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Rocknation
Rocknation's Journal
Rocknation's Journal
April 28, 2018
SOP for Kanye -- serving up a controversy-sells salad with meltdown dressing
And just in time for the release of new album, of course!
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/989163475636142080
https://twitter.com/KimKardashian/status/989170257238487043
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/989177694309859328
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/989179757651574784
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/989180180659777536
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/989192498307219456
One minute he's a pioneering advocate of independent thought, the next minute he's a henpecked husband. He's in a sunken place, all right -- a mental and marital prison.
rocktivity
April 21, 2018
The college I graduated from required a 1000 total SAT score. Mine was 850
But I got credit for graduating in the top fifth of an academically reknowned high school. I graduated from the college with a B average.
I was once asked if it was "fair" that I had "taken" a spot from a student with a higher SAT score. I replied, "It must have been, since the students who got in with higher SAT scores but ended up graduating BEHIND me got to stay!"
rocktivity
April 14, 2018
Taylor posted this on Instagram in July 2016:
2009 was when Kanye interrupted Taylor's acceptance speech at an awards show and announced that Beyonce should have won, inspiring President Obama to call him "a jackass."
"Where is the video of Kanye telling me he was going to call me 'that bitch' in the song?" is an excellent question. Unfortunately for Taylor, this is also an excellent question: "Why didn't you ask that question five months ago?"
If Taylor had complained that "The lyrics Kanye read to me did not contain the word 'bitch'" when the song was released in February 2016, Kanye and his wife Kim Kardashian would have had to keep their mouths shut about the video -- not so much because they may have recorded it illegally, but because it would have proved that Obama was right.
While all three of them are guilty of lying by omission, Taylor would be running victory laps over "Kim-Ye" in her stiletto heels if she also hadn't counted on no one being able to prove that she'd lied by omission. Sorry, Taylor, but that means the "assassin" of your character was actually you.
rocktivity
The Truth About The Kanye West/Taylor Swift "I Made That Bitch Famous" Feud
Taylor posted this on Instagram in July 2016:
2009 was when Kanye interrupted Taylor's acceptance speech at an awards show and announced that Beyonce should have won, inspiring President Obama to call him "a jackass."
"Where is the video of Kanye telling me he was going to call me 'that bitch' in the song?" is an excellent question. Unfortunately for Taylor, this is also an excellent question: "Why didn't you ask that question five months ago?"
If Taylor had complained that "The lyrics Kanye read to me did not contain the word 'bitch'" when the song was released in February 2016, Kanye and his wife Kim Kardashian would have had to keep their mouths shut about the video -- not so much because they may have recorded it illegally, but because it would have proved that Obama was right.
While all three of them are guilty of lying by omission, Taylor would be running victory laps over "Kim-Ye" in her stiletto heels if she also hadn't counted on no one being able to prove that she'd lied by omission. Sorry, Taylor, but that means the "assassin" of your character was actually you.
rocktivity
April 4, 2018
According to this ABC.13.com video from the gas station camera, Devyn enters the car, then Cassandra, then Coleman a few minutes later. They were all in there approximately nine minutes.
The victim is currently responsive and in stable condition after surgery.
Link to cell phone video -- very graphic, but the first 27 seconds need to be looked at because you see Cassandra pull the trigger (the gun just clicks), then chamber and raise the gun before it went off -- which is why I smell a setup. Either:
Or:
It all depends on whether or not it's possible to chamber a bullet when:
a) there is no magazine in the gun
b) there is no magazine in the gun, but there is a bullet in the chamber
c) there is neither a magazine nor a bullet in the chamber of the gun
d) there is an empty magazine in the gun
e) there is an empty magazine in the gun, but there is a bullet in the chamber
rocktivity
Facebook Live captures man shot in head
ABC13.com: Facebook Live video shows the moment a man was...shot in the head.. around 2AM (April 1), leaving him in critical condition.
The victim, Devyn Holmes, was in a car with a woman and another man who were playing with two guns..."You're making me nervous," Holmes says in the Facebook Live, captured outside a (closed) Valero gas station...in Houston.
