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[graham4anything]

This message was self-deleted by its author (graham4anything) on Sat Jun 22, 2013, 06:07 AM. When the original post in a discussion thread is self-deleted, the entire discussion thread is automatically locked so new replies cannot be posted.

[BainsBane]

1. I only know Gandolfini

I might recognize the others if I saw photos.

[leftstreet]

2. wtf are you talking about? n/t

[Ptah]

3. Michael Hastings?

Michael Hastings was best known for his sensational, award-winning piece 'The Runaway General'
published in Rolling Stone in 2010. It portrayed a commander of the US-led force in Afghanistan
Gen. Stanley McChrystal and “general's staff” as “handpicked collection of killers, spies, geniuses,
patriots, political operators and outright maniacs”, revealed openly disrespectful attitude to
President Obama, administration officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, and their war policies.

[dixiegrrrrl]

25. Here is link to the article:

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-runaway-general-20100622

[brewens]

4. Rent the Sopranos DVDs somewhere. You'll get sucked in and blow through them in

a month! I did.

[Vinnie From Indy]

5. I am sure I would disagree with you if I could understand

this rambling, incoherent post! So you get a pass on this one because I am clueless.

cheers!

[Enrique]

6. he's saying that Michael Hastings wasn't very important

he's saying that normal people like himself and his red-blooded American friends have no interest in snot-nosed little reporters like Hastings.

[Vinnie From Indy]

7. Thanks!

As I suspected, the OP is simply being a jackass.

Cheers!

[cali]

10. excellent translation from gobblydegook to English!

[graham4anything]

11. No, I am saying I never heard of him. I never heard of even one 2013 professional hockey players too

It doesn't mean anything more than that fact.

I don't follow hockey, but I know the professional bowling tour
(and I am a big NY Met fan, but while I can name their entire 1969 team, I couldn't name more than 3 or 4 of the current players.)

[cali]

12. bullfuckingshit. then why an op about how you never heard of him?

seriously, you don't fool anyone.

[graham4anything]

14. You know, it reminds me of a few years ago when that race car driver died

That race care driver died, right at the time we were going to Florida, I think the Daytona race was around that time as it was every year we went.

It was all Florida talked about for the entire 10 days we were there.

Someone saved all the papers back home, and except for the obit, there was zero mention of it in the NY/NJ papers.
Zero.

Yet, I can tell you the exact stats of Mark Roth, who sad to say had a major stroke a couple of years ago.

America is a vast place, and one man's superstar is unknown by others.

How many here heard of Mark Roth? I bet very few.

[backwoodsbob]

17. Mark Roth

The first of the big cranking hook power bowlers.He used to drive me crazy watching him cock that arm over and over before every shot.....but he had mad skills.

He came into his own in the era when the first urethane bowling balls were gaining favor....long before the active and reactive resin balls of today...and he could make those primitive by todays standards utethane balls dance.
I was more of a Marshall Holman fan but I liked big Mark

[graham4anything]

22. They made a great doubles team.

Liked Marshall myself too. Same with Brian Voss.
BTW- cbssports cable channel has 5 summer tour events Tuesdays at 7pm eastern, two already played of the 5.
ESPN ran the winter tour, not sure who has the 2014 tour.

My hand had blisters like Mark throwing like he did.
In highschool, I was the best bowler at the tryouts, however, the coach didn't even notice me, as I wasn't part of the in crowd.
When I went to his office after the list was posted and asked him, he didn't know I was there, but then brushed me off saying I had no potential.
anyhow...

[backwoodsbob]

27. I may not like everything you do here..but

bowling is my passion.
Highest I ever got was making the cut in 14 mid states masters(made the finals once..lost...won 2500)and two US Opens

LOVE me some bowling.
My best traveling tourney league average was 219

[graham4anything]

31. Cool! Wish bowling was as big as golf.

Both are very similar but once they made the pros play on lanes treated to make them harder than the average league bowler,
and with the new balls, a league bowler can get a higher score than the pros, people stopped watching it thinking they could do better.

However, they can't on those floor patterns.

It has, though become a major international sport...and the superstars here are treated like matinee idols in some parts of the world.
(and the money is better overseas for them.)

When they went to the exempt tour, cut the number of games per tourney, and changed the balls, it made it harder for the ones they wanted to be on TV to make the finals like they used to. It backfired on them.

What is interesting now is that it is privately owned and operated by one company.

Imagine if one owner owned all the baseball teams.

[backwoodsbob]

33. yep

The PBA was ruined when they were bought out.

