Quote Of The Day

“New rule: Republicans have to stop thinking up intricate psychological explanations for why liberals don’t like Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann. Let me save you all some time — are you ready? — (it’s) because they’re crazy people. People who are not that bright and full of awful ideas — pretty much the same exact reasons we didn’t for George Bush and made jokes about him. So trust me: it’s not because they have breasts — it’s because they are boobs.”

- Bill Maher, on last night's 'Real Time' on HBO

BAMF Of The Week

Normally, when doing a post like this, I call out the Badass Mofo of the week.  Considering news coming out of Texas earlier this week, however, BAMF will temporarily stand for "Big Ass Motherfucker".

Meet JaMichael Brown.  All 16lb, 1oz of him.

They call him "Moose".  Born last Friday morning in Longview, he may possibly be the largest baby on record in the history of the state of Texas.  His large size was attributed to his mothers complications with gestational diabetes.  She delivered him via Caesarean section.  It's said that he wore 3 month old clothes out of the hospital.  And I thought I was big at 10lb 8oz.

George C. Scott Reacts To New Adam Sandler Trailer

In what may be the beginning of the next huge internet meme, Paul Bonanno presents the trailer for Adam Sandler's new movie, 'Jack and Jill', with a reaction from George C. Scott.  It's safe to say that Scott isn't a fan of Sandler's movies.



I have a feeling this is going to be bigger than the Hitler reaction videos on Youtube.  Comedic genius. 

The reaction clips come from 1979's 'Hardcore', for those who are curious.

MUST SEE VIDEO: 16 Year Old Mixes 39 Songs In 3 Minutes, Live

A French kid, and I do mean kid (he's 16), posted a video on Youtube three days ago.  It starts out simply by saying, "Here are 39 songs I like."  What follows in the next 3:25 is something that must be seen, and heard, to believe.

Madeon is a DJ that has yet to have his first professional club appearance.  Again, he's only 16.  But, by using a Launchpad, a mid-level MP3 accessory that costs about $200, he is able to spice mashup 39 separate tracks to complete a new track entitled 'Pop Culture'.



Say what you will about DJs and digital artists.  "They're not real musicians."  "Well, it takes a lot more talent to be able to read music and play the piano."  I could go on and on.  It takes someone with an phenomenal understanding of music, melody and beat to put together something of this magnitude.  No computer program in the world can simply patch this stuff together.  You have to practically have a sevant level mathematical comprehension to pull of a feat like this.  It's nice to know that for every Justin Bieber in the world, there's a kid like Madeon.

In case you missed a few songs, the 39 songs were:

Alphabeat - Boyfriend
Alphabeat - Fascination
Bag Raiders - Shooting Stars
Black Eyed Peas - Gotta Feeling
Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time
Capsule - Can I Have A Word
Chromeo - Momma's Boy
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Daft Punk - Aerodynamic
Daft Punk - Around The World
Deadmau5 - Raise Your Weapon (Madeon Remix)
Deadmau5 - Right This Second
Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed
ELO - Mr. Blue Sky
Girls Aloud - Biology
Gorillaz - Dare
Gossip - Heavy Cross (Fred Falke Remix)
Gwen Stefani - What You Waitin For (Jacques Lu Cont Mix)
Housse de Racket - Oh Yeah
Justice - DVNO
Justice - Phantom Part II
Katy Perry - One Of The Boys
Ke$ha - Take It Off
Kylie Minogue - Wow
Lady Gaga - Alejandro
Linkin Park - Crawling
Madonna - Hung Up
Martin Solveig ft. Dragonette - Boys and Girls
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
Nero - Me and You
One Republic - All The Right Moves (Danger Remix)
One-T - Magic Key
Ratatat - Shempi
Solange - I Decided (Freemasons Remix)
Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You
The Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star
The Killers - Losing Touch
The Who - Baba O'Riley (SebastiAn Remix)
Yelle - Que Veux Tu (Madeon Remix)

Poster Released For 'The Dark Knight Rises'

 

The first "official" poster for 'The Dark Knight Rises' was just released.  It shows what appears to be Gotham City crumbling to the ground.  Really gets a fan, like me, excited for it's July 2012 release.

