Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Saturday, December 16, 2006
I’ve seen waterbugs survive 10-20 foot stomps
Great story. I’m not a vegan but I usually will try to return a bug to the yard when I see one in the house rather than crush it. I used to crush them but it’s just as easy to catch them and place them in the yard and there’s no squashed bug to clean up afterward.
Here’s a story sort of: I work with a guy who let’s just say isn’t concerned about the coming enviromental disaster. One day we were working and we heard a cricket chirping somewhere in our lobby. He was obviously annoyed by it and proceeded to search under shelves and chairs trying to find this noisy invader. He found a small crack in the wall and the noise seemed to be coming from there. He picked up a can of WD40 and drenched that entire area with it in order to silence our cricket. The cricket went silent. The whole lobby smelled like WD40 and it was quickly drifting to other areas of the building. People were coming to the lobby to find the source of the smell. He was getting really upset and angrily told people that the damn cricket was driving him crazy and he had to kill it. I went about doing my job and laughing myself silly. Eventually the smell went away and so did the people. It was just us again in the lobby. Everything was pretty quiet…
“Chirp,Chirp,Chirp” Our invader let us know he was still around. I don’t know how long crickets live but that was 2 years ago and every now and then we can hear a cricket chirping from that same area and it still drives him crazy.
That was my 1st attempt at any kind of story writing so please don’t be too harsh.
Peace!
Posted by David on from Louisville KY 12/16 at 09:02 AMHello Expendables. I was just about to head out but then I read David’s story and had to comment. Bravo. David, that anecdote was as perfect a metaphor for human “society” as I’ve read. Brilliant. Thanks for sharing, my friend.
I’ll see you all later…
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/16 at 09:14 AMTwo great stories this morning...thanks guys.
Jus dropping by to say good morning...catch you all later.
Posted by JOS on from Oak Park 12/16 at 11:28 AMever notice how the most unpopular animals in cities, i.e. rats, cockraches and pigeons, are the only ones who can live in our dirt and don´t have the courtesy to die?
Posted by owen on from schmarcelona 12/16 at 11:42 AMI sure have, Owen. I’ve also noticed that when a dove is white, it’s a symbol of peace. When it’s dark, it’s a disgusting pigeon to be reviled.
Btw, it feels like April here today.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/16 at 11:52 AMGreetings, Expendables. It’s a Bill Hicks Storytime Saturday
Hicks was the inspiration for The Rocky Mountain Vagrant, a ‘zine I cast my lot with in the late 1990’s. Now on indefinite hiatus, I’ve lost my six figure position as East Coast Bureau Chief (sure, those figures were zeros, but it looks good on a resume). Looking back from the political crater of post-9/11 America, I saw that even our craziest forays into Ridicule Gulch now seemed tame and unremarkable. Until Hicks’ fabled “five dried grams of mushrooms” becomes part of the USDA food pyramid, there isn’t much else to say. Until today. Apologies for the lack of sensational formatting and appropriately twisted clip art.
Putin Cleared of Suspicion
Asks Press: “You got a problem with that?”
by Mason Calumny, Staff ForeignologistMoscow (RMV) Russian President Vladimir Putin was today pronounced cleaner than boiled water by a panel of distinguished American leftists. Long operating under a cloud due to the murders of journalists Yuri Shchekochkin, Anna Politkovskaya, Viktor Yushenko, and now Alexander Litvinenko, Putin has sought closure to these matters until next time. His staff contacted marquee leftists who were busy researching how anyone could possibly disagree with them about the events of September 11, 2001. “What we were looking for was a pedigreed group that gave the impression of young children taking on the Mafia,” said an unnamed Federal Security Service (FSB) official. “I don’t think we could have done better. Our goal is to convince doubters that this sort of report could happen to them, too.”
