Obama Calls Pennsylvanians 'Bitter'.. Why He's Right, and How to Fix It....

We Are Penn State !! We Are .... BITTER ???

Mark it down now. If I die soon, Bobby did it, and it will probably be for this post....... If you were watching the news this week, you may have seen Barack utter his first 'oops' - that is, say something he wished he didn't. Of course, he didn't apologize for saying it. Nope, in true Obama fashion, he tried to justify what he said....

To make it easier, here is the ABC News clip of it...

The Huffington Post's Mayhill Fowler reports that, at that same San Francisco fundraiser where Obama revealed his previously unknown college sojourn to Pakistan, the junior senator from Illinois seemed to try to get inside the mind of small towners in Pennsylvania, with a dose of sociology and a dollop of dime-store psychology.

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them," Obama said. "And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."It seems to me that this comment could be interpreted fairly easily as dismissing people who hold views on guns, or religion, or immigration, or trade because they believe in those views -- and not because they're "bitter" or lashing back at a system that has discarded them.

Now, as the son of a man born in Luzerne, Pa. , the grandson of a Pa. coalminer who still has at least 50 relatives there, and who's friends all seem to be from the Keystone State as well, it's hard for me to be non-committal. And i think a lot of voters will as well. Adding to the fact that he didn't say this in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, but in..... GULP... SAN FRANCISCO ....didn't help his cause much. In short, after 5 weeks of doing everything right and chipping away 20 points of Hillary Clinton's lead, he just commented his way out of winning. Clinton wins Pennsylvania by 12-15 points....

The obvious aside, maybe Obama is right. I know my Dad is a pretty cranky guy. My uncles all seemed like dour fellas who liked arguing a bit too much, but I thought it was just me. Yes, it's cold there, the sun rarely shines, and any state responsible for Will Smith can't be too good.... Of course they're bitter.. What other state waits in such anticipation for the chance to kill something - check out Deer Season there. School is canceled so they can hunt....

I think there is a different reason Pennsylvanians are so bitter - Penn State Football. Take away the 1994 split title with Georgia Tech, and it's been 22 years since the Nittany Lions have won a National Championship. Sure, if that were the case, then South Carolinians should be twice as bitter - and maybe we are, but I digress on that point. Maybe another time. Football is life in PA, and sure, the Steelers won a few years ago, but the Lions hold a special place in everyone's hearts there.

While Obama may be correct, his mouth will likely cost him locking up the nomination, and Hillary has one person to thank for it......... Joe Paterno.

I've fallen, and I can't get up....

No Coach, thank You !!

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More Than 'Make Like a Tree,and Get Outta Here".. The Comedic Brilliance of Thomas Wilson..

I'm watching Back to the Future II - again! It remined me to pull a couple YouTube clips of Tom Wilson, who played bad guy Biff Tannen. Wilson has been in plenty of other movies, and he has worked as a stand-up comedian for awhile now. Here are a couple YouTube clips: one of them about being 'Biff', and the second about a certain smoking-hot girl he knows......

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwY5o2fsG7Y&feature=related

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

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Bill Sharpe and Keith Olbermann: Everyone Says One is an A$$hole, And One of Them Just Is...

What are a local TV news anchor and a national cable talk-show host doing together on my blog? Simple. In one word, it is asshole. Now, there are different degrees to which I use this term. I have never met either of them in person, but they both seem to have earned the same smug reputation among most of those who have seen them.

Bill Sharpe is the 600 anchor for WCSC in Charleston, SC. He has been an institution at the station for over 30 years (read: he is getting pretty old), and he is the quintissential stuffy, anchorman. I quote from that old conservative weekly, the Charleston City Paper..

Best Ted Baxter ImpressionNews Anchor Bill Sharpe WCSC

That hilarious TV character Ted Baxter (the late, great Ted Knight's role from The Mary Tyler Moore Show) was the stereotypical anchorman character for years. His stuffy manner, constant mistakes, arrogance, and incompetence created an American icon for sure. As an award-winning newsman of 30 years in Charleston at WCSC's Live 5 News, anchorman Bill Sharpe — one of the only native Charlestonians on the local news scene — may be the closest thing we have to a local Ted Baxter-type. Although Sharpe is loose, casual, prepared, and extremely confident (and totally un-Baxter-like in many ways), he has that sing-songy delivery that's instantly recognizable.