The victim, Devyn Holmes, was in a car with a woman and another man who were playing with two guns..."You're making me nervous," Holmes says in the Facebook Live, captured outside a (closed) Valero gas station...in Houston.
MTO: ...Devyn Holmes, Cadillac Coleman, and Cassandra Damper were sitting in a car when things turned deadly...Cassandra is seen...pointing the gun at Devyn, who tells her to stop. But...after hearing (from Coleman) that there was no "clip" in the gun, she...ended up shooting (Devyn) in the head...
(S)omeone called the police, and claimed that Devyn shot himself in the head...
(S)omeone called the police, and claimed that Devyn shot himself in the head...
MTO: Police are currently determining whether the killing was ACCIDENTAL -- or a SETUP...In...Facebook messages between Devyn and (Coleman)...just a few days before the "accident"...the two men appear to be arguing...
According to this ABC.13.com video from the gas station camera, Devyn enters the car, then Cassandra, then Coleman a few minutes later. They were all in there approximately nine minutes.
ABC3.com: ...Cassandra Damper...(who) was previously charged with tampering with evidence after police said she tried to wipe off her hands before testing for gun powder residue...is now charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The victim is currently responsive and in stable condition after surgery.
Link to cell phone video -- very graphic, but the first 27 seconds need to be looked at because you see Cassandra pull the trigger (the gun just clicks), then chamber and raise the gun before it went off -- which is why I smell a setup. Either:
- Coleman and Cassandra set up Holmes by convincing him to "squash their beef" in person: Sure, the meeting took place at 2AM in the parking lot of a closed business -- but with Cassandra in tow (as a "peace offering," perhaps?), a Facebook live stream going, and allegedly unloaded guns, why would Holmes have any cause for mistrust?
Or:
- Coleman set up Cassandra to believe she would be firing an empty gun in order to embarrass Holmes online with a "Russian roulette" style April Fool's joke.
It all depends on whether or not it's possible to chamber a bullet when:
a) there is no magazine in the gun
b) there is no magazine in the gun, but there is a bullet in the chamber
c) there is neither a magazine nor a bullet in the chamber of the gun
d) there is an empty magazine in the gun
e) there is an empty magazine in the gun, but there is a bullet in the chamber
rocktivity
February 12, 2018
Nowhere near presidential enough
The first African-blooded United States president is placed in what is essentially a jungle? And while the artist did manage to capture and project his essence, he's been colored an oompah loompah orange.
The painting of Michelle, meanwhile (I cannot consider it a portrait) comes across as the work of an earnest but wall paint-supplied junior high schooler: it's two-dimensional, the dress is the star of the show, and doesn't resemble her in the least.
rocktivity
February 1, 2018
One of the Best Album nominees, Jay-Z, declined to preform (most likely because he wasn't guaranteed a win), so there WAS "room in the box" for Lourde. And since Alissa's debut album was released in late November of 2015, it shouldn't have been eligible, as it had a one-year head start over the others.
If "the Academy" is too logistically incompetent or socially tone-deaf to realize that the 2018 Grammy ceremony was a textbook example of "not a good look" for them, then people "stepping up" is not the solution -- people "stepping DOWN" is.
rocktivity
The 2018 Grammys: a big show of supporting women that didn't support women
Vox.com: “Coming up: a powerful Grammys moment from Kesha that speaks to our times!” the announcer chirped. A couple hours deep into the ceremony, this performance had been promoted all night as The One to Watch...Janelle Monáe...insisted with steady conviction that “time’s up” for abuse of women in the music industry...(T)he CBS-produced Grammys held up Kesha’s “powerful” performance as remarkable without acknowledging...(the) sexual violence that’s been ricocheting throughout industries for the past several months. The ceremony remained stubbornly, purposefully vague, because getting any more specific would mean indicting not just the man Kesha says abused her, but the entire system that keeps men like him in power.