Alexander Cockburn of CounterPunch wrote “The guy’s a pussycat—just look at his haircut. And he doesn’t know enough physics to pull off an operation of that complexity. Since the T-34, it’s been all downhill for Russian science.” Noam Chomsky, famous linguist and edentate public intellectual, amplified by adding “Anyone who thinks Putin is a killer doesn’t understand the concept of evidence. I’m very choosy when I join war criminals on the same side of an argument, but I say leave the man be. He’s not Amnesty International.” Chip Berlet, sleuth at Ennui Investigations, offered “Wet streets don’t cause rain. Moreover, possession of overshoes and an umbrella is prima facie evidence of conspiracizing.”
Russian citizens are understandably horrified at The Nation Institute’s publishing of “Why We’re Smarter Than You: A Treatise on the Causes and Effects of Why We’re Smarter Than You,” but have started to resist. “Donald Rumsfeld is still free in the US, but now Putin is off-limits?” one asked. “Putin is our J. Edgar Hoover, but with an air force and better taste in pumps,” said another. They were rapidly shouted down by a community radio station loudspeaker “Grozny wasn’t levelled! You can buy polonium 210 at Harrod’s! Stop using the internet to communicate with one another! Only sources published through large university presses are accurate and expensive enough for our taste!”
While turning away to file this report, a lurking US expatriate pulled aside this reporter and said “This is definitely a matter for the improper authorities.”
Posted by Zenprole on from Urth 12/16 at 12:05 PMHey Zen...it’s thanks to your reminder that I posted about Hicks. today. As for Putin, perhaps we should ask the good folks of Chechnya how much of a “pussycat” he is and if we should just “leave him be.”
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/16 at 12:13 PMGood day Expendables,
Great stories here today.
I too let the bugs live and move them to the out of doors. We keep a few resident spiders whom we have pegged as vegetarians - they enjoy sipping the nectar from fruit (like at the stem of a mango where it often seems to seep and get gooey sugar buildup...) Others get put out - which in the winter is I suppose almost certain death also, but there’s a limit to my sharing attitude when it comes to creepy-crawlers. Anyone being put outside today will think it’s springtime anyhow.
Pussycats / politicians - oxymorons, especially when allegations of pedophaelia are involved.
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 12/16 at 03:43 PMHello Empress. It never ceases to amaze—and please— me that every time I talk about myself not killing bugs, several others chime in and admit to the same practice.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/16 at 03:58 PMHello everyone… Happy Birthday to Bill Hicks!
Today is the day we tell stories about critters...I have one. As summer ends and the days get cold up here, the critters try to get inside. One night, at about 3 AM, I was awakened by the patter of little feet. I am a very light sleeper. I knew what it was immediately. I tried to just go back to sleep but that didn’t work so I got out of bed, got a plastic bag and began “the chase”. I cornered the little mouse under my bed. He was trapped between me and the wall. He grabbed on to the baseboard heater. With my hand covered by the plastic bag, I grabbed him. I tugged and pulled. He would not let go of the heater. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that a little mouse does not have much strength. I finally broke his hold and bagged him. Quickly I ran outside with my catch. Before I could get a safe distance from the house he broke lose out of the bag. He headed off into the night. I went back to sleep.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 12/16 at 04:01 PMRMJ, your timing is impeccable...as usual.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/16 at 04:03 PMOff topic but a good report about Gitmo Prisoners.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 12/16 at 04:07 PMHere’s one for Mickey…
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 12/16 at 04:14 PMI commend your timing again, RMJ. Someone just sent me that link and I was trying to figure out when to place it on the blog.
And thanks for the Gitmo link, too.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/16 at 04:16 PMIt’s sort of a Jain thing for me not to take the lives of the crawlers. I don’t get the dogma of it, but the basic principles are worth practicing and learning about the reasoning behind them. Particularly since it’s just plain good behaviour, in my opinion.
Funny how for many people, not killing the ‘pests’ is an admission - as though it’s something to be slightly embarassed about. I’ve never been able to comprehend that machismo that infects a person’s attitude.