Today In Derp!

The MLB All Star game is here in Phoenix this week, and last night baseball held it's annual Home Run Derby.  Leave it to Kingman, AZ, resident dumbass Keith Carmickle to steal the show:

I've been through Kingman quite a few times.  I had no choice.  It's normally a place to stop and stretch your legs on your drive between Phoenix and Las Vegas.  There's all of two truck stops, a McDonald's, and a Jack In The Box in the entire town.  It's a passing through location, not somewhere that anyone would choose to live.  No industry.  No future.  High on meth, and smelling like chew...and that's just the women.

Way to represent the state there, Kieth.  You made us proud.  Keeping the stereotype  going that Arizona is full of real 'Mur'kens.

Quote Of The Day

"It's a supremely ridiculous waste of everybody's time.  If you want to live in a Republican state with very conservative right-wing laws, then there's a place called Arizona." 

- Gil Duran, spokesman for California governor Jerry Brown, responding to reports that Riverside, California Republicans are meeting to talk of seceding  from the northern part of the state.

OK, I'll Go There

Since no one else has.....and you know we're all thinking it.

News of the World printed it's last issue Sunday and closed it's doors after 168 years and 8,674 editions, amid widespread reports of illegal and immoral journalistic practices.  Reporters and senior management alike have been implicated in hacking the personal emails and phone lines of celebrities, politicians, and even a missing 13 year old girl, just to get a story.

Rupert Murdoch, the owner of the paper, has kept quiet over the last week, as he is currently in London picking up the pieces of one of his four UK newspapers.  With each day that passes, more and more information is coming to light showing just how heinous and morally bankrupt the institution was.  People were threatened.  Policemen were bribed.  Even the Prime Minister's personal information was hacked, simply to get a lead and sell a few extra newspapers.

So, people are wondering:  How much did Murdoch know?  He hand-picked many of the higher ups that were personally involved in the illegal activity.  This has been going on for a decade.  He had to know.  He HAD to.

What I'm asking is this:  Murdoch owned News of the World.  He also owns Fox Broadcasting and Fox News.  You can't tell me that the UK half of his media empire is corrupt, yet the U.S. half is squeaky clean.  If Murdoch was in on it, what's not to say that he had a "what's good for the goose is good for the gander" attitude toward his other outlets.

News of the World went to these horrific extremes to simply sell newspapers.  Fox News is the voice of the Republican party in the United States.  It's viewers are told what issues are important to them, how to think, and who to vote for.  Fox has former White House press secretaries, campaign managers, and party strategists on their payroll.  They also have had a half dozen Republican Presidential candidates as commentators. 

Wouldn't Rupert Murdoch have more of an interest in changing minds and public policy in the United States than selling tabloids in the UK?  He has a $6+ billion personal fortune to protect, after all. 


It's common knowledge that Fox News lies to their viewers.  It's also common knowledge that their viewers are the least knowledgeable when compared to those of other programs.  It's not a coincidence.  Many of Fox's drones still believe that Barack Obama is a Muslim or that he wasn't born in the United States.  More than 60% don't believe in global warming.  What is Fox News up to?

When the payoff becomes the White House, along with the possibility of decades of corporate and personal tax legislation in your favor, wouldn't you want to protect your investment?

"Ding!! Turkey's Done!"

...That's what my wife said when she saw this pic earlier today.  Have to say that I agree, not necessarily in those terms, but yeah.

When Fact Meets Fiction

Casey Anthony was acquitted of murder charges last week in Orange County, Florida.  She is scheduled to be released from custody in two days, on July 13, after more than three years in prison.

Dexter Morgan is currently sitting in his office in Miami; less than four hours away.  What would happen if the players in these two worlds collided?



Things aren't looking too good for Ms. Anthony...

Tweet Of The Day

It's rare to see a corporation not only put a #douchebag in their place, but encourage an environment of awareness and maturity about a topic that shouldn't be taken lightly.

This is why even though I may not like most of what they have on their menu, I still eat at Applebees on a regular basis.  They're good people.

