theCLog

CMS sent school buses on a trial run today. The school system does this every year, but the news still shows kids getting home at 8 p.m. the first day  — and sometimes the first week — of school.

What are these buses doing besides wasting gas? We’ve all heard Superintendent Peter Gorman and others with CMS talk about how gas is in short supply. Remember earlier this summer when the school system announced that kids were going to have to walk farther to get to bus stops in their neighborhoods? So, is this trial run wise? With all the money that CMS spent investigating sports programs at area schools and the cost of gas, couldn’t they just hand the bus drivers maps?

I mean, they’re going to be late that first day, anyway. What’s the point of driving around town today?

Bookmark It

• Old-time actor Ernest Borgnine reveals how, at 91, he’s able to stay young. In short, he suggests that masturbation is the new Botox.

Other random shit, like David Silver wanting to be the Riddler in the next Batman movie 

Bookmark It

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Cinderella, Snow White, Tinkerbell and other fictional fixtures of modern-day childhood were handcuffed, frisked and loaded into police vans Thursday at the culmination of a labor protest that brought a touch of reality to the Happiest Place on Earth.

The arrest of the 32 protesters, many of whom wore costumes representing famous Disney characters, came at the end of an hour-long march to Disneyland’s gates from one of three Disney-owned hotels at the center of a labor dispute.

Those who were arrested sat in a circle on a busy intersection outside the park holding hands until they were placed in plastic handcuffs and led to two police vans while hundreds of hotel workers cheered and chanted.

The full story

A few years back, I went to Disney World in Orlando and I couldn’t help but wonder if the Disney workers were really that happy. Some of the visitors to the park were just assholes and then they had kids.

Bookmark It

The Eastside Political Action Committee has issued a release asking the city council to change the name of a neighborhood getting a bad reputation following another violent event.

According to the group’s press release, the violence isn’t happening in Cedars East. “The Cedars East neighborhood is immediately to the west of that complex, and because of name association, bears the brunt of negative publicity associated with Idlewild Apartments,” states the release.

Here’s the full statement:

The fatal shooting Monday of a man at Idlewild Apartments is the most recent of a long list of criminal actions at the violent apartment compound at Idlewild Road just north of Independence Boulevard.

According to CMPD Crime Mapping statistics of the most recent 12-month period, the large, deteriorating and absentee-owned complex has also experienced:
87 residential burglaries
39 drug incidents (possession and/or manufacturing)
23 aggrivated assaults
38 non-aggrivated assaults
32 cases of vandalism
8 armed robberies
3 sex offenses
2 strong arm robberies

and other criminal incidents.

The complex is a disaster; its out-of-state owners do not work with CMPD to maintain safety there.

A large percentage of tenants are recipients of Section 8 vouchers. As the stated goal of the Charlotte Housing Authority is “delivering safe, decent and sanitary housing to families who cannot afford conventional housing,” we urgently request:

1. CMPD immediately report to the City Attorney, District Attorney, City Council and Charlotte Housing Authority on the condition of public safety at Idlewild Apartments and how it has fared in its attempts to work with the site owners to foster public safety.
2. The City Council direct the Charlotte Housing Authority to withdraw Idlewild Apartments from its list of residences deemed safe for Section 8 tenants, and that Section 8 vouchers not be allowed at Idlewild Apartments.

The long-standing notoriety of Idlewild Apartments is of great concern to nearby neighborhoods whose well-being is called into question by proximity to this complex.

3. We ask the City Council to request that public safety in the vicinity of Idlewild Apartments be included in the plans for economic redevelopment of the distressed Independence Boulevard corridor.
4. We request the City Council to petition CDOT to rename Cedars East Court — the public street within that apartment complex. Cedars East is one of many neighborhoods to have the misfortune of being located near Idlewild Apartments. The Cedars East neighborhood is immediately to the west of that complex, and because of name association, bears the brunt of negative publicity associated with Idlewild Apartments.

The deteriorating situation at Idlewild Apartments must be addressed by the city government; CMPD’s Independence Division is working hard to contain the problem, but the complex is too large and its systemic problems are too profound.

Immediate action is needed. Immediate action is required.

Board of Directors
Coventry Woods Neighborhood Association
www.coventrywoods.org

Bookmark It

Imagine what the movie Shaft would’ve been without its trademark theme.

The loss of soul man Issac Hayes shows you the difference one person can make in history.

While the mainstream media will talk about his role on South Park and the iconic Shaft theme, let me introduce you to Truck Turner:

Rest In Peace, Issac.

