tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76118939795589611752024-03-04T21:56:44.267-08:00AlexPierpaoli.comAlex Pierpaolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429434521631897977noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611893979558961175.post-65999290749309973452020-11-03T12:16:00.005-08:002020-11-11T17:25:43.188-08:00This Election Won't Save Us<p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;">So, is anything going on today? Oh right, that long, slow, product roll-out The US Presidential Election is today, and yes, I've already gone and done my mainstream approved duty and selected the Lesser Evil on my ballot. It took all of five minutes for me but I went at 11:30AM and voted with the other unemployed, the retired, the sick and the old. Everyone there was masked and thankfully no one brought their AR-15s. It was later this afternoon at Walmart, that bastion of politeness, courtesy and human kindness where I saw the greeter confronting a bearded, obese, elderly white gentleman who refused to cover his hairy face-hole. Even his family was trying to talk him off his stubbornness ledge. "Dad, I'll get it, it's in the car." "No!"</p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">So, today we've got a narcissist carnival barker trying to win a second term against a lifelong politician who’s never heard of a military action he didn't support. Yes, one seems worse than the other, there's little doubt about that when it comes to COVID-19, but there's not the gulf of difference the mainstream media, and most of our friends, yours and mine, are making it seem. If Biden beats Trump today as I certainly hope he does, although I have sincere doubts, it will NOT be a vote that halts the spread of fascism in the US. Oh no, it will take much more than that. Believing a vote against Trump is a vote against fascism, is only true if you’ve swallowed all the many hours and hours of "Trump is evil" "this is unprecedented" and "Russia, Russia, Russia" two of the 3 largely pernicious 24 hour corporate news stations have spent the last 4 years telling us. And remember, much of that <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/16/russia-election-justice-department-132875" target="_blank">Russia stuff quietly went away just as we were going into plague lockdown</a>. That’s when the vote-by-mail & absentee voting discussion* really took off because again, corporate media wants you to believe the only meaningful democratic power you have is when you pick one of the two carefully groomed Wall Street backed & anointed candidates. And whatever would happen if this day they’ve been preparing for was spoiled by some incurable virus that will make us sick if we stand in lines together.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">But voting, especially in a Presidential Election has become the corporate approved form of activism for a distracted, blaming, binary nation.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Consider this: How many national votes have we had since the killing of George Floyd? Not one. Have you noticed any changes? Not necessarily policy changes, but has the narrative shifted? Are people you've never expected to be discussing the issue suddenly talking about it?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Yes. That didn't come from voting, that came from people in the streets. Lots of people. Everywhere.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I'm afraid we're way past the point where voting will save us, especially when one of the 2 major parties did everything they could to sabotage the campaign of the most liberal voice among them. Biden, a centrist in the first place, has worked harder to court Trump votes than he has to satiate the Left. Although that’s not what you’ll hear on <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-presidential-debate-green-new-deal-crucial-framework" target="_blank">Fox News because fear is what they peddle and the most terrifying thing they’ve heard of in years is The Green New Deal</a>. They’ve successfully made their viewers think Biden supports it when he and Senator Harris have bent over backwards to reassure PA voters especially, that toxic fracking will continue should they win election. So much for a Green New Deal.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Biden’s been touting an addition he’ll add to ACA should he win election, it’s called the Public Option. And yes, it may sound familiar because it was not so far down the American Memory Hole that Rep Dennis Kucinich went up against Obama in defense of it. <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/WN/HealthCare/health-care-dennis-kucinich-switches-vote-health-care/story?id=10123393" target="_blank">He caved, and chose Party over principle despite serious reservations that ACA was a giveaway to insurance companies.</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">As to Black Lives Matter and demilitarizing law enforcement, it was under Biden’s term as VP with an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhwodDOpeAk&list=UUFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg&index=78" target="_blank">African-American President and an African-American Attorney General that the whole movement began</a>. George Floyd wasn’t killed by Trump, he was killed by the racist system our leaders did nothing about under Obama. Remember during the Democratic Primary in twenty-sixteen when the candidates were asked who supported BLM, only one said yes, unequivocally. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2015/10/13/bernie-sanders-democratic-debate-black-lives-matter-27.cnn" target="_blank">Guess who</a>.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">There is no anti-war Left in this country. Obama loved his drone strikes and created a Kill-List. When Trump was elected he inherited those things and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/22/world/middleeast/yemen-houthi-qaeda-mokha.html?_r=0" target="_blank">from the Sunday after his inauguration</a> he stepped up the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/mideast/u-s-airstrikes-yemen-have-increased-sixfold-under-trump-n843886" target="_blank">extrajudicial killing done by our lethal sky-robots</a>. Trump loves our drones so much <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-reportedly-approved-airstrikes-iran-backing-down-n1020086" target="_blank">he considered attacking Iraq to avenge one’s silicon-soul when they shot the innocent spy-machine down</a>. </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">No, Trump is not the malignancy. He's an infectious, dripping pustule, yes, but the cancer was already there, deep, deep in the American core. It was us, not Putin, that allowed Trump to seize a wave of bigotry and blaming and selfishness that was already there and very, very strong. As Morris Berman has written, <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzgY20d2MtU" target="_blank">we are a nation of hustlers</a></i>, and Trump has taken hustling to an art form. His show The Celebrity Apprentice represented much of what is despicable about America. Each episode was a stunning exploration of back-biting and double-crossing and in the final ten minutes the contestants would come before Trump, where he, like Satan, would usually reward the most diabolically successful. And it was all justified in the name of charity. Humiliation, mocking, blaming, all of these things were championed, never discouraged. This man and his “you’re fired” mantra ascended to the highest political office in the land. Putin didn’t do that with some Facebook groups, it was us. There has not been anywhere near enough honest self-reflection to see how we got here. But we never do that, do we? That’s America. We export and buy into fantasies.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">In a perverse way, if you've been paying attention to US foreign policy, especially, we owe Trump a debt of gratitude for his, er, well, honesty. Right now at least, the President of the United States is looked at as despicable. That's a refreshing change. Manners and decorum can and are used to cover up despicable behavior. Now at least the American President talks and acts despicably to match his deeds as Commander-In-Chief. Only Americans would disagree with that statement. <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tasneemnashrulla/the-us-is-the-biggest-threat-to-world-peace-according-to-a-p" target="_blank">The rest of the world sees us as the most belligerent & dangerous nation</a>, and they are of course correct. No one’s military budget is larger, no one has more bases. America’s Empire has no edge. Presidents have always done despicable things and yet, for some reason, perhaps without a monarchy to adore, we've decided to turn them into demigods.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Even the horrible ones.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">If you smiled about Dubya's paintings or at him enjoying a game with Ellen Degeneres then yes, I'm talking to you.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Presidents are just men, so far exclusively men. And they sit on the toilet to shit just like me and you. Perhaps you can imagine some in that position more easily than others but they have all done cruel, disgusting things, in the name of freedom and the American people. Some we think are so cool because they fill out NCAA brackets or play the saxophone on Arsenio Hall but all Presidents make decisions and approve covert actions that take the lives of innocent people and sew the seeds of blowback everyday. For all the posturing and bold talk from the likes of <a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/01/12/the-same-democrats-who-denounce-trump-as-a-lawless-treasonous-authoritarian-just-voted-to-give-him-vast-warrantless-spying-powers/" target="_blank">Schumer and Pelosi they did absolutely zilch on overseeing or reducing executive powers of war-making and surveillance</a>. Why? Because whenever a Democrat is back in office they want those powers too.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I'm sorry to be a downer but I think it's long past time more Americans started realizing we've been in a proto-fascist state for quite a while now. Most certainly since after 9/11/01. Trump didn't start it and Biden sure as fuck isn't going to take it away. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Recently journalist Pete Hamill passed-away. I remembered an article he wrote back in 1994, the year i graduated college, and I wanted to re-read it because I remembered he was onto something in that piece. It's called End Game, the link is below, check it out and you tell me if you don't think much, if not all of it, has come to pass. </span></p><p>* = I’m using the word discussion in this context to describe any topic mainstream media obsess about and pretend to present nuanced examination of while very little happens. i.e. a discussion on poverty, race, gun-control, mental illness, obesity, etc </p><p><a href="https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a19633/end-game-pete-hamill/" target="_blank">End Game by Pete Hamill</a><br /></p>Alex Pierpaolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429434521631897977noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611893979558961175.post-19561258162656522262020-10-24T07:17:00.004-07:002020-11-03T11:30:53.010-08:00Talking Tattoos on the Zoom Machine<p> Last week I had the privilege of sharing the stories behind some of my tattoos with Barb Nangle of Known Co-Working, and panel guests Alesia Galati and Renee Nolan. It was a lot of fun connecting over one of the most fascinating and permanent forms of art--tattoos. Listen now and you can hear me plagiarize, er, i mean, paraphrase Joseph Campbell.</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="389" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ROU-BZnheh4" width="469" youtube-src-id="ROU-BZnheh4"></iframe></div><br /><p></p>Alex Pierpaolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429434521631897977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611893979558961175.post-68979378706463463412020-10-21T09:14:00.004-07:002020-10-21T21:07:55.785-07:00The In Search Of... episode that changed my life<p> Well, ok, maybe there was more than one In Search Of episode that had massive influence on me but this one is in the driver's seat of my more nightmarish obsessions. The opening ape-attack on the guys in the log cabin is one of those sightings that must have caused PTSD for the witnesses. Whether Sasquatch is a hoax, a hallucination brought up from the collective unconscious, a bipedal ape-ancestor like gigantopithecus or some sort of an inter-dimensional traveler, if what happened to the dudes in this opening scene happened to me, I'd believe. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S1739ojcUls" width="320" youtube-src-id="S1739ojcUls"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><br /><p><br /></p>Alex Pierpaolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429434521631897977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611893979558961175.post-59452347012709295502020-10-21T08:56:00.001-07:002020-10-21T08:56:49.955-07:00Yesterday was the 53rd anniversary of the Patterson-Gimlin Film<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7m5H4Ur0XADC0ANXY_sPkNw59gyEXFYV_iGy7bQXy3sNQf501w5a-u45p8re3t_cEso9bIfntO1Aqt_yIL4z06f3fI59sW8CBW5dwGqvIcYRcqUjUyP5DyQR0w219qkP_c4FBMDDNmUCU/s267/Patterson%25E2%2580%2593Gimlin_film_frame_352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="238" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7m5H4Ur0XADC0ANXY_sPkNw59gyEXFYV_iGy7bQXy3sNQf501w5a-u45p8re3t_cEso9bIfntO1Aqt_yIL4z06f3fI59sW8CBW5dwGqvIcYRcqUjUyP5DyQR0w219qkP_c4FBMDDNmUCU/w178-h200/Patterson%25E2%2580%2593Gimlin_film_frame_352.jpg" width="178" /></a></div><br />Shot in Bluff Creek, CA on October 20, 1967, the Patterson-Gimlin film is the most recognizable and most discussed & dissected piece of Sasquatch "evidence" there is. The 59 second film is less than 24 feet long and has spawned millions upon millions of raised eyebrows and rolled eyes. Is it just a guy in a suit? And yes, those are breasts you're seeing, so Sasquatch, this one at least, is female. Nicknamed "Patty" her wide-armed glance back at the camera, frame 352, is well-known and synonymous with Bigfoot lore, cryptozoology and the unexplained. <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="372" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PqaQuzacrjA" width="509" youtube-src-id="PqaQuzacrjA"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>Alex Pierpaolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429434521631897977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611893979558961175.post-64926643519410658852018-09-09T19:17:00.000-07:002018-09-09T19:17:16.180-07:00Best. Cartoon. Eva.<br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZtE4PRQfGzo" width="560"></iframe>Alex Pierpaolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429434521631897977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611893979558961175.post-11091319770415594262018-06-10T19:22:00.001-07:002018-06-14T16:15:11.323-07:00Another reboot nightmare or a nightmare of a reboot?<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Halloween gets a revamp with Carpenter's blessing</span></b></div>
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It's here! The first trailer of the latest re-incarnation of the best slasher/horror franchise of them all, Halloween! OK, maybe that's just my opinion but I'm certainly not the only one to look at John Carpenter's Halloween as canonical in American horror cinema. Sure, much of it is inspired, ahem, swiped, from Dario Argento's Deep Red but Carpenter and Debra Hill have often said as much. Halloween is the babysitter movie about so much more than babysitters and despite numerous sequels and a previous re-boot by Rob Zombie, Michael Myers has never scared anyone as much as he did in the original movie.<br />