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things...

...like marriage for same sex couples, or equal rights for the LGBT community.  When, as a collective, we take one major step forward (marriage legalization in New York), some idiots have to put us two steps back in the eyes of our detractors.  I'm speaking of the "anarchists" that laid waste to the Capitol Hill area of Seattle late Saturday night after their local Pride festivities.

According to Seattle station KOMO, several hundred people swarmed the neighborhood shortly after midnight.

"The mob marched down 12th Avenue and Broadway, yelling and chanting. Some carried rainbow flags, while others carried red-and-black flags and wore masks.

Eventually some people started smashing store windows, damaging property, spray-painting slogans and bashing in the windshield of a patrol car.

During the melee, a bank ATM also was damaged. Windows were smashed and spray-painted at an American Apparel store and at a luxury car dealership.

"It was just a walk down the street - it was a dance party down the street - and some idiot started throwing things," said one young woman who was there.

Some people in the group, described as anarchists, apparently chose to use Gay Pride Weekend to send to message of protest - upset at how much gay pride is now part of the commercial mainstream."

Vandalized storefront of American Apparel store.

The (anarchists/gay pride attendees/vandals) supposedly felt that the gay community, especially around Pride season, was being exploited by corporate America.  That is why they targeted American Apparel in particular.

American Apparel has a line of Legalize Gay brand t-shirts and underwear.  Some of their designs say "Repeal Prop 8".  Some are in partnership with the Human Rights Campaign.  American Apparel does not disclose how much profit they make per item, or how much of the proceeds from the line, if any, go toward LGBT friendly charities.  This is what their website does say:

"American Apparel believes that sexuality should be celebrated, not condemned. When California voters passed Prop 8 in 2008, we let our community know we would support whatever stand they wanted to take. American Apparel believes in freedom, expression and equality, things that are inherently condemned in the prohibition of gay marriage. After printing a few hundred Legalize Gay t-shirts for a rally near our factory in downtown Los Angeles, the company received thousands of requests from people all over the world who asked for us to expand it. 

With many of our employees and customers identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered, we are a company that is vocal about our support for the protection of gay rights. Scores of our employees were on the frontlines of protests in cities across America, handing out hundreds of Legalize Gay t-shirts to supporters, and putting them in our store windows in protest of violence against gays and discriminatory court decisions. We also had a lot of fun at PRIDE rallies and celebrations. We've since given away over 50,000 of these shirts, run protest advertisements nationwide and even partnered with HRC for their enormous march on Washington. "

Hell, their products are even made in California, so they're supporting the local economy.

I remember, just two or three years ago, when you wanted to find a queer friendly shirt, you had to make it yourself.  In 2009, our only resource for a simple rainbow t-shirt for Pride was CafePress.  Two short years later, Old Navy has not one, but two different "Pride 2011" shirts to chose from in their stores.  That's right...Old Fuckin' Navy.

When it comes to LGBT related purchases, I believe you should try to shop from within your local community first.  Believe me, you'll always find a wider selection and more knowledgeable staff when going through your local gay or lesbian owned bookstore or clothing store.  Sometimes, there isn't one in your area.  Thank god for companies like AA.

We're a demographic now.  Isn't that what we have been fighting for all along:  inclusion?  It's the nature of the Free Enterprise system to create and sell products based upon demand.  Even in 2011, there are few Fortune 500 companies in the United States that have the...let's face it, balls to openly market themselves to the queer community.  If they turn a profit by selling a $12.00 shirt to a gay kid, so that he can proudly wear it at school, that is fine by me.

But for people to attack them because they're one of the few companies out there that are "out of the closet"?  How dare they?  Hypocrites.

Well, The Surgery Didn't Kill Me

I'm still here, and I'm relatively pain free.

When I woke up on Monday afternoon, it was a bit of a mind fuck to be honest.  I looked at my wife, and in my head I'm thinking, "Shit.  My back feels great.  They must have me on some nice painkillers."  Then logic crept in.