I know what you mean with the oil patterns.....bowled a few US Open qualifiers on the scorpion pattern...it's a bitch

Nice to know someone other than me has a passion for bowling here

[graham4anything]

35. It's funny, the senior tour is getting more exciting than the pro tour

you know what is also funny
living in NY/NJ never had a problem with crime
except once someone broke into my trunk and stole my bowling ball/shoes. Had that ball for years and its not that easy for a lefthanded bowler to get a new ball.

(but then I still play tennis with my wooden tad davis) LOL

[backwoodsbob]

40. left hander?Cheater!!!!!

I'm left handed.I love it when I see in my leagues that I will be the only leftie some weeks on my pair.I get to set my oil and go about my business.I may move one or two boards all day while everyone on the right side is moving every four or five frames.

I once had to quit a league in Detroit because they banned all lefthanded bowlers...I had to laugh

[graham4anything]

44. LOL.

I was never a fan of Earl Anthony, too robotic, (but accurate.) Wonder if he could have mastered the lanes today.

Johnny Petraglia is lefthanded. He is from NJ and at Carolier Lanes (wish that was closer to me, it is more than 75 minutes, if it was closer would bowl there. Great pro shot there.
They have a major tourney once a year we go to.

Getting back into actually bowling again, now that I am into a wellness program, I was hesitant the last few years
regular bowling is a lot more physical than most people think. Very hard on the knees too, especially if they don't keep the lanes clean.

[backwoodsbob]

47. do some research

there are some 14 pound balls out now that hit like a ton of bricks.
Easier on the wrists and still effective

[graham4anything]

48. Mine was 16, but I am too old for a 16.(better say 16 pound ball, someone might read this wrong).

Have big hands, so it is very hard to find alley balls at all to test them out
(and the pro shops don't really have many drilled lefty balls.

So its like buy and then test (and once you drill you can't return)
but there is one out there that will have my name on it

[backwoodsbob]

52. look at the trackball series

track makes several 14 pounders that hit HARD.They have several 14 pounders rated at 9.5 that just destroy pins

[graham4anything]

54. thanks.

[backwoodsbob]

53. just tell them

to give you the full ounce of sideweight you can legally take.Also move the weight towards the front of the fingerholes.It makes flipping the ball easier on the wrist and still gives lots of punch

[backwoodsbob]

43. if you ever get the chance

there is a tourney in Chicago that runs for months.They have the second floor for the tourney.They have 30 lanes and every lane is different.You bowl one frame on each lane.Some may have 20 units of oil on each board...some may not have been oiled for years.Some have offset arrows and some have no arrows at all.

It's a blast

[graham4anything]

49. I have heard of something like that. That sounds like fun.

[Iggo]

16. You are exactly correct.

[JW2020]

42. Hastings embarrassed Obama

Even in death the long knives come out.

[Bonobo]

63. Thanks, I honestly could not understand what the fuck the tiny seed of an idea was...

That tiny, ungerminated seed lay beneath a thick hazy blanket of Wellness-induced smoke and it was impenetrable to me.

What a seedy-little POS OP it is.

[Monkie]

24. when hes not fantasising about droning muslims he comes up with some really incoherent stuff

my god, some people just have no shame at all.
a man is dead and some other guy is onanising about famous people he knows to make the other person seem insignificant, its just sad.
i dont understand these cults of personality, but i do know hastings was as valuable a human being as any of those other "famous" people, if not more, how can you compare a journalist to a actor

[Bluenorthwest]

8. Of course you didn't actually know any of these people, while others actually did.

It offends me to see the use of nice dead people as dressing for word salads. Even Chet deserves better than that, and Chet was no Lester Bangs, much less a Dr Thompson.

[Iggo]

18. ...but he would give Ben Fong Torres a run for his money.

(I just like saying Ben Fong Torres.)

[Bluenorthwest]

36. It is fun to say. So is Lester Bangs for that matter.

nt

[graham4anything]

50. Not a fan of Hunter Thompson's style of writing. To each his own.

(not saying anything about his viewpoint, but his writing style.)

[cali]

9. so you're proud of your abject ignorance? And you're name dropping? bwahahaha.

and you sure as shit are putting Hastings down in your inimitable rambling word salad way.

not to mention that you've done that in other posts.

rambling, tangential speech is often a sign of something.

[cali]

19. I said nothing of the kind. put up or ferme la bouche.

Link to my saying anything fucking remotely related to what you claim I said about "the whole world should follow the people you do".

and I've said tons of nice things about President Obama. Unlike YOU I don't make horseshit claims. Here.

I keep getting told I'm some sort of radical lefty (of course I just got told by another DUer that I'm a right winger and should have been kicked off of DU for my right wing views, so...)

Given a choice between McCain and Obama, of course I'd vote for the President. Given a choice between Mittens and Obama, of course I'd vote for the President. In fact, I'd vote for the President over any republican and quite a few dems.

I like President Obama. I thinks he's an intelligent, decent, compassionate man.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023022113
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002463603

[cali]

23. weasel words. yes, you said it.

and you said you'd never seen anything nice I'd written about Obama. Now you know how wrong you are about that.

so what if I wrote a post about the cult of personality? and no, I am not surprised that people don't "follow" the same people I do- whatever that is supposed to mean.

stop making shit up.

[Monkie]

26. its a bit sick that a buffoon feels the need to ramble about dead people

in this way, does anyone take this buffoon seriously?
what is the point, does it impress anyone at all?
its like when your cat drags home some dead animal and presents it too you, you kindof have to accept it, but you really dont want to be touching that "gift".

[graham4anything]

41. James Gandolfini is very relevant you know, what with wellness being in right now.

and James is from NJ, and the governor of NJ is about the same age and has the same problem.

and as I am on a wellness program for a year or so now, it is quite scary you know.

I don't understand why people belittle wellness programs.(and put down the 48 ounce soda controversy).

When one hits 45 or 50, and what your body accepted all of a sudden catches up with you.
Everybody has a vice, mine was cheese. It's one day at a time with no real cheese.

125 pounds lighter with no surgery, and I got so heavy from sitting around working on the computer, watching the news from 9/11 onward and not doing a damn bit of exercising and eating wrong.

So it is relevant toward today's stories.

And James Gandolfini was an eye opener. While I will never vote for Christie, I do hope he knows he has to work at it as like James, he has a family to think about.
It is a 24/7/365 and the surgery is not the end all.

[cali]

45. thanks. glad people remember that.

[Moses2SandyKoufax]

51. You're welcome. n/t

[cherokeeprogressive]

65. "There are 325 million people in the world." Blue Cheese please. Fresh ground black pepper too.

[rrneck]

15. Well, this makes more sense...

[Fla_Democrat]

20. Does that mean you are only 75%-25%?

Tighten up.

[dkf]

28. Not nice.

The man just died for heaven sakes.

[MADem]

30. If you say "The guy who broke the General McChrystal story, where his staff was badmouthing the

CinC and making light of the mission in Afghanistan" everyone who was breathing remembers that.

That guy who did that big thing--you may not remember the guy's name, but you remember the big thing.

[Hissyspit]

32. No surprise you didn't know him.

As ill-informed and in a bubble as you are.

[sabrina 1]

34. Well, that explains a whole lot.

Never heard of Michael Hastings? That's sad. Have you ever heard of Matt Taibbi, Jeremy Scahill?

[graham4anything]

38. I know Taibbi obviously.

Real journalism died when the old school type like Jack Germond (later on the MCLaughlan group), and other reporters got old and the media tossed Dan Rather out and his buddies were right there stabbing him in the back.

and I knew the Village Voice writers up to before the Voice was brought out and everyone was either fired or quit, though it was a week to week whether I agreed with them or not.
(once they went free in Manhattan, it ruined them.)

Hey, but I do read and know Dan Savage though he no longer is in the voice, read him on line. Haven't missed one column of his. Always love when he gets to be a tv talking head.
Always wonder If they read his column.

[southernyankeebelle]

37. I read the article by Mr Hastings about General McChrystle. I think it was in the

Rollingstone mag. It was long but very informative. Excellent read. I bet if you google his name I bet this article will pop up and you can click on it.

[graham4anything]

46. That article I do know, didn't know he wrote that by name til it was brought up yesterday.

which was the point of the OP

[JimDandy]

55. One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong...

Slim Whitman-singer/entertainment industry (never heard of-had to look him up);
Chet Flippo-music journalist/entertainment industry (also a look-up);
James Gandolfini-actor/entertainment industry (heard of-never saw his show).

Michael Hastings-award winning news/political reporter, war correspondent, journalist and author.

What a commentary on you, and the 4 (not 325 million) people you spoke to, that the only decedents you recognized are entertainers.

[graham4anything]

56. I defy most people who aren't political junkies to name the 44(actually only 43 different presidents

But people all over can name all the members of the Beatles and the Simpsons (except maybe for Maggie)

If you ask 1000 people who Frank Rich is, I bet 900plus have no clue.

If you ask a million people who ARTHUR Hailey is, how many would know(I said ARTHUR not ALEX).

If you ask 1000 people who Stephen King is, I am sure all would know.

I still think in 2000, 25% of his voters thought W was 41.

(and I bet tomorrow, the world will instantly know the name Kanye's new baby.(it really isn't North West is it?)

In the movie 42 about Jackie Robinson, I bet everyone knew who Jackie was, but bet almost no one knew the names of the other players portrayed, and the manager of the Dodgers after the other was banned.

It is not personal, it is an observation.

Quick, who was Millard Fillmore's VP?(without looking. I can't say I could tell you myself).
I could tell you the names of the 4 VPS for FDR without looking, but I bet most couldn't remember 2 of them.

[questionseverything]

59. i am lousy at names

after hasting died i asked a few parents of kids friends what they thought..i got the same response,never heard of him but they all knew of the actor

[Iggo]

57. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You never heard of him, so he doesn't matter.

The fact that you went so far out of your way to avoid saying his name shows how much it bothers you, and how much it really does matter to you.

[LanternWaste]

58. Sometimes I get the sneaking suspicion...

Sometimes I get the sneaking suspicion you actually believe you're making sense.

It is my opinion. Of course you are welcome to disagree with me...

[HiPointDem]

60. i don't believe you.

[Electric Monk]

61. These are the Daves I know

Well, I never actually met them, but I saw them on TV once, so....

[Iggo]

62. "Some of them are David, but most of them are Dave."

[Electric Monk]

64. Dave? Dave's not here, man.

[graham4anything]

66. Four people of various celebrity died within a day of each other, and you know what, I only knew 3.

I AM CLOSING THIS DOWN as it is veering off message. but am cutting/pasting the OP here, and putting it in my journal.
It makes the point that we all know and follow people but in America, in such a big and vast country, it isimpossible for all of us to know by name every single person.

44 President (actually only 43), how many can name all of them and in their correct order?
How many people know Millard Fillmore's vice president? (note, that is a trick question, as he did not have one).
Everyone has their favorites and those they know, but favorites are not the same to everyone.

If it would be that simple, everyone would agree who was the greatest pitcher of all time, Sandy Koufax or Bob Gibson.
--------------------------------------the following was the post in the OP that I closed down.--------------------

Four people of various celebrity died within a day of each other, and you know what, I only knew about 3 of them.
And I venture to guess most people in America also would say the same thing.

Four people of various celebrity died within a day of each other, and you know what, I only knew 3.

The greatest writer in Rolling Stone magazine history died, and I read him all the time, and his books.
His name was Chet Flippo. I even had the pleasure of meeting him and talking to him. Loved his writing style both in Rolling Stone and his books, and later on the CMT.com site.

I knew about 90 year old Slim Whitman even before his comeback on latenight tv, and later on Mars Attacks!!!
(and who didn't in their shower try to do what he did).

I knew about as did everyone James Gandolfini and I can honestly say I never saw the Sopranos as I don't get HBO,
though according to my latest cable bill, it will be available under our plan free of charge(except the bill is going up ten dollars
to get it free).

However, the other,Michael Hastings, I never heard of.
I heard of him because of the accident, and they say he wrote for blogs and articles and had some articles in Rolling Stone.

However, I get a subscription to Rolling Stone. I wrack my brain, and I can't recall ever seeing his name in it.

I buy it for old times sake, and the music stuff and Hollywood stuff.

The NY Times, well, after Jayson Blair and Judith Miller, and their getting rid of Frank Rich (who pegged it 100% correct about the President and the hatred of him), and what it was from day one), I don't really read the news in the Times.

Ironically, their obituaries are the one thing I still buy it for, and the Sunday Crossword puzzle, and their entertainment stuff.
Without the obits, I wouldn't know some great character actors died.

But through the years, the people I have listened to, most people in America never heard of any of them.
I listened to WLIB for years, with Gary Byrd and Mark Davis and I watch Al Sharpton.
Can't recall him being mentioned on any of the three (but I am sure Gary and Mark are names foreign to most people too.

There are 325 plus million people in America.

It's nothing personal, it is the truth.

And I bet others would agree with me.

In my travels the last 2 days, I asked everyone I saw about the 4.
They all heard of James. A few remembered Slim. One person besides me knew Chet.
No one knew this writer/blogger Michael Hastings.

It's a matter of perspective.

It's what it is. It is not putting him down, or elevating the others. It's not an insult.

It is my opinion. Of course you are welcome to disagree with me.