Maybe that changes on October 19th, twenty-eighteen.<br />
This new re-vamp picks up after the original and exists outside of the timeline created by all the sequels. In this trailer they establish that the big reveal from later Halloween night, in 1981's Halloween 2, when Dr Loomis discovers Laurie Strode is Michael's younger sister, never happened. In this first trailer Laurie Strode's grand daughter debunks it while walking with 2 friends on Halloween morning, very much like Laurie did with Annie and Linda in the original.<br />
There seem to be quite a few nods to the original film and to part 4 which came out in 1988 after Michael Myers had been on the shelf for 7 years. During those years Jason Voorhees had starred in 4 movies since Friday the 13th part 2 in 1981 and owned the slasher market. In Part 4 Michael returned in a much more Jason-esque role. But I digress...<br />
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check it out and then see my comments below...</div>
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Some thoughts on this 1st trailer:</div>
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*The British investigators mention Michael Myers killing three people before his doctor shot him. Wasn't it more than that? How many people died in the Smith's Grove escape? we never know. But we know he killed the guy in the Phelps Garage truck because he took his coveralls.</div>
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*By far my favorite part is the asylum scene where a shackled Myers has his back on the investigators while they hold up his mask and all the other inmates out for fresh air start to lose it. The dog starts barking. All the inmates are chained to cement block anchors on a field painted like a red and white checkerboard. It's in broad daylight and very creepy.</div>
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*We know Myers has a thing with dogs. Michael kills 2 dogs in the original, one because "he got hungry" and the other, Lester, the Wallace's German Shepherd, because it just wouldn't stop barking.</div>
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*The headlights on the car hit the escaped & wandering inmates who have come out of the bus in a similar way to how we see the escaped inmates of Smith's Grove Sanitarium on October 30, 1978 in the original.</div>
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*It looks like Michael has found coveralls from another mechanic, as he did in the original and in part 4.</div>
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*The rest room stall scene is reminiscent of two other Halloween sequel moments, one from part 5 I think where Michael steals the keys from a mom who is using a grimy rest stop rest room with her whiny daughter, and of course the big burrito shit,truck-stop bathroom death of Big Joe Grizzly in Zombie's Halloween.</div>
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*Yes, those are teeth.</div>
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*It looks like Michael is actually using the head of the video investigator as a battering ram on that urinal door. Look closely.</div>
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*The instant Michael walks into the Trick-or-Treaters is a call back to when the same thing happens during the day in 1978 at Haddonfield Elementary when one of Tommy Doyle's tormentors runs into him.</div>
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*The moment Laurie Strode shoots Myers' reflection in the upstairs bedroom mirror is reminiscent of a similar shot Dr Loomis takes at Michael in a truck-stop diner in Part 4 and the bullets hit nothing but a mirror.</div>
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*Laurie Strode's arm scar was caused in 1978 when Michael stabbed her at the top of the stairs in the Wallace house and she fell over the railing.</div>
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*Laurie Strode has become completely obsessed with Myers while he's been incarcerated. She has made her home into a fortress. In one flash where she is saying how she's waited for him you can see jars of food and bottled water like she's a doomsday prepper.<br />
*There is a moment in a child's room where a person-shaped ghost sits in a chair beside a fish tank. Something went down in this room because if you notice the chair is tipped over and there is a pumpkin inside the fish tank which seems slightly amiss. The cop is scanning the room. Is that Michael under the sheet? </div>
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*Laurie is speaking to the British video investigator, no doubt at some point BEFORE his head is used as a door-knocker. She points out how he should believe in the Bogeyman. She obviously does and her home has some serious metal gates BUT we do see Michael standing just inside her front door. <br />
