My county’s sheriffs are doing a fine imitation of Tijuana cops lately. Background here: The son of an “assistant sheriff” and major campaign donor took part in a gang rape of another teenager and the Sheriffs Office obstructed the investigation. They also let the kid go when he was smoking pot outside the courthouse. Meanwhile, it turns out that the Sheriff has been handing out Reserve Deputy status, with badge and government issued gun included, to all his buddies. Some of said buddies have criminal records, and none of them are peace officers. The State has been pressuring him to train or fire his reserve deputies.

Hey, they’re right! His taekwondo instructor turns out not to be the kind of guy you want packing heat:

O.C. Reserve Deputy Is Suspended
Four felony counts are lodged against the man who is also the sheriff’s martial arts instructor. He allegedly pulled a gun and raged at golfers.
By Christine Hanley
Times Staff Writer

August 5, 2005

An Orange County sheriff’s reserve deputy was suspended from duty after his arrest Monday for allegedly flashing his badge, pulling a gun and threatening to kill a group of golfers at a Chino Hills course.

Meanwhile, prosecutors in San Bernardino County said Thursday that they were upping the charges against the reserve officer from a single misdemeanor count of brandishing a firearm to four felonies: two counts each of assault with a firearm and making criminal threats.

conduct unbecoming

Soul Flower Mononoke Summit

A while ago, someone I didn’t know died. He was an LJ person that some friends of mine here knew and liked. I read back through his journal and kinda liked him too.

He was a serious left winger, and someone posted an MP3 of “The Internationale” that was his favorite. I downloaded it and loved it too! It sounded very klezmer, but I couldn’t pick out the language, and there wasn’t any artist info in the file.

I was reminded of it the other day by seeing this huge collection of versions of the Internationale in 20 languages, so I went on a search for “klezmer Internationale”.

Found it! It is, of course a Japanese Klezmer Internationale done by a group called Soul Flower Mononoke Summit, from their album “Levelers Ching Dong”. And it’s on that big page, too, as I noticed when I went back to see if the Internationale collector had it.

So anyway that’s my Obscure Japanese Communist Klezmer-Ish Folk Music story for the day.

I cannot stop the links.

  1. Single white female college student seeks travel companion and lover for Costa Rica trip. Hey, this shouldn’t be a problem? Just as long as he meets stringent personal and political guidelines: “He should be intelligent, ethical, healthy and fit, monogamous, kind, generous, very affectionate and sexual. No married men, smokers, STDs, or religion, and must be pro-choice and pro-gay rights. For long-term compatibility he should be a libertarian and share a lot of my interests and hobbies.” Unfortunately Robert Heinlein is dead, and he probably wouldn’t have shared her admiration for Blink 182.
  2. Let’s go play in the carwash! Before and after pictures demonstrate the problem.
  3. The science folks are finally finding out that the mad old sea captains were right about the giant waves that kill ships.
  4. Here’s a freakin’ hilarious Toyota ad (mpeg video).
  5. Get your vexations on with Satie & Co.!

brainz

Saw the M.D. today. Since I’m doing about as well as purely medical intervention is going to get me, I’m not seeing him for another six weeks, and if things continue to be stable then at increasingly long intervals.

I bitched a little bit about what I perceive as some cognitive problems still: I feel slower to get concepts, have trouble at times finding words, and I “lock up” trying to perform a task more than I used to. It’s not as bad as I had before, but still noticeable.

He recommended B Complex or B12 vitamins in small one-a-day quantities if it’s mild, and we agreed that we’d watch that to make sure I didn’t become a drooling idiot or get Alzheimer’s at 40.

The chemical end of things is at least temporarily nailed down; I’m no longer swinging or diving so abruptly that I can’t deal with my issues in psychotherapy.

And here the real work begins…

So, Timmy. Do you like movies about… bloviators?

  1. The Condoleeza Hairdo Alert System has been activated. Please make a note of it.
  2. You may not have to constrict your anus 100 times in a row. Try improving your brain function with a cellphone ringtone! Ah, the Mysterious East.
  3. North Korean dictator/space alien Kim Kong Il remembers all the nation’s phone numbers, according to his press agency. Then again, there’s maybe 8 phones in the country. It could be a trick question.
  4. Here’s a weekly collection of misleading blurbs that may explain why a huge steaming pile of dog poop gets some good reviews.
  5. Extra multilink bonanza roundup: The captive audiences media industry is growing like crazy. Asshole companies who trap you in elevators or at the gas station are doing great. The next frontier is TV covering the floor too: FLASMA!
  6. To cheer you up from all that, here’s an unusual cat.

You’re welcome.