All that aside, I had something odd happen when I mentioned Sharpe to two friends at different times. They both said the same thing... "Bill Sharpe is an asshole." Stunning. What could be so bad about a guy that two people in separate places at different times say the same thing about a guy? Does that really make him one? Of course not, but hey...... I'm sure some of our Charleston area friends could shed some light on all of this...

On to a real a-hole: Keith Olbermann. I liked Keith a lot when he was on ESPN back in the 90's. He had a wicked sense of humor, and his SportsCenter broadcasts were great. I used to watch his MSNBC show 'Countdown' on occasion, mostly for his oddball news segments, but it had been some time since i caught his show - until this week.

I skipped around the news shows to get the poop on the Gen. Petraeus - Amb. Crocker hearings. First, i saw Hardball w/ Chris Matthews. Although Matthews is obviously not a GOP fan, his show was even handed and respectful of all the candidates. Then came Olbermann.

Olbermann has become what often happens to funny people who get into politics - they stop being funny, and just become angry. Ask Al Franken, Whoopi Goldberg and Bill Maher.... Olbermann is obviously upset with the US being in Iraq, but instead of intelligently picking apart the opposite side's stance on it, he is too busy making wise-ass comments under his breath and calling people facists to do so.

He no doubt has it in for John McCain.. While Matthews honestly felt that the Tiger Woods comment made by a supporter at a speech he gave was not McCain's fault, Olbermann accused him of being a racist, and then got back into his "he can't get the Sunni's and Shia's straight' crap again. People misspoke. On the same broadcast, Olbermann misread the teleprompter , saying 'bearing' instead of 'hearing', but do we start calling him illiterate??

Watching this made me realize why Olbemann's ratings suck. No one can watch this mess day after day. It wears on people. No one can watch negativism for too long. Even Howard Beale's rating went down the tank after a while. With that in mind, i give you a Zer-Olbermann like clip to watch....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dib2-HBsF08

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We Show the Shatner So Far Ignored.. TJ Hooker !!

Don't Think Too Long on Those Autographs, Shatner... HI BILLY ???

The beauty of blogging is sometimes, you don't have to work too long on a blog to get a good laugh for your readers - even if it is only 4 or 5 of them. This is one of them. I give you Shatner's intro for his other TV show, TJ Hooker !!

Sure, it was campy, especially for a cop show, but hey, it gave us Freakin' Heather Locklear... Twenty-five years later, and Heather is the gift that keeps on giving. Here you go..

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlIu05rdOf4

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Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk...Which Candidate Looked Less Stooge-Like With Petraeus and Crocker.

While we all yawned a bit the last two days over the testimony between Congress and Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, the real story was seeing if the three presidential candidates took advantage of the opportunity to 'look presidential'. It was clear to me that no one stood out on top, and also that the campaigning may be taking it's toll on them....

No, I haven't watched all the testimony - neither have you, so don't give me any grief !! I'll give a short synapsis of how they looked and how effective each was.

John McCain

Yes, he flubbed the Sunni/Shia thing again, but candidates mess that up all the time, along with accidentally saying Iran/Iraq (see below). Most commentators don't make much of an issue of it, with the exception of the big, friggin crybaby Keith Olbermann. I'll get back to him another time....

Flub aside, McCain seemed to be focused and knowledgable - tht is, until he skipped out early. John, John, John...... This was the biggest event in DC this year, and you leave?? Then you went to that Veterans event with the putz who slid you right back into the "John McCain is a racist" smear campaign. Rule of thumb: If the guy next to you mentions Tiger Woods , Obama, Oprah or Martin Luther King, and the words preceding aren't 'great', 'fantastic' or anything else in the superlative, be prepared to take a step back and apologize....

Barack Obama

From what I saw, Obama went with a solid line of questioning. He didn't pepper Pertaeus and Crocker with "when are we getting out" questions, over and over again.... I don't know means I don't know. He did look a bit tired. He usually sits erect, and yesterday he was slouched to his side like he was hanging at the bar. He didn't make an ass out of himself - although he did refer to Iran as Iraq in supporting Al-Qaeda. Iraq are the good guys, Barack. Anyway, he was okay. Much better than.............