Bookmark It

Shock, awed and dismayed.
But why?
Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards is the latest politician to have an affair. While the public is shocked and dismayed, I’m sitting here wondering why.
Men cheat all the time and it seems that at least once a month that man is a politician. Edwards isn’t the first and he won’t be the last. It’s not a left or a right thing because both parties have their share of cheaters. I just don’t get why the public takes it so personally.
Can you say that people in your circle haven’t cheated?
The fact that Edwards waited until he was out of office to cheat does show that he has half a brain. But the fact that his wife, Elizabeth, had been battling cancer when he chose to have an affair shows that he has brain damage.
What people should realize is that men with power probably cheat more. Women are throwing themselves at them and most of those men don’t know how to say no. Not to absolve them from wrongdoing, but it takes two to tango. Maybe some of these women ought to respect the wedding ring they see on a senator, president or house member’s finger before flirting with them.
And politicians, who cast moral judgments on others, like Edwards did when former president Bill Clinton was messing with a certain intern, should remember their own words when temptation comes knocking.
But the public should realize that no one is perfect. Many people over look the fact that politicians lie about wars but want blood when they lie about sex. That makes no damned sense at all.
Will Edwards bounce back from this? Who’s to say? But it should be noted that Idaho Senator Larry Craig still has a job and Bill Clinton is still revered in the Democratic Party.

Bookmark It

Here’s another reason for New Yorkers to think North Carolina is just hicksville and in need of special ed!
From www.NYTIMES.com:

Our area is suffering from a drought. To save water, our family has adopted an “if it’s yellow, let it mellow” philosophy toward flushing the toilet. We’ve proudly watched our consumption fall. But is it appropriate not to flush at work or at friends’ homes? We are in a drought. Andy, Carrboro, N.C.

Hang on a second. I just need to finish watering the lawn.

I applaud your family’s economy almost as much as I don’t want to drop by for a visit.

The problem with implementing your policy outside the home, however, at work or at friends’ houses, is that absent a group decision to stop flushing, your unilateral act might offend people who are unaware of its noble intentions. They’ll just think you’re gross.

Let’s save the water, but if you piss in my home and don’t flush, you won’t be invited back! That’s just flipping nasty to do in someone else’s toilet!

Bookmark It

Eastland Mall has shortened its hours and will be closed on Sundays.

Let’s just put this lame duck out of its misery. There isn’t much in Eastland Mall worth buying — unless you’re into urban clothing and sneakers. Belk is gone, Sears looks as if it’s going to close any minute because those items in there are old as the former ice skating rink in the bottom of the mall. Dillards is some hybrid warehouse-like store that is only open every other day, and you have to know the secret password to get in the door.

I’ve seen this play out on the Westside with Freedom Mall. By the time I moved to Charlotte, the west side mall was already in a freefall. Instead of allowing Eastland to stay open and have the local businesses inside the mall not know what the future holds for their companies, just shut the place down and relocate the viable businesses inside the mall.

The city of Charlotte has a perception that Eastland is an evil place. But violence happens all over the city, not just at this mall. East Charlotte neighbors want change, and that change means redeveloping Eastland Mall.

From www.charlotteobserver.com:

Weekly operating hours will be 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., a reduction of three hours a day. The mall has normally been open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. during the week.

On Saturdays, the mall will close four hours early, at 5 p.m. The mall has normally been open until 9 p.m. on Saturdays.

Here’s hoping some of the good businesses still left in the mall can survive.

Bookmark It

From: www.scriptbuddy.com:

New INDIE screenplay competition offers an exciting PRODUCTION DEAL to the grand prize winner…. The winning writer of The Movie Deal! Screenplay Contest will receive an honest-to-gosh PRODUCTION DEAL, plus airfare and accommodations to the set of their own film.

Independent filmmakers Craig James Pietrowiak & Scott Prestin, currently in pre-production on the $4 million feature starring Ving Rhames, William Forsythe, Armand Assante and John Gries, have launched The MovieDeal! Screenplay Contest to find their next INDIE script! The goal is to produce a hit bigger than ‘Project Greenlight’ ever dreamed of.

“We’re looking for an original, innovative, yet marketable idea that could garner the success of the hits ‘Napoleon Dynamite,’ ‘The Blair Witch Project,’ or ‘Open Water.’ It doesn’t matter what genre, it just has to be INDIE and INTERESTING!”

You don’t need AGENCY representation to enter. We want the best scripts in the market, which as independent filmmakers we know usually comes from up-and-coming talent, just like you!

Entries to The Movie Deal! are invited in 10 categories for feature length genres, as well as TV pilots, and short films. For submission details and other information, please visit: www.TheMovieDeal.com

Bookmark It

I love Starbucks, but they are missing the mark on this one!

From www.cnn.com:

Looking to bring more value-seeking consumers through its doors for a late afternoon caffeine fix, Starbucks Corp. said it will now offer its morning customers any iced grande beverage for $2 after 2 p.m.

The price is a big cut from the normal price of most grande-sized iced drinks. A grande iced latte, for example, costs about $4. To get the discount, customers must present a receipt from their morning Starbucks visit.

I’ve never been one to pay $4 for coffee every day. It really doesn’t save anyone money to pay $6 for two cups of coffee. No wonder Starbucks is closing 300 stores. A CNN reader had a funny comment about people standing outside of the coffee shops in the afternoon:

I can’t wait to pass by Starbucks and see people scalping receipts.

That’s not a bad idea.

Bookmark It