This maddening attempt to have it both ways was echoed throughout the 2018 Grammys ceremony...Lorde was the only woman nominated for Album of the Year, which was made more conspicuous by the fact that she was one of the few nominees who didn’t perform. She reportedly turned down an offer to share her slot for a Tom Petty tribute performance of “American Girl.” (Lorde is from New Zealand.)...Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich insisted that “there’s no way we can really deal with everybody,” despite giving U2 and Sting — neither of whom were nominated this year — multiple performances, both solo and collaborative...
When asked why more women weren’t rewarded for their work, Recording Academy president Neil Portnow shrugged that they need “to step up...”
This maddening attempt to have it both ways was echoed throughout the 2018 Grammys ceremony...Lorde was the only woman nominated for Album of the Year, which was made more conspicuous by the fact that she was one of the few nominees who didn’t perform. She reportedly turned down an offer to share her slot for a Tom Petty tribute performance of “American Girl.” (Lorde is from New Zealand.)...Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich insisted that “there’s no way we can really deal with everybody,” despite giving U2 and Sting — neither of whom were nominated this year — multiple performances, both solo and collaborative...
When asked why more women weren’t rewarded for their work, Recording Academy president Neil Portnow shrugged that they need “to step up...”
Variety (Portnow): “It has to begin with… women who have the creativity in their hearts and souls, who want to be musicians, who want to be engineers, producers, and want to be part of the industry on the executive level… [They need] to step up because I think they would be welcome. I don’t have personal experience of those kinds of brick walls that you face but I think it’s upon us — us as an industry — to make the welcome mat very obvious, breeding opportunities for all people who want to be creative and paying it forward and creating that next generation of artists.”
Glamour: Yes, you read that correctly. Portnow thinks women weren't awarded at the Grammys Sunday because they haven't "stepped up" to the plate—whatever that means...(W)omen have been stepping up for decades. There's just an institutional bias in the music industry toward male artists. Their work is viewed as more valuable, and that's why they keep winning year after year.
Pink echoed this in an open letter to Portnow that she posted (to Twitter): “Women in music don’t need to ‘step up’—women have been stepping since the beginning of time," she wrote. "Stepping up, and also steppin aside. Women OWNED music this year. They’ve been KILLING IT. And every year before this. When we celebrate and honor the talent and accomplishments of women, and how much women STEP UP every year, against all odds, we show the next generation of women and girls and boys and men what it means to be equal, and what it looks like to be fair.”
...The only woman who won a major award was Alessia Cara for Best New Artist. Four women were nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, but Ed Sheeran—the only male nominee in that category—won the honor. Women, more or less, were completely shut out of the show, which for many was both confusing and infuriating.
Pink echoed this in an open letter to Portnow that she posted (to Twitter): “Women in music don’t need to ‘step up’—women have been stepping since the beginning of time," she wrote. "Stepping up, and also steppin aside. Women OWNED music this year. They’ve been KILLING IT. And every year before this. When we celebrate and honor the talent and accomplishments of women, and how much women STEP UP every year, against all odds, we show the next generation of women and girls and boys and men what it means to be equal, and what it looks like to be fair.”
...The only woman who won a major award was Alessia Cara for Best New Artist. Four women were nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, but Ed Sheeran—the only male nominee in that category—won the honor. Women, more or less, were completely shut out of the show, which for many was both confusing and infuriating.
Variety:...(W)hen asked...whether it was a mistake to not give Album of the Year nominee Lorde an onstage moment, Ehrlich answered: “I don’t know if it was a mistake. These shows are a matter of choices. We have a box and it gets full. She had a great album. There’s no way we can really deal with everybody.”
One of the Best Album nominees, Jay-Z, declined to preform (most likely because he wasn't guaranteed a win), so there WAS "room in the box" for Lourde. And since Alissa's debut album was released in late November of 2015, it shouldn't have been eligible, as it had a one-year head start over the others.
GoldenDerby: Following an onslaught of criticism, Portnow issued a clarification of his remarks on Jan. 30: “Regrettably, I used two words, ‘step up,’ that, when taken out of context, do not convey my beliefs and the point I was trying to make. Our industry must recognize that women who dream of careers in music face barriers that men have never faced. We must actively work to eliminate these barriers and encourage women to live their dreams and express their passion and creativity through music. We must welcome, mentor, and empower them. Our community will be richer for it.”