*Looks like we will get a literal hand-to-hand, face-to-Capt. Kirk mask fight scene between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers in this flick, unless it's a dream sequence. With all the gun-play it seems unlikely she intends to get too close to him so maybe it is from a dream. He is Mr. Sandman. Or is he The Dream? Hmmm.<br />
*The closet! wow! Michael has always had a thing for them.</div>
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Alex Pierpaolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429434521631897977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611893979558961175.post-56804455323794081282018-06-08T07:27:00.000-07:002018-06-08T16:20:23.016-07:00RIP Aunt Lydia<div style="text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hilda massages Aunt Lydia's temples</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Lydia Manocchi Bellard </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">January 7, 1924 - June 2, 2018</span></b></div>
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The funeral for my Aunt Lydia was this morning and I wrote a few words for her last night. I went to bed and had a hard time falling asleep because the ending of this was just not right. This morning I added the stuff about Saint Augustine and rearranged the order slightly, Now I think it works as a fitting tribute.<br />
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RIP Aunt Lydia. I'll miss you.<br />
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I first knew Lydia Manocchi Bellard as Aunt Lee-Lee, my
Great Aunt. She was the older sister of my grandmother, Hilda. As a child,
although I knew they both loved me, there was something realer about <st1:country-region><st1:place>Lydia</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
She was more down-to-earth than Hilda, maybe a little smarter too. Funnier, no
doubt about that. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<st1:country-region><st1:place>Lydia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
was fun. From the picture window at the <st1:street><st1:address>Grannis Road</st1:address></st1:street>
house in <st1:city><st1:place>Orange</st1:place></st1:city> you could see her
walk across the lawn from <st1:street><st1:address>Andrew Lane</st1:address></st1:street>,
cross the road and head around to the back door. It was a thrill when Aunt
Lee-Lee was coming to visit. She got excited about what excited you. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In third grade I paged through a book on Dracula and the
Universal Monsters with her at our kitchen table at <st1:street><st1:address>Treat
Lane</st1:address></st1:street> and she enjoyed every page just as much as I
did.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When she gave you socks or gloves for Christmas or your
birthday she'd wonder aloud if they'd fit and urge you to try them on. You'd
reach in and find a rolled up five dollar bill she crammed in there as a
surprise. She enjoyed a genuine crack-up. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She really adored my brother, Brendon's sense of humor. He
was always very good at roasting his grandmother, Hilda and Aunt Lee-Lee took
great pleasure in the mocking of her younger sister. She highly valued humor. She
played practical jokes. She cracked wise. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My sister saw her bust-up a funeral director. Turned the man
an embarassed beet red. They were leaving my father's wake and Danielle was
helping <st1:country-region><st1:place>Lydia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
down the stairs when the funeral director collided with them, almost knocking
both all the way down to the concrete sidewalk. He apologized immediately but
without a pause <st1:country-region><st1:place>Lydia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
quizzed him Hey, what are you trying to drum up new business?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Joy in the moment. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She loved Elvis Presley. Her birthday was January the
seventh and the King's is the eighth. We got her an Elvis Presley calendar one
year for Christmas. She put it up at her desk at work and I can remember her
crafting a shirt for the bare-chested, bathing-suit clad King in a photo from
Blue Hawaii. She had to clean it up a little, make it more work-friendly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She worked for years at Helicopter Support. There she answered
the phone and when you called from college and her voice greeted you it was
like passing through a gateway to home. Like Nonnie did, for me, she fused the
experience of work with home and with family. I think she did that for a lot of
people she wasn't even related to. Truckers loved her. Bikers loved her. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She made a cake every Friday at Helicopter Support and would
make sure people sang happy birthday to whoever in the office had theirs that
week. She helped connect people to celebration and to each other. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She was a patriot but not really too far to the left or to the
right, her favorite presidents were Ronald Reagan, Barrack Obama and FDR. Oh,
how she loved FDR. She spoke of him with reverence. She described reaching out
and touching him once when he visited <st1:city><st1:place>New Haven</st1:place></st1:city>.