"Wait a second.  They wouldn't give me painkillers while I was still under anesthesia.  They would have to know my pain level and go from there.  Otherwise, they'd probably kill me.  Right?!?"  (Keep in mind, all of this is running through my head over the course of a second and a half.)

I'm still looking at my wife at this point, and the look on my face goes from confusion to pure joy.

"Hey baby!"

I sat in my hospital room for almost 7 hours before the nurses actually pressed me on my pain.  They asked how I was feeling.

"I'm doin' great."

"Are you feeling any pain?"

"No.  Not really"

"Well, on a scale of 1 to 10, what would you say that you're at?"

"About a 6, but you have to realize that I was at about an 8 before the surgery.  And, that was with Dilaudid."

I did have a couple of "complications".  Your disc is supposed to be somewhat of a spongy consistency.  When my doctor opened my back up, the disc was entirely calcified.  It was essentially bone.  They had to chip away at it with a drill to get it out.  It hadn't fused to my spine, so it was floating between my discs, (which was my L5 and S1 by the way.  I thought it was between L4 and L5.) so when I stood, I had sharp bone pinching my spinal cord.  No wonder I was in so much pain.

The calcification usually doesn't occur in someone unless they are a lifelong, heavy smoker.  The doctor was shocked to find out that I didn't smoke or drink.  I never have.  He said I have the back of a 65 year old man that has been smoking for the last 50 years or more.  I clearly have multiple back surgeries in my future.

Since the disc had to be drilled away piece by piece, what would have been a one hour procedure turned into four hours.  The doctor also had to move some of my nerves around to get all of the pieces out.  As a result, I have had some nerve/numbness issues on my left side.  For the first two or three days, I couldn't feel most of my left arm or anything in three fingers in my left hand.  As of 11pm last night, and currently, I have zero..no...nada feeling in my left leg.  It's completely dead.  When I'm walking, I don't even feel my foot touching the ground.  Supposedly, I should get the feeling back in the next few days.  If not, I may have to walk with a cane for a while.

Sure beats the pain or the collapsing bullshit that I've had to deal with for the last few months.  By the way, even with the numb leg, I haven't had a loss of my legs.

All in all, I call things a success.

My Third "Twitch Day"

On June 25th, 2009, I was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome by my neurologist.   Coincidentally, it was also the day that Michael Jackson died.  I heard the announcement of his death on the radio as we pulled into the parking lot of the doctor's office.

Since then, June 25 has been deemed "Twitch Day".  Last year, my wife and I went out to dinner to celebrate.  This year, I am recovering from back surgery, watching 'NY Ink'. (Jesus, I need to find something on Netflix.)

It's been a tumultuous two years.  A lot of ups and downs.  It surely doesn't feel like two years.  More like ten.  TS....the twitching, the stuttering and jerking and shouting have all become part of who I am.  To be honest, I can't picture myself without it anymore.

I am Twitch, as much as I am Adam.  

Quick Medical Update aka I'm Having Surgery Tomorrow

So, I don't remember what I talked about on my last medical update, and it's 11PM, and I'm in no mood to read through past blog posts right now.

Here's what's going on......

Turns out that the disc that is between my L4 and L5 is herniated.  I knew that.  What I didn't know what that it was cutting off my spinal cord.  The disc above that one is almost just as bad.  Fortunately, it's still a couple of millimeters away from the cord at this point.  This explains the loss of bowel control and the inability to walk over the last three months.  In fact, for the last three days, I have had problems walking.  I have been stumbling and collapsing worse than any other time since this ordeal started.

Long story short,  I'm having spinal surgery tomorrow.  I have an excellent surgeon.  When Jennifer Grey injured her back on 'Dancing With the Stars', she flew to Scottsdale, AZ, after filming to see my doctor.  He is the official surgeon for the Phoenix Suns, the Phoenix Coyotes, and a number of other NBA teams.  I am in good hands.

I have, for obvious reasons, been feeling despondent in recent weeks.  I have a long, and motionless, recovery ahead of me.  For the next three to four weeks, per doctor's orders, I am to lie on my back in bed.  No walking.  No driving.

Maybe I'll start writing again.  I don't know.