Hillary Clinton

The junior Senator from New York via DC, via Arkansas , via Illinois looked and sounded like absolute shit yesterday. She even looked bad on radio, and Bobby will tell you, that takes some doing! But, you can only do so much with what she's sporting.....

Looks aside, Clinton, along with Joe Biden, made the single most arrogant and stupid comment of the day. Clinton asked Crocker about the chances of Iraq reaching the political benchmarks - their major concern for the past year. Then she asked why any agreements in the Iraqi Parliament would not be reviewed by Congress. "The American people would want to know why Congress would not be authorized to approve this." Uh, Hillary, for starters, the American people don't give a rat's patoot what kind of peace Iraq makes, as long a s it is made, and we can leave it.... Secondly, the American people don't trust you at all, lest you forget Congress' approval rating - slightly below the Mendoza Line.

Now, for the part of your comment that really matters. Congress and the Executive Branch do not need to take any part in the Iraqi Parliament reaching the peace process. If they can negotaiate to help them get closer, fine. However, if an accord is reached, the last thing we need is a congressional rubber stamp on it. All that does is add another jerk to destroy the opportunity to make a lasting peace in Iraq. In short, if the Iraqi Parliament can find peace by permanently telling the US to screw off, and name Mickey Mouse Prime Minister, i say more power to them. If it gets them to stop killing each other, and we can leave, then Hillary and Biden can stick it. The amount of good that comes of any lasting peace will far outweigh any nuggets of bad that Congress would need to re-negotiate . Hillary, stick to villages and children..... Nyuk, nyuk !!

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I'll See Your Canadian Soliloquy , and Raise You a Priceline Rap ...

The saga continues..... Earl threw down a serious gauntlet with Shatner's 'I am Canadian" clip, so I have no choice but to toss down some serious ho..... I give you Shatner's famous Priceline "Bust a Move" rap.

It's a classic commercial, but the part that makes me laugh the most is seeign Ben Folds in the background beating the crap out of a cowbell, as if Christopher Walken were egging him on !!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f1CgJXkcUQ

Back to you, Earl.

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John Boy & Billy and Their Limp-Wristed Burgers?

Ok, this post has not been fully vetted, nor is it based on hard fact. It's just one of those things I noticed, and I'm having a bit of a crappy day, so the political assessments will have to wait....

If you live anywhere in the Redneck Riviera, you are familar with DJ's John Boy and Billy. The Charlotte-based guys are pretty popular among the NASCAR crowd, and they have parlayed their fame into selling food. However, the label on one of their products is a little too familiar with a SNL cartoon that may cause listeners to question JB&B's preferences...

My brother bought a box of John Boy and Billy's burgers, and I saw the picture of them on the box, which is a cartoon, and one thought immediately came to mind - the Ambiguously Gay Duo. For those of you nor familiar with Ace & Gary, they are a Batman & Robin-like pair of crimefighters, except for the fact that they are possibly homosexuals. Often hopping in their penis-shaped car to fight evil, it is not uncommon for the duo to congratulate each other by patting their butts. Not that there's anything wrong with that......

Like I said, there is no scientific data, nor a smoking gun to confirm this - except for the picture itself. Here is my evidence, and I leave it up to you....

Here is my picture, straight from the box....

And here is Ace & Gary.....

Hey, maybe I'm crazy, but.........


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Who In Columbia Is Trying to Make My Life Hell?? Law to Limit Strippers Stopped In House Committee..

Look Like Mort and Fred Wouldn't Like This Bill Either...

We've dodged another bullet in Columbia again. Last year, it was a bill to make sales of dildos illegal. This year, someone in Columbia is trying to ruin my socail life. How? They're trying to set a minimum 6 foot distance between strippers and customers....

Yep, the law would make lap dances illegal, outlaw my favorite - giving the girl a neckrub, and make it amost impossible to even chat with the girls above the blaring music. No oubt , someone has it in for me, and all guys in general. Of course, i'm sure the bill was submitted by a fellow GOP member who's undies are about four sizes too tight.

Luckily, there are enough sensible people left in the State House to not let this bill even get out of committee, so it looks like I'm safe for now. I'm too lazy to research who had the bright idea to submit this bill, or to see how this guy screwed up with his wife to have to do this... We're all safe for now, but only through constant vigilance can we protect what is important - or in my case, almost necessary !!

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SC6 Remembers Charlton Heston...

Charlton Heston, one of the best actors in American history, who went on to become one of this nations greatest gun advocates, passed away today from Alzheimers Disease. He was 84.

Heston's list of movies is too long to list, but it covered the entire spectrum of moviemaking. Religion, Ancient History, even futuristic thrillers - Heston covered them all. he was, in short, Mel Gibson , Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe all wrapped into one guy. I remember him more during his Planet of the Apes and Soylent Green days, and Heston was a badass. He did have a great sense of humor too. Check out his Saturday Night Live appearance, or his part in Wayne's World 2 - classic !

After his career was about done, he got into one of the most contraversial issues of the day - the right to bear arms. Where most beloved actors would stay away from it to protect their reputation, Heston jumped in with both feet. He was a gutsy guy.

Here's a couple of his most famous quotes: One from Hollywood, one from Washington DC:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUR-OdR3egU

www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0B_UZNtEk4&feature=related

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SC6 Economic Report: The Economy and Housing..

The sky is falling!!! THE SKY IS FALLING !!!!! Sound familiar? Well, if you flip on CNN or listen to Democrats, that's how you might feel. So, to try and clear a little of the bullshit from fact about the economy, we here at SC6 are here to tell you the truth.... It's not as bad as some make you think.

For starters, are we in a recession? Maybe. But even if we are, it is so minor, that if you weren't paying $3.20 a gallon for gas, you wouldn't notice. Sure, we are definitely stalling, but the sky isn't falling. Hey, put that one to music...

The rule of thumb is if your neighbor is unemployed it's a recession, and if you are unemployed, it's a depression. Well, I was out of work, but since I'm back at work again, the recssion is over. Seriously, the holiday season and winter were tough. Jobs were not plentiful, and they're still not, but does that necessarily mean recession. Not quite. An economic stall is different from a recession.

But what about the job losses? Sure, unemployment is on the rise, and it probably will be in the short term. Why? Because businesses are slow to react to downturns. The economy slows down in November, and by January and February, businesses realize the slide will be more than a burp. Now that Spring is here, and Summer is coming, things will pick up, and in a little while, those jobs will be back. As slow as business might be to react, there is one thing that's even slower: The Government.

Here we are, about six months after the slowdown began, and Congress is trying to head it off. Of course, it's completely useless. The $150 stimulus package is a spit in the proverbial ocean of the economy. Their answer? Throw even more in... Democrats want to gve more handouts to garner votes in the Fall, and the Senate is looking into tossing $15 billion more to the states to bail out sub-prime mortgage 'victims'. Let's take a minute on that one....

This whole 'disaster' is the biggest pile of bullshit in recent memory. Let's recap the issue. After a decade of selling mortgages that require little or no down payment , which was dangerous enough, they make a program that almost guarantees that three years from now, you will pay about $500 a month more than when you first bought the house. And idiot homeowners, who thought that home prices would rise indefinitely at 6-10% a year forever, decide to take out one of these ridiculous loans. But what do they care? They get to live in a $400,000 house when they only make $60k a year - that is, until the inevitable happens. And it did.

The sub-prime crisis is not a national problem. Have you heard of anyone in Florence or Kansas or Wyoming losing their homes? Not really. This problem is limited to those areas where real estate prices are outrageous - the Northeast, California, Florida, etc. I have seen a few homes go into foreclosure in Hilton Head, but no oe puts a gun to your head makes you buy a house. I left New York 11 years ago for this exact reason, and a few hundred thousand others were smart enough to do the same. but , these areas have loud voices in DC, and now we have to bail them and the retarded mortgage companies as well.....

No, it's not as bad as the talking heads make it out to be. After all, they get paid to make news. The best thing about a downturn or recession is that by the time you determine you have one, it's just about over. The Fed has taken action to make lending more affordable, but there needs to be some tightening of the banking industry. I'm convinced that bakns are out to basically screw ordianary citizens to death. After this, and the crap I see with credit cards, i'm pretty sure they don't care about long term customers, but more about short term ripoffs. See, I'm not just a mindless, pro-business Republican.....

My advice for you? Keep working, save a little, throw some in a 401k, don't buy a house that's more than 3x your annual income, pay your bills on time, and stay away from credit cards whenever possible...

Here's a clip of financial advice from WC Fields about spending and happiness....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Aykze2Xy9Q

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Act Badly and Carry a Big Phaser ..Shatner Rules !

The gauntlet has been thrown at my feet, and I have no other choice but to accept it.... Earl and I have found ourselves latched in a battle of Shatnermania in our blogs. While I couldn't find his classic appearance on Saturday Night Live - the one when he tells the Trekkies to "Get a Life, Will Ya", I did find this montage. One might call it his greatest hits.

While the mainstream people in Hollywood may denounce his talents, there can be no doubt that Shatner is a genius, a true talent, and one may even say a Renaissance Man. Just watch this clip, and you'll see why Shatner has won 6 Oscars, 12 Emmys, 15 Golden Globe Awards, and so many Grammys that even Mariah Carey won't mention how many she's won in front of him. I might be a bit off on the Oscar total.......

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoOzAglkIRM

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Want to Know How You're Going to Die?

While we agree with Doc Brown from "Back to the Future" that no one shouldn't know too much about his/her future, one can't help but be interested a little. One of my MySpace buddies sent this out, so I thought I'd pass it on to you guys.

Just answer the couple questions , and it will tell you how and at what age you will die. For those interested, I am going to pass on at Age 90 - from one too many Botox injections. Hey, at least I'm going to look good , right?

www.quizopolis.com/how_will_i_die_quiz.php

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Fools In the City: Inner City Graduation Rates Are Half of Those in the Suburbs

Judging By This, That Kid Is From Baltimore, Not Glen Burnie...

We always pick on our education system here in South Carolina. Overall, it is a total systemic problem, although the rural areas definitely trail those in the cities and it's outlying suburbs. However, a new study shows that nationally, there is a serious rift between major cities in the US, and it's suburban neighbors. More importantly, it may prove that the money thrown at education is not the real issue, but the environmental factors are....

According to a recent article I think by Newsweek, and aired on all the cable networks, the graduation rates in mnay major inner cities are less than half of those of those of the suburban schools in the same area. The worst variences were found in Baltimore, Indianapolis, and Newark. So, what is the problem?

Many people , usually those in the education establishment, have long pointed to the need for increased funding to close the gap, but what do you say when schools in the same area with the same funding are getting clearly different results? Is it teacher quality? Poor administration? Probably not. To me, it looks like we need be honest and say what nees to be said: We have a systemic culture of indifference to education in our kids. In short, it's Mom , Dad and Junior's fault.....

While you can't dump all cities and people into one big pile, there does appear to be a 'dumbing down' of our kids. That is, that it's not cool to learn in school. Cities like Cleveland and Milwaukee, who have championed charter schools seem to be the exceptions. When the environment at school is good, the kids will learn. But, when kids are allowed to disrupt the process, and kids who try to learn are beat up, then things like these will happen. Learning is tough enough, but when you learn in fear of the social implications, then something is seriously wrong.

So, what's a parent to do? Nuke all the inner city schools? Come to school and beat crap out of the School Bully? Hey, that second one may not be a bad idea.... Of course not, but when a parent who's kids attend school there are faced with the facts that their kid has only a 1/3 chance of them graduating, moves need to be made. Either crack down on the distractions, or give the inner city kids a choice to escape from the cycle. That and give parents there a slap in the face that education is important.

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Blast From the Past.. It's the Commodore VIC-20 - The World's Worst Personal Computer Ever !!

Son, I Can't Figure This POS Out Either.....

I work with a pair of co-workers in their mid-20's, and they have no idea how bad technology was when they were born. A perfect example of this is the Commodore VIC-20, the first personal computer to sell a million units back in the early 80's. And my family was one of them.

I got mine in 1982. We never had Atari, because my parents were convinced that video games were the devil's handiwork - or something like that. Martha can help me out on this one. So, they were all excited when they bought the VIC-20. I remember how jazzed my Mom was that we could now learn how to work a computer, and how we'd all be tech savvy from now on. It lasted about a week.

The VIC-20 had no memory or power - it only had 8 bits . It was slow as sin, it was made before the mouse was invented, so to play games, you had to use the arrow keys. But worst of all, to use it, you had to know FORTRAN. I told Heather at work about this, and her first question was, "What's FORTRAN?" Enough said.

Sometimes getting on the bandwagon too early is a bad thing, and this is a perfect example. This piece of crap got me so intimidated with computers that I didn't finally try to buy another one until 1998. They did have a great ad campaign though. Here are a couple clips. the first is Bill Shatner shilling for the VIC-20. You know, "Get Into the Future With Capt. Kirk !!". The second clip is the one that scared the crap out of every parent in America - if you don't know computers, you kid will NEVER GET A JOB AND LEAVE THE HOUSE !!!! Guess it was right...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUEI7mm8M7Q

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUKUHjBhb2Q

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SC6 Lost Movie Classic: True Romance.

Time for another SC6 movie classic. This week's movie is the 1993 cult favorite 'True Romance'. Directed by Tony Scott (Thelma and Louise), and having an all-star cast, it's one of those great 90's action movies, with a good sense of humor. Written by Quentin Tarentino one year before he made Pulp Fiction, I and most people who see it agree that it's better than Pulp Fiction.

It's about Clarence (Christian Slater) a young guy who idolizes Kung Fu and Elvis. His boss at the comic book store he works at arranges for Clarence to get a call girl for his birthday(Patricia Arquette). Clarence and Alabama instantly fall in love and get married. The only problem is getting Alabama's pimp ,Drexl ( a totally unrecognizable Gary Oldman). They get her things, rather violently, and instead of Alabama's bag, he accidentally grabs a suitcase full of cocaine. Oops!!

What do they do now? They decide to drive out to California to a see a friend of Clarence's who worked (almost) as an actor in Hollywood, figuring everyone in Hollywood could use a bag of coke. The only problem is that The Mob wants their coke back, the cops are looking for him too, and Clarence has to gain the trust of a big time Hollywood producer to buy his stash.

The plotline sounds very 90's now, but the real gift of the movie are the actors in the film, and even more, the long one on one scenes. And the cast is unbelievable. Brad Pitt, Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, James Gandolfini, Bronson Pinchot, Christopher Penn and a ton more are all in the film, and they're all great. There's a lot of violence, foul language and obviously, there's a lot drugs here, but it's all a backdrop to the super acting between the cast.

Here's a couple clips from the movie. First is the big meeting between Clarence and Drexl, and the second is a cranked-out Brad Pitt getting a visit from the Mob in L.A. . I also have the clip of Dennis Hopper and Walken on my beign Italian blog earlier this week.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=w94dZtKXaaE

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gGZAIFteAg

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SC6's Recurring Post, "Poverty Sucks" Continues On.

Lately, This Has Been an All Too Familiar Sight...

Excuse me today as I vent, but I feel like I am bottoming out a bit - kinda like the economy. I got back from Hilton Head, with a paycheck that I already knew was gone to cover my car payment that is three weeks overdue tonight. I went to my PO Box to get my mail, and I got a notice from my bank. The one that looks like the one page rejection letter you get from college. I knew exactly what it was.....

Everyone's favorite three letters...... NSF. Apparently, I took out $80 from the ATM after depositing $1150 30 seconds earlier. Well, that $80 caused two checks to bounce on the same day(how that happens I have no idea), one of which was a credit card bill that was over the limit due to the finance charge assessed. So, after it was over, I paid $121 in fees for $105 of charges. I called the bank to find out to see exactly what was left for this week. I have $17. I have no gas, no food, no laundry detergent, and empty gas tank, and I'm 175 miles from getting back to work. Tough day.....

My first bonus will be in soon, but I have to pay my car taxes (overdue) , and the tires that I already got last week. I haven't paid my half of the mortgage yet either. Next month, my best friend grwoing up is getting married, and I am not going because I can't afford the trip. Such is how things go when you don't work for six months. Sure, I'm making some headway, but it gets a bit frustrating when you drive three hours each way to work, work 50 hours and sleep on a couch all week, then end up with nothing each week. In short, i'm pretty tired of this, and it's affecting other things as well.....

In my attempt to move on since Ms. X had to part company with me, I've been going back and forth with a few women on MySpace, and one asked me out for drinks and gave me her phone number, but I had to put the brakes on meeting for awhile. Why? Because I'm broke. Very Sad. I've tried real hard to accept things with Ms. X being gone the past four months, when I know how she would like to be friends, but can't. I heard the song that made her think of me all the time today, and it reminded me of how well we got along. I'm not naturally the type of person who just switches gears with people like nothing happened, so not being able to move on even when I give it a real shot blows monkey dong...

No, it's not as bad as it was. I'm working at least, and all the dumb crap that I'm paying for now will end eventually. Guess I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself, and I miss my Princess - my little buddy... Chin up, right? Here's another pick me up tune. You know how I know I'm Gay? I listen to Coldplay....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBEYyHGbwto

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It's Grady, The Ill-Tempered Badger Car Salesman..

Working at a car dealership for 7 years, I love when the industry gets picked on. And there is no easier target than the car salesman. Maybe it's a cliche', but it makes for good advertising. With that in mind, we introduce you to Grady the Badger(ing) Car Salesman....

The brainchild of a dealership chain in Raleigh, NC (and their ad company), Grady is the seven deadly sins in a furry nutshell.... He's rude, sexist, slovenly, greedy - all of those things that make a bad car salesman. Each commercial ends with the tag line, "Don't Get Badgered". It took a tour around the dealership - mainly because i think he sells Hondas - and now everyone is walking around the dealership going "Ke-Powee !!!". It gets slow at work sometimes... Here's the complete campaign....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-SK1-iILlY

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40 Years Since King's Assassination...

We mark the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King's Jr's passing today by giving you the clip of his last speech, given the day before his murder in Memphis, TN. Unfortunately, it is only the last minute of his speech - the part that most people know.

I heard the extended version of it this morning , and the part that struck me was that King didn't just have a moment of irony by mentioning that he may get there with his people. The man was genuinely worried about threats against him, and he knew that the threats were serious. Living in fear is a tough prospect, and I'm glad that I've never been in that spot.

We'll never know for sure how things would have been had King lived. Would he be a hero, or maybe a Senator or President by now.... or would he be Jesse Jackson? It is interesting to speculate. However, I do think that we as a country have progressed tremendously since then, and that King , while not being completely satisfied, would be proud of the progress. Too many make their living by antagonizing the peace, and I'd like to think that he would not be one of them.

There can be no doubt that, in the year where we will likely have it's first black presidential nominee, that America has turned a corner in confronting race. I look forward to the day when we don't look at each other in terms of color - at least in a negative way.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0FiCxZKuv8&feature=related

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NATO Says 'Nyet' to Ukraine and Georgia...

At the NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania this week, membership for both the Ukraine and Soviet Georgia were denied.. I saw a bit of this when I was in Odessa last year. At the top of the Potamkin Steps, there was a booth set up that said 'NATO NYET'. I don't think translation is needed. I was going to take pictures of it, but I was a little worried about getting taken away at the time.





It's a bit of a shame, because the Ukraine could be a very good ally. However, there is a major split among it's people, and it allows the long arm of Vladimir Putin to exert his influence on the decision. In most areas of the Ukraine, Putin is viewed like Ronald Reagan was here in the 80's. He brought pride back to Russia and it's other republics, so if Vlad the Enabler wants no part of NATO, that's how it's people will vote.




Let's face it - Russia needs the Ukraine. It is an agricultural power for Russia. More importantly, it is rich in Natural Gas. Without this, Russia starves, so they cajole and threaten the Ukraine into submission to it's will. Too bad......





It's not a dead deal - at least not yet. But, it is a big blockade to progress in Eastern Europe. Someday, these republics may stop being afraid of life without Russia, but we may another 10 pr twenty years before the majority of Ukrainians have spent a lifetime without being under the Big Bear's thumb. Someday......


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Beyonce and Jay-Z Got a Wedding License? Who Cares, Earl Is Having His Graduation Party Soon !!

Time to Get Your Social Calendar Ready...

Yes, word is that Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z are finally going to get married this Spring in New York. Now chances are that you probably will not be invited. Don't be upset, I'm not going either..... But fear not, while they're sipping Cristal by the bottle, you can hang out in Moncks Corner, ripping Earl Capps a new A-hole - all in good fun, of course.....

Earl is at long last ending his mammoth collegiate career, and on May 10th, he'll be celebrating it with friends and family by having a roast. And we here at SC6 are getting ready !

Nothing will be off limits that day, and we'll leave no stone unturned. Remember we are the guys that brought you the Beer and Arby's - Treasurer Scandal...

Time to sharpen the old axe......