed.

The crew , which took off from San Diego, which is German for a whale's vagina, said that they were 'locked in a very intense discussion of a company policy' as they passed the Twin Cities, and they didn't realize that they had passed The Land of Ya until they made it America's Dairyland..... Do you feel stupid? Me either. I smells bulls**t again.....

Since I was dead on about the Balloon Boy Scam last week, I have anointed myself as the Truth Police Chief, or Head BS Inspector, whichever you prefer..... I see only two scenarios as possible here: One, they were actually in a highly charged argument about why the Yankees pulled Mariano Rivera in Game 3 of the ALCS, and put in that Aceves guy for David Robertson. I can see getting a guy getting really agitated over an American League team giving up it's DH like that. However, the flight was from Cali to Minnesota. Even thought the Yanks are taking out teams from both cities, I see this sceario as unlikely. If it were a flight to Newark, JFK or LaGuardia, then maybe it's a possibility.

The second is easy: they fell asleep. This is probably what happened. They put the plane on autopilot, and napped the whole flight away. My advice would be to set your cell phone alarm to go off next time, just in case.... Luckily, Maverick and Goose in the F-16 trailing them left the safety lock on the Stinger Missile until they woke up... Really, who's gonna believe they got in a fight? We've all gotten into arguments whil driving, and missed an exit. But have you even argued for 78 minutes, then said, "Hey, what the f**k happned to Minneapolis?" .......

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SC6 Pic of the Day - Crossing Over the Bridge

No, this isn't the largest phallus symbol in America - it's the water tower at Robert Moses State Park, and the Atlantic Ocean. The bridge I'm crossing on brings over 50,000 people to the beach on a good day. Then at 4:00, they all want to leave, which is impossible on a one-lane road. So, that's when my favorite job came....

I'd stack the cones out on the other side of the bridge, then after that, I'd lead both lanes across, driving the wrong way. There are few ways of feeling like a badass more than driving the wrong way in traffic - and no one stopping you! After that, I'd sit there and listen to everyone yell "Why didn't you do this an hour ago??!!" in their most annoying Long Island accent..... Good Times!

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Will the Real Mark McBride Please Stand Up ?

MB Mayor Candidate Gets Attacked Via Fake Facebook Page ....

One of the good things about being a blogger and being in the party is that all kinds of people end up with your e-mail address. It's also a bad thing sometimes. But, every once in a while, a good juicy dirt story just gets dropped right in your lap 700 miles away from the source....

In Myrtle Beach, Mark McBride is one of those guys you just either love or hate. I personally don't like being viewed that way, but Mark seems to thrive on it. When people don't like you, and you're running for Mayor again, the mud will get slung at you - and that's OK, if it's honest. First, I had a YouTube clip e-mailed to me from 'therealmarkmcbride@gmail.com' , which should be easy enough to figure out who it is. Here is the clip.....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xog302i8G7A

Not bad, although spending $3700 doesn't seem like a heck of a lot of money, and it depends on exactly what those things were specifically spent on. That aside, my first thought was that it'd make a decent campaign commercial - if they could figure out how to chop it down to 30 seconds, instead of 49.....

Like I said, campaign dirt will be slung, but it's the next tidbit that really made me get a sense of dishonesty here. I got a Facebook page invite from ......... Mark McBride. What, not exactly Mark McBride - it was 'Mark Mcbride'. Or was it mark mcbride, or markmcbride? Anyway, the spelling was just a tad off, so I took a quick peek at it. The header says "check out my new website , and watch my YouTube videos". The web address? www.therealmarkmcbride.com . I'm friends of a couple anti-candidate groups, and none of them imply anywhere even closely to be the candidate. The 'My's' clearly indicate an attempt to decieve.....

Honestly, do I care who the Mayor of Myrtle Beach is? Not really, although I would consider Mark to be a friend - but all Republicans are my friends. Heck, I don't even know who's running, so I can't even blame anyone. That aside, if this were Mark doing this to an opponent, I would be denouncing him instead. Whoever it is, no doubt their bad judgement will be coming down on them, and their candidate as well pretty soon, which is just and right. No one should pull tactics like this. Do it the right way, fellas ...

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Republicans Do Care About Kids ...

Sumter GOP Chair's Family Works to Ensure a Safe Halloween ...

We often pick on Braden Bunch here a lot, but the fact is that we pick the most on the people that we like - except Earl - kidding! We Republicans get a lot of criticism for not expecting the government on all levels to take care of our daily problems. Last year, Sumter had a huge problem to face, when a 12 year old boy was shot and killed when he knocked on the door of a local drug dealer on Halloween. If there is a situation that tugs at your heart more than a kid dying while getting candy, I can't think of it....

Well, contrary to popular belief, the GOP is not the party of 'No'. We are people of action when a solution is needed and available. Braden and his wife, Wren worked with the local police in Sumter, and they started a program to help trick or treaters know where a safe place to knock on doors is. They have made 250 signs available to the community to display in their front yards, letting kids know that that house is trick or treat friendly. The signs are available at the Sumter Police Department station at 107 E. Hampton Ave, and at the Sumter Item office at 20 N. Magnolia Street. Electronic versions and printable version of the signs are available at http://www.theitem.com/, and by calling the Sumter PD at bhite@sumter-sc.com, jduggan@sumter-sc.com, or rfowler@sumter-sc.com.

If all that still isn't enough info for you, they have a Facebook page as well. Just search 'Halloween Safety Signs' ......... Thanks again to the Bunch's, who have worked all year on this, and hoping that your Halloween is a fun and safe one.....

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Change Comes to SC6 ......

The Cat's Got a 13th Life It Seems - It's Back to Work For Our Boy..

The posts have been a little light this week, and with good reason. My sex change operation is finally complete, and from now on you can call me Michelle.... No, after five weeks of waiting and interviews, I have finally resecured employment. As soon as my pee-pee test comes back clean - and it will - I'll be back at work again, and I seem to have lucked out a bit here....

I'll still be a Service Advisor, but it will be at the largest selling Nissan-Hyundai dealer in the USA.... These boys push out close to 500 cars a month, and with a lot of sales, comes a lot of cars needing service. Pardon me, as I sound a bit like an adult for once. This is serious, folks. These guys don't mess around, and it will be a lot of work, and a lot of hours, and Mikey Boy doesn't have the time or the finances to blow this opportunity. They own 17 dealerships, and this is the flagship dealer, so I will be working on a daily basis in front of all the Big Boys. If I do good, I will move up FAST. If I screw up, or seem preoccupied with something that frankly hasn't ever made me a dime, it's all over. Time to grow up....

Is this the end of SC6? I don't think so.... It's just that I don't see it being a daily place for 2-3 posts every day. It's a bit disappointing, because I just cracked the Top Ten in South Carolina for the 12 week average finally - and it will drive me crazy to watch me probably drop out of the rankings on my own volition. Maybe it will just be fewer posts, but better content. That's the goal.

In the meantime, keep checking in, or just go to Blog Net News or Palmetto Net News, and you can get a good rundown of all the blogs in SC. There are plenty of good ones - just not as good as mine!

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Picture of the Day..

OK, We're Reduced to Showing You a Closet ???

No, this is a place of historical significance for any SC6 Fan. No, it's not the VIP Room at the Trophy Club - it's the Dockmasters Office at Captree Marina. It's pretty much the same as it was in 1988, but I didn't have a fridge.

Yep, the dockmaster had a very important job - listen to all the complaints from the boat captains and patrons. Basically, it was the Bitch Department, but I did get to do the announcements, which was my first foray into public speaking. In a clear, deep voice (or with the occasional foreign accent) I would say ........ ATTENTION. The time is now five minutes to (hour), and there are five minutes remaining to board the (hour) o'clock boats. Please do so now. Thank You......

How I didn't end up being a flight attendant, I have no idea. Oh yeah - I hate flying.

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We've Been Away, And Apparently So Have You

I'll be honest: I've kinda been dogging it the last few days. Somehow despite that, my ranking on Blg Net News actually went way up. I won't complain or ask why... There has been an odd thing that I did notice though. The traffic on BNN is down ..... way, way, way down. Especially the past week.

BNN usually gets about 250,000 hits on a good week - no, they're not all to my blog. I've even seen it top 300,000 a few times, but by the end of last week, it dropped to not even 200,000, and it's Wednesday, and they're only at 65,000. Clearly, we are in a blogging recession. It usually is the last sector of the economy to get hit, but it appears that things suck so much in politics and the economy that even half naked pictures of Kim Kardashian aren't bringing you to the blogosphere.....

I'll admit a trade secret - we bloggers only really a certain amount of 'good material' on a daily basis. Like a record, we have 2-3 'hit songs', and the rest is filler material. There have been some good blog posts out there this week, and no one is reading it. When that happens, I tend to pull back a bit, and wait for the audience to come back to the campfire, then tell my best stories....

Hopefully, this case of the BLAH-gospheres will end soon, and we'll all be back complaining and insulting each other again soon...

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SC6's Pic of the Day ..

The boardwalk at Captree Marina .... The building is a side view of the Captree Cove restaurant, although the gazebo is new. Behind me here is the picnic area - the site of one of my better beach stories. This girl Kirstin was picking up paper and stuff there, and this Vietnamese family noticed she was wearing red undies beneath her white shorts, and they start picking on her in Vietnamese - only to find out that this Irish kid from Long Island actually spoke Vietnamese fluently ! What are the odds on that one? Just goes to show you that you never know who you will offend when you open you mouth, but we'll get back to that later...

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Picture of the Day

Ahh, good times ! Too bad the boat was out on a trip. This is the slip where the Capt. Eddie B III sails from. Of course, it was only the Eddie B II when I was there. This is where the beach employees would gather once or twice a Summer, and blow off steam. A little beer, music, food - or in the case of the Booze Cruise I threw, three heros, 2 kegs, twin DJ's and a commemorative pin. I lost about $250 that night, and I had to give Eddie my microwave oven in lieu of tips.... After that, I revamped my business model for future events....

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Holy S**t, It's Cupcake Wars !!!!!

More Stuff For You To Say 'We Don't Care How They Do It Up North'

Until yesterday, I kinda had forgotten how good a homemade cupcake was. That's because I haven't lived in a house with a Mom in it for about 24 years... For those of you mommies out there, you know how the cupcake is a permanent fixture of school, especially elementary school. Between lunch, bake sales and about 25 birthday parties, the cupcake is right up there with the Three R's and Hannah Montana.... But evil lurks near your kid and their cupcake.

Yep, the cupcake is becoming an endangered species, like the Woolly Mammoth and that woodpecker in Sparkleberry Swamp. This week, the school board in West Babylon, New York decided that snacks and drink not on the approved list, and those not prepackaged are not allowed to be eaten at school. There are a few reasons for this - some better than others. Yes, we all want to have our kids make healthy food choices, but this year, there are other dangers for kids as well. Swine Flu has everyone freaking out, as much as you may not like to admit it, you kid is a Slob. Yes, little Justin and Madison pick thier noses, wipe theit snots on their sleeves, and they don't wash their hands after going potty. Yes, this includes YOUR KID ... Sorry for breaking the news to you, but its time we talked about it.

Another reason is food allergies. You might know what your kid is allergic to, but in the farmers market that is lunch time bartering, some kid may trade an Ant on a Log (peanut butter on celery with raisins - deelish!) to a kid with peanut allergies. Then who gets sued? The school, of course. So, there are a few logical reasons, but there is another reason..... one far more sinister and evil......

Yeah, it's money. Guess how much money the school makes on a cupcake brought from home? Zero. No, how much do they get from a package of potato crisps? More than zero. Those vending machines you see everywhere do pay a portion whoever allows them to place the machines there. Hence , more money for the school. A friend who works for a school swears this isn't the case, but I am positive that there is a school Superintendent who is very happy to get the influx of cash. Notice I said the school gets the kickback, not the adminstrator, but I'm sure we'll hear about a scam like that someday.....

If you've made it this far, you're probably saying 'Hey Yankee Boy, what do I give a flying flip about a bunch of Long Island Hausfrau Yentas keeping cupcakes out of school?' My answer is this: eventually, one of them will move to YOUR SCHOOL, and try to pass this under the guise of 'Up North, this is how we did it'. It sounds like concern, but it's Nazism in it's early stages. First, they came after the cupcakes, and I did nothing.....

SAVE THE CUPCAKES !!!!!

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Picture of the Day .. I'd Like a $3 Soda Please .

Welcome to the Captree Cove Restaurant. No, do not confuse this with any fine dining establishment. There is Catch of the Day, or a fine wine list. It has a smaller menu than your local movie theater. Sodas, coffee, burgers, hot dogs and egg sandwich til 1000. The soda is $3 for a 32 oz cup, but since I paid $1.67 for a 20 oz bottle yesterday, I suppose it's not out of line...

About the only thing I got there was a Ye Olde New England brownie, which was only $1, it was pretty good, and it kept my sugar coma at bay... The one good thing was they usually hired decent looking girls to work there, so it was OK in the end. Gotta take the bad with the good....

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Gee, Thanks Bernie - Now About the Other $50 Billion You Bilked ....

I Would Assume the View From Jail Is Not Quite as Breathtaking as The View From the Montauk Mansion Madoff Just Sold ....

SC6 Real Estate News: Bernie Madoff just sold his waterfront manse in Montauk for a reported $9.41 million. It was originally listed for $8.75, but a bidding war ensued, and the price went up. Either the place was THAT NICE, or maybe the buyer just felt bad for the people Madoff duped all those years....

For those of you keeping track, between the forced sales of this place, his joint in Palm Beach, and his Manhattan apartment, the Feds have been able to recoup $25 million back from Madoff, which is infitisimally less than the $50 Billion he swindled from investors... Mathematically, that is .00005 % - that is not a good return on investment, folks!

The scary part is that I don't even think he's in jail right now. i went pumpkin picking in Stony Brook, and there he was. Yeah, an old Jewish guy with gray curly hair, a baseball cap and sunglasses is pretty common, but I'm pretty sure it was him. So, if you see that guy driving around a black Chevy Tahoe with New Jersey tags, call the cops, becuase justice is not being served....

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Cartoon of the Week ...

There were a few good ones to pick from this week: There were some witty ones on Obama's Afghanistan problem, and a real good one on Gays in the Military. But the big topic this week was Health Care, so we picked this one...

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Sunday Picture of the Day ....

Avast Ye Matey's, we be takin' ya to the Captree Boat Basin, where the Men are Men..... Where we go swimmin' with bow-legged women, and we catch our dinner, instead o' gettin' that there fake fish under ye cellophane, or in the box with ye Gorton's fisherfag on it !!!!!

Yeah, we're off of the Overlook, and down at the Marina now. It's funny how a picture reminds your other senses of that place. I look at this, and I smell dead bluefish - hundreds of them. It's from here that the boats go out for blues, fluke, flounder, stripers, weakfish, and the occasional deep sea venture. back in the 80's, they charged $18 for a 4 hr trip, and $30 for a full day. God knows how much it is now.....

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Picture of the Day ..

See, stuff can grow in New York.... This is the last picture from the Overlook at Captree. Tomorrow we'll go to the Marina and check out all the boats and other things from my college years....




Today, I'll be going pumpking picking for the first time in 13 years, and only the second time ever. The sun is poking through, so it looks like we might get Game 2 in tonight as well. Enjoy all the big games today...


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Picture of the Day ....

A nice casual view for you to get your weekend off to a nice start. This is the view across the Fire island Inlet from Captree Overlook. That is the famous Fire Island Lighthouse, which is the gateway to the private part of Fire Island - and more rich gay people than you will ever meet in your life. Waldo will probably slam me for this, but I like gay people - they're the only other guys who watch Bravo. Hey, I like Top Chef .....Sue Me.



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And All the Candidates Have Now Crossed the Tape For Filing - One of Them Just a Bit T-Ard-y !

Since I got nitpicked about the grace period by an anonymous commentor, I waited until it passed as well, because I knew someone would miss it. Someone always does... I'm kind of glad that it was Ken Ard who was just a little late. I've known Ken for almost six years now, and he's a friend, and if you can't needle your friends just a bit every now and then, who can you pick on? Just ask Earl.....

Now that the apologies are taken care of, onto the numbers. The fundraising numbers are very intriguing, and they pose a lot of questions for the upcoming quarter. Ard raised $125,000 and took out a loan of $200,000. His cash on hand amount of $324,000 is double any of his opponents, and he's even outraised a few Governor candidates. The numbers haven't shown that Ken's campaign has gained statewide traction, at least as far as money goes, but he could be gearing up for another event like he had in Florence elsewhere. We'll see .....

As much as he was a-raising, he was a-spending too. The campaign put out almost $107,000 as well, which was his cash on hand for the previous quarter, so they are definitely working more than just the miles on the family truckster. I wouldn't expect them to blow through all that money again this quarter, but Ard does have the finances to throw an extra log or two on the fire if needed.

Just like the Governor race, the Guv Lite category has a lot of cloudiness to it - and it should. It's early, and no polls have been taken, and I personally don't want one yet. The next quarter will really show how this race is shaping up. Ard and Tim Scott have the opening edge in cash, and it is important. Scott, Ard and Bill Connor have all ramped up the activity in the field, now that Fall is here. There are no surprises from here on out, it's just doing IT. Go get 'em !!

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Congrats, America - You've Just Been BS'd Again

'Help!! My Kid Is In the Big Flying Silver Thingy..... Oh Wait, He's In the House '

I'm allowed to go off on what seems like a tragic story every now and then, and today is the day. America is a country of retards. We're led by retards, we all do retarded things, and every once in a while, we believe the retards that do the retarded thing. Like today.......

Yes, the 'My Kid is stuck in a homemade balloon at 10,000 feet' story turned out to be total bullshit. Either it's a big scam, or this family is the biggest bunch of morons, and they should have their kids taken away - or we all even dumber than them.... What seems more plausible? That the entire family somehow didn't realize that he wasn't in the balloon, which didn't even have the basket on it, and no one noticed that he was in the house the whole time, or Mom and Dad - who have already appeared on the TV show 'Wife Swap' TWICE - made this stuff up.

If this all sounds like a small matter, think twice. A rescue plan had to be made on the fly, which may have endangered people in the end, and the Denver Airport had to stop all flights because this "occupied balloon' , which looks like a silver Chef's Hat, made it within 15 miles of it's airspace. I hope they bill these jerks for all actual costs, and if/when they end up on every talk show and they end up with their own series - because you know they will - they have to turn every dollar over to a charity. Like Liars Anonymous....

It's another case that proves Hitler was right in one regard - the bigger the lie, the more people wil believe it. At least for 3 hours.....I could make up a big lie, and be on every paper in the country tomorrow. But, someone innocent always gets hurt by a lie, and not always the liar. There isn't always that kind of justice to liars... You and I are. Notice, i didn't give the names of these morons, because they don't deserve the publicity. Let them fade back into nothing lives with their stupid homemade balloon, and act like they never existed, because they never should have as far as i'm concerned....

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The 2012 GOP Convention in Myrtle Beach ?

'Welcome to the 2012 GOP National Convention.... Attention Delegates: Please Leave the Beach and Derriere's, and Return the Convention Hall As Soon As Possible.."

I'm kind of reading this as a half story from Facebook messages, but former SCGOP Chair Katon Dawson was receiving an award for his work in getting the first Presidential Debate in Myrtle Beach today. It appears that in his speech, that Dawson will be working, or at least is suggesting , that South Carolina try to be a host to the 2012 Repubican National Convention.

Judging from the tweets and responses from even some loyal Republicans, there is some skepticism with Dawson's proposal, but I thought he was crazy to run for National Chairman, and he almost won. There are some obvious problems: namely the size of the convention Center on the Grand Strand. There was a time when conventions were held in touristy type towns like Atlantic City, but after last year's conventions, the days of the cute conventions are over. Big Time....

Barack Obama's super-coronation at Invesco Field marked the end of smaller markets getting a chance to make a name for themselves. I watched pro teams play on Doubleday Field in Cooperstown - it makes even Big League players seem smaller. A National Convention in Myrtle Beach might endanger the GOP of looking like they're playing at McLeod Park. No one wants to look like the Bad News Bears on National TV, with twelve cable and network channels covering every second of it. Big is in, and it will be from here on out. The candidate needs to look like a God, and a small stage doesn't aid in that objective....

My second concern is that the GOP wil be spending half of it's time chasing delegates off of local beaches, golf courses and strip clubs for five days. Unless they hire a Barack Obama impersonator at Legends in Concert, I doubt they'll be able to cattle them all in one place for long. Is Dolly Parton a Republican? Maybe she could lease out Dixie Stampede and have a 'Nancy Pelosi' 32 oz Porterhouse Special....

No, I'm afraid that Myrtle Beach is a little too kitschy for an event like this. I hate to say it, but even with our quirks, South Carolina is just too AMERICAN to have a National Convention. The party will do some polling, and find a borderline state like Florida or Missouri to have the convention, and try to sneak 10-20 electoral votes away from the Democrats. Miami 2012 or Kansas City 2012 wouldn't surprise me. I've been to Miami - it's too expensive to even leave the hotel! Still, I know Katon pretty well, and there's no changing the man's mind when he's got it made up. Maybe that's a good thing. Hey, at least we wouldn't have to fly to get there......

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From Being a Victim of Terrorism, To Fighting the War on Terror: The USS New York.

This probably looks more like a post from New Wars Blog, but we can talk about this stuff on occasion sometimes as well. If you aren't familiar with the story of the USS New York, we'll briefly go over it with you. The New York , or LPD-21 as it will be commissioned, is the latest ship to be added to the US Fleet. But, there is something very symbolic about the ship...

It is the only ship to have been made partially from the remains of the World Trade Center debris from September 11th, 2001. Some of the salvageable steel from the towers was melted, and made into part of the bow of the ship. So as it battles evil around the world, the towers and those who died there will symbolically be fighting from the very front of the ship.

The ship was completed at the Avondale, Louisiana plant and shipped out just this week. Even though construction was temporarily slowed down by Hurricane Katrina, the ship is now done, and it's on it's way to New York. The official commissioning of the USS New York will take place on November 7th at the Intrepid Museum, Pier 88 South , Pier 88 North in New York City... To learn all about the USS New York, here is the link:

www.ussnewyork.com

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SC6 Picture of the Day ...

My favorite sign at the beach... We used to rearrange the tape on a couple letters so it read, "Please Keep Off the Ludes". It seemed pretty funny at the time, but we were baked .

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Captain Lou Goes Down for the Big Three Count

Another one of those icons from my youth has gone today. Captain Lou Albano, former wrestler and manager extraordinaire, passed away today at the age of 76. In the WWE, Albano was a giant... No, he wasn't the best wrestler, but he was interesting and fun. Labeled as a bad guy in the early 70's, he was a fan favorite by the time I got into that wrestling age in the early 80's. That's when he hooked up with Cyndi Lauper, and he went Big Time.....

No, it didn't help Albano to be on MTV as far as his wrestling cred went, but who cared? Albano was cool because he was a regular guy. Maybe he didn't look like a guy from your neighborhood, but he looked like he came from my neighborhood.... His Super Dago routine, with the rubber bands holding his beard down were great, and he will be missed by guys my age... And for those of you from Down South, here's a tidbit you probably didn't know - Captain Lou was a Volunteer. Yep, he briefly played football at UT, before joining the Army. Off to the Big Squared Circle in the Sky, Big Fella !! Here's an old time WWE clip for you - Lou Albano, 'Mean' Gene Okerlund, and Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine ....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRI2_TySOtA

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