Hi RMJ - Those little mice fingers are powerful grabby!! Hope you’re well today
captcha: “anti”
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 12/16 at 04:20 PMThat’s exactly my point, Empress. It’s “something to be slightly embarrassed about” if one doesn’t squash bugs or trap mice and let them suffer. But yet, it seems very few people are embarrassed to, say, slap a “support the troops” sticker on their SUV.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/16 at 04:47 PM- i Amelopsis...I never quite figured out if it was mice fingers or mice jaw. I did not get a good look.
Thanks for hoping that I am well today. I am not. Actually I am mad as hell. Things were progressing very nicely for me until today. The Bennington Banner did it again. They published a very nasty letter to the editor. I don’t mind letters that have a view that is different from mine. I welcome them because it energizes the debate. Today the newspaper published a letter filled with personal attacks. It was full of misinformation and lies. It said that I am unwilling to take responsibility for “what I did”. The letter writer also criticizes me because he thinks that I have made the decision to be re-tried. He does not know that it is the prosecutor who makes that decision, not the accused. The newspaper then made the journalistic decision to title the letter under the headline “JACKOWSKI SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY”. Anyone who knows me for more than 5 minutes knows that I take full responsibility for everything that I have ever done. After the first trial, the Banner devoted an entire editorial to the issue and titled it “If You Do the Crime, You Should Do the Time”. I have repeatedly told them that if the government wants to imprison me, I will go politely and plan to be a model prisoner. Instead of printing that, they continue to spread myths, lies, and misinformation. So therefore, I am mad as hell but hanging out at Mickey’s always makes me feel a lot better. Thanks for letting me vent.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 12/16 at 04:48 PM Perhaps some of us can write letters, RMJ.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/16 at 05:38 PMThanks, Mickey. That would be a big help.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 12/16 at 06:27 PMDo you have an e-mail address for the Banner? Also, how about a link to the letter you mention in #17 so we can reply directly?
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/16 at 06:30 PMMZ: I agree re: Chechnya. The US’ 9/11 psychosis gave Putin some late cover for crimes committed there.
So far no responses except yours. Maybe that’s a good thing - these usually work better in print. Years ago, when I gave a copy of the RMV to a classmate, he looked at it in disbelief and said “Is this real?” I replied, “Unlike the corporate media, we know where reality ends and laughter begins.”
Sacred cows and ‘burger, BABY!
Posted by Zenprole on from Urth 12/16 at 07:20 PMMickey...the letter is not online. They have not updated the letters on the site. I don’t know why. The title that the paper gave to the letter is “JACKOWSKI SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY”. That decision was made by the paper. If they had checked their own archives they would have found my response to their editorial titled “If you do the crime, You should do the time”. I question the journalistic ethics of the decision to use the deceptive title for this letter. A little bit of truthiness going on here????
HERE IS THE FIRST PARAGRAGH: “HERE WE GO AGAIN. ROSEMARIE JACKOWSKI IS APPEALING HER CASE AGAIN. SHE WAS ARRESTED FOR BLOCKING TRAFFIC ON BENNINGTON’S FOUR CORNERS; SHE CLAIMS SHE WAS JUST PROTESTING THE WAR AND DID NOT INTEND TO BLOCK TRAFFIC.”
Here is the third paragraph: “I heard you were a grandmother, so why don’t you take responsibility for your actions and pay the fine? No, instead waste our money and teach the kids how to get out of the responsibility and accepting the consequences for their actions.”
The rest of the long letter is basically the same. I know that it is hard to respond when you do not have access to the letter on line. Often their web site omits things??? Maybe a request could be made to have the letter on-line.
The information in the letter is wrong. I am NOT appealing again. It is NOT my decision to be prosecuted again.I have had NO input in the decision for a re-trial. The decision was made by the prosecutor. No one asked me if I wanted to go through another trial. It is really mind-boggling to think that someone would chose to be prosecuted AGAIN.
The contact information for the editor is:
also
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 12/16 at 07:35 PMJust got home, RMJ. Michele and I were at a 40th b’day party for a dear friend. I promise to get on those letters tomorrow. Please don’t hesitate to give me (and all of us ) a nudge.
G’night, all…
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/17 at 12:33 AM
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