It was like touching the Pope. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She loved the flag. She loved fireworks and the Fourth of
July. I always felt like I had this special connection with her because I was a
July baby. I actually share a birthday with her mom. July 1st.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
7-1<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Boy, she loved numbers. She kept an appointment calendar on
her desk that was specifically for recording the lotto and the daily numbers
that came up. She did the scratch-offs and she never met a slot machine she
didn't love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Growing up, it felt like there were two schools of homemade
Italian cooking. There was Ya and Nonnie, my grandmother and great grandmother,
and there was <st1:country-region><st1:place>Lydia</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
Ya and Nonnie were traditionalists and very proud of their cooking. Maybe a
little snobby. But <st1:country-region><st1:place>Lydia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
was the artist. She knew the rules, she followed the rules and then she broke
the rules. That's what artists do. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Artists know their art might not be for everyone and <st1:country-region><st1:place>Lydia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
knew that about her food. It didn't stop her. She tried new things. She dared. She
was the Salvador Dali of Andrew Lane. Ice cream cake with the popsicle sticks
still in it? Filet of fish sandwiches minus the buns that became an intriguing fried
fish dinner?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<st1:country-region><st1:place>Lydia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
was connected to the Green World of plants all around us. She could breathe
life into a struggling spider plant, rescue an African violet from dry brown
leaves, or grow an entire plant from some sad looking cuttings. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She seemed to relish life’s silver linings even though she
really didn't actively cultivate them. She could be dark, fatalistic. She did
not have an upbeat outlook but she was joyous in the moment. Always. There’s a
lesson in that I think. All we really have is the moment. An outlook doesn’t do
much in the now. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Buddha teaches that Life is suffering. That's the lesson
of The Cross. <st1:country-region><st1:place>Lydia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
suffered some of the most horrific things a person could possibly experience. They
didn't break her. You don't have to dwell in life's suffering. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Joseph Campbell, the mythology scholar, talked about how we
are all free-falling into the future. And with any fall, fear and anxiety comes
up all around you along the way down. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>But all you have to do to transform your Hell
into a <st1:place>Paradise</st1:place> is to turn your fall into a voluntary
act. It’s a very interesting shift in perspective and that’s all it is. Joyful
participation in the sorrows and everything changes.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<st1:city><st1:place>Saint Augustine</st1:place></st1:city>
wrote about Jesus going to The Cross like a bridegroom to his marriage bed. He
wrapped His arms around His suffering, His destiny.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Joyful participation in the sorrows.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>the warden said hey buddy don't you be no square<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>if you can't find a partner use a wooden chair</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Joy in the moment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That's what Lydia Bellard taught us.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I carry that with me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hope you can too.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Alex Pierpaolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429434521631897977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611893979558961175.post-90415223746264963792017-05-13T18:34:00.000-07:002017-05-13T18:41:36.199-07:00My first shot at Ringside Commentary from Jupiter, FL, alongside Billy CThis was a great opportunity for me from back in twenty-eleven! I got to do ringside commentary for a fight card in Jupiter, Florida, alongside Bill Calogero. It was a lot of fun. We covered Jason Gavern vs. Darnell Wilson in the Main Event and future heavyweight titlist Luis "King Kong" Ortiz fought on the undercard. check out the 3 fights below...<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DzUqhIWWgqo" width="640"></iframe>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/53OtgH2nUaM" width="640"></iframe>
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<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UcI3F3Z186o" width="640"></iframe>