If "the Academy" is too logistically incompetent or socially tone-deaf to realize that the 2018 Grammy ceremony was a textbook example of "not a good look" for them, then people "stepping up" is not the solution -- people "stepping DOWN" is.
rocktivity
January 27, 2018
By the power vested in me by the stewardship of New Jersey's new governor (Democrat) Phil Murphy, and by this thread's original poster DU-er Laxman, I now officially close the books on the Christie Crime Digest -- Chris Christie style.
As I said, I had every confidence that Christie's departure from office would only showcase his boorishness, and I'm delighted to report that he didn't let us down.
But as it turns out, those were only the opening acts.
About two weeks after being laid off from a job I'd had for nine years, I had to make one last visit to the personnel office. I did so by doing what I'd done practically every day for each of those nine years: entering the office building, getting on and off the elevator, exchanging pleasantries with employees who were also passing through the reception area, and bypassing the reception desk. As I was completing my business with the personnel exec, security guards turned up.
Why? Because it never entered my mind that since I didn't work there anymore, I should have conducted myself as a mere visitor "like anyone else." I suppose I should have been embarrassed by my carelessness, or offended by being considered a "suspicious" character. But all I could do was laugh -- "Force of habit, guilty as charged!"
If Christie was "led" to the first gate, it was most likely the result of his telling the PAPD officer that he wanted to use the gate for the New Jersey governor because he considered it a privilege that he still had: the same innocent mistake that I had made. But his response was classic: portraying himself as the victim -- then elevating himself to the hero -- by attacking "false" reports that he'd tried to "evade" both gates.
Nonetheless, I'm delighted that the Christie Crime Digest is ending on such a sour note. In addition to making it that much easier to say "Good riddance, Governor Soprano," it also makes me that much prouder of the time and effort that everyone invested in the Digest's creation and reading. So I won't say goodbye -- I'll just say, "Thanks, Laxman," and "Would you please take off your flip-flops before passing through the scanner, sir?"
rocktivity
The Christie Crime Digest's Closing Chapter
...It looks like Crew Christie are determined not to go gently into that good night, but with a closing volley of their trademark political tone-deafness and vulgarianism.
By the power vested in me by the stewardship of New Jersey's new governor (Democrat) Phil Murphy, and by this thread's original poster DU-er Laxman, I now officially close the books on the Christie Crime Digest -- Chris Christie style.
As I said, I had every confidence that Christie's departure from office would only showcase his boorishness, and I'm delighted to report that he didn't let us down.
Business Insider: On the day New Jersey elect(ed) a new governor, current Gov. Chris Christie fell into an old habit that has come to define his governorship...
(To) a constituent who was upset that the governor hadn't attempted to merge the constituent's township...Christie said..."It's easier to sit here and complain. But you know what? That's the joy of public service. It's serving folks...like you that is really such a unique joy. It really is. You're fabulous."
(To) a constituent who was upset that the governor hadn't attempted to merge the constituent's township...Christie said..."It's easier to sit here and complain. But you know what? That's the joy of public service. It's serving folks...like you that is really such a unique joy. It really is. You're fabulous."
NJ.com: Christie says he relishes some of the friendships he's made because he was governor: Bono texts him on his birthday and holidays. Jon Bon Jovi and his wife are close friends with Christie and Mary Pat. And there's King Abdullah, who hosted him and his family as a guest several years ago.
But as it turns out, those were only the opening acts.
Bloomberg: Christie...was blocked from a VIP entrance he had used for eight years, and directed to stand in Transportation Security Administration screening lines at Terminal B like anyone else, according to a person familiar with the incident...The order came from police for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport...
About two weeks after being laid off from a job I'd had for nine years, I had to make one last visit to the personnel office. I did so by doing what I'd done practically every day for each of those nine years: entering the office building, getting on and off the elevator, exchanging pleasantries with employees who were also passing through the reception area, and bypassing the reception desk. As I was completing my business with the personnel exec, security guards turned up.
Why? Because it never entered my mind that since I didn't work there anymore, I should have conducted myself as a mere visitor "like anyone else." I suppose I should have been embarrassed by my carelessness, or offended by being considered a "suspicious" character. But all I could do was laugh -- "Force of habit, guilty as charged!"
TalkingPointsMemo: The former governor...attempted to enter the airport through a special access area with his state police escort that he reportedly used when he was governor. A Port Authority officer stopped Christie from using that entrance and escorted him to the regular entrance...
But Christie denied the claims in...tweet(s)...saying he was led to one entrance by a Port Authority officer, but was then informed by the TSA that it was the wrong entrance and he was directed to a different gate. “Neither option was the way I entered the airport as Governor (wrong in the story) and PAPD officer never denied me entry at either place (also wrong in story),” he said...
But Christie denied the claims in...tweet(s)...saying he was led to one entrance by a Port Authority officer, but was then informed by the TSA that it was the wrong entrance and he was directed to a different gate. “Neither option was the way I entered the airport as Governor (wrong in the story) and PAPD officer never denied me entry at either place (also wrong in story),” he said...
If Christie was "led" to the first gate, it was most likely the result of his telling the PAPD officer that he wanted to use the gate for the New Jersey governor because he considered it a privilege that he still had: the same innocent mistake that I had made. But his response was classic: portraying himself as the victim -- then elevating himself to the hero -- by attacking "false" reports that he'd tried to "evade" both gates.
Nonetheless, I'm delighted that the Christie Crime Digest is ending on such a sour note. In addition to making it that much easier to say "Good riddance, Governor Soprano," it also makes me that much prouder of the time and effort that everyone invested in the Digest's creation and reading. So I won't say goodbye -- I'll just say, "Thanks, Laxman," and "Would you please take off your flip-flops before passing through the scanner, sir?"
rocktivity
January 20, 2018
Does she have any back pay coming?
P.S. I saw a true crime show about a soldier on a weekend pass who was found stabbed to death -- and who was given a dishonorable discharge for being AWOL! His family had a followup autopsy done, but the time of death could not be determined. Bad news? Quite the opposite.
The family used the autopsy report to argue that since it couldn't be proved that the soldier's death DIDN'T take place BEFORE the weekend pass ran out, the military HAD to presume his innocence. The soldier was awarded an honorable discharge with all the posthumous trimmings!
rocktivity
December 14, 2017
Click here if you must know where this took place and who this genius went to see -- I have decided to withhold that information out of consideration for both the performers and their intelligent DU fans. Suffice it to say that he can look forward to some wasted years because he is now a prisoner, not a free man...
rocktivity
Self-Snitching: It's Not Just For Hiphoppers Anymore
There are millions of intelligent people out there who also happen to be ***** fans, but the guy with the Nazi tattoos who was arrested...after his friend posted their ***** tickets on Facebook is not one of them...
(B)efore you feel too sorry for him and his ruined Saturday night, (he)...was arrested on charges of aggravated kidnapping...(O)ne of his friends posted a picture of his confirmation email for ***** tickets on Facebook, along with a seating chart marked with the exact spot where he and his +1 would be sitting...(S)heriff’s deputies showed up at the concert, and, well -- there they were...
(B)efore you feel too sorry for him and his ruined Saturday night, (he)...was arrested on charges of aggravated kidnapping...(O)ne of his friends posted a picture of his confirmation email for ***** tickets on Facebook, along with a seating chart marked with the exact spot where he and his +1 would be sitting...(S)heriff’s deputies showed up at the concert, and, well -- there they were...
Click here if you must know where this took place and who this genius went to see -- I have decided to withhold that information out of consideration for both the performers and their intelligent DU fans. Suffice it to say that he can look forward to some wasted years because he is now a prisoner, not a free man...
rocktivity
September 11, 2017
An opening short subject by fellow DUer Symbolman:
And the feature presentation:
rocktivity
The 2017 9/11 Memorial Film Festival
Introductory remarks byJon Stewart.
An opening short subject by fellow DUer Symbolman:
And the feature presentation:
rocktivity
Profile Information
Gender: FemaleHometown: New Jersey
Home country: USA
Member since: 2001
Number of posts: 44,922