Alex Pierpaolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429434521631897977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611893979558961175.post-30080291878928324712017-05-13T17:29:00.001-07:002017-05-13T17:29:56.364-07:00The First Black Boxing Champions by Colleen Aycock and Mark Scott<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGE7aRAQZvfLsbCJeqybO9wqJBHvplrQ57RMYo5rMjmomT-liKCbmwv-LfvykCoTP9szFXjj3-hluqhic8K5ZkrUrzvtuAa2GbXO1XgumMl1NdVylZmjM9uroAnaD28nwP2qsvobiica4/s1600/FBBC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGE7aRAQZvfLsbCJeqybO9wqJBHvplrQ57RMYo5rMjmomT-liKCbmwv-LfvykCoTP9szFXjj3-hluqhic8K5ZkrUrzvtuAa2GbXO1XgumMl1NdVylZmjM9uroAnaD28nwP2qsvobiica4/s400/FBBC.jpg" width="280" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/First-Black-Boxing-Champions-Fighters/dp/0786449918/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494721454&sr=8-1&keywords=first+black+boxing+champions" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Buy your copy here</span></b></a>Alex Pierpaolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429434521631897977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611893979558961175.post-49850844228089765912017-05-13T17:21:00.001-07:002017-05-13T17:23:59.896-07:00Order Billy C's book on Tom Molineaux NOW!!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPZol98tJf076kjf45Hpui3MtDrDzVTlucuWehNUTI8FiPj6At0f8n7_wamZdcEoqyh8tlJOslB2geG1csoxpSVDMEGPEaMpnV61-e3SArBdBCUaZmXYJ0gF153XeqL_HA02jC0dYbxkG/s1600/Molineaux.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPZol98tJf076kjf45Hpui3MtDrDzVTlucuWehNUTI8FiPj6At0f8n7_wamZdcEoqyh8tlJOslB2geG1csoxpSVDMEGPEaMpnV61-e3SArBdBCUaZmXYJ0gF153XeqL_HA02jC0dYbxkG/s400/Molineaux.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Tom Molineaux</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">From Bondage to Baddest Man on the Planet</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></div>
I was a consultant on the manuscript for this book and I wrote a foreword for it. I've worked with Bill Calogero since July of twenty-ten and this was a fun and very important project.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<a href="http://kofantasyboxing.blogspot.com/2015/08/bill-calogero-of-talkinboxing-releases.html" target="_blank"><b>Learn more about it here.</b></a><br />
<b><br /></b>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tom-Molineaux-bondage-baddest-planet/dp/0692484108/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494721371&sr=8-1&keywords=tom+molineaux" target="_blank"><b>Buy a copy here</b></a>Alex Pierpaolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429434521631897977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611893979558961175.post-85100808846363638562017-05-13T17:04:00.002-07:002017-05-13T17:04:24.747-07:00Go To Hell by Jacob BittensHad the pleasure of working with some really talented young people from NYU's Tisch Film School on this project. I was an extra and appeared in a couple scenes. This was the biggest production I have worked on and it was just a great experience. The lighting and set design and all the behind the scenes people and many duties was just really cool to observe and have a small part in.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/132239603" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe>
<a href="https://vimeo.com/132239603">GO TO HELL</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/jacobbittens">Jacob Bittens</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.Alex Pierpaolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429434521631897977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611893979558961175.post-11598398687478079602017-05-13T17:01:00.000-07:002017-05-13T17:01:04.107-07:00Geno McGahee's Family Secret is re-cut, remastered and available NOW!<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">the 2009 film i co-produced and co-starred in has been remastered and recut and is now available to stream at any time on<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Family-Secret-Steven-Joseph-Adams/dp/B01IOGD3E6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1494719878&sr=8-2&keywords=family+secret" target="_blank"> Amazon Prime</a></span></b></div>
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iLH0KopgKMg" width="640"></iframe>Alex Pierpaolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429434521631897977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611893979558961175.post-31735838343829985642017-05-13T16:55:00.003-07:002017-05-13T16:55:54.787-07:00Zombie Anonymous a film by Jacob Bittens <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jz8sg6KQzQA" width="640"></iframe>Alex Pierpaolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429434521631897977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611893979558961175.post-83198946878372618682016-04-27T04:43:00.001-07:002016-04-27T04:43:11.677-07:00Scary Tales: Last Stop is now available for streaming<div style="text-align: center;">
I did some acting in <a href="http://www.scaredstiffreviews.com/scary-tales-last-stop-bigfoot-masked-killers-satanic-cult-more-now-available-on-youtube-sasquatch-horror-movie-news/" target="_blank">Scary Tales: Last Stop by Geno McGahee</a> now available for just 4.99 on YouTube! check it out via the embed below</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/szsQUmB91SM" width="560"></iframe></div>
Alex Pierpaolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429434521631897977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611893979558961175.post-67513201438971479612015-12-09T13:30:00.000-08:002015-12-09T13:30:40.423-08:00@FistThingsFirst sits down with Jonathan Small of @AccessTVIt's All About Me!!<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WZL6t-UZK3A" width="640"></iframe>Alex Pierpaolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429434521631897977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611893979558961175.post-80279913027293048252015-01-16T18:19:00.002-08:002015-01-27T21:40:03.980-08:00Best Fights of 2014- The Contestants<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>What is the Fight-Of-The-Year for 2014?</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><b><a href="http://kofantasyboxing.blogspot.com/2014/01/kofantasyboxings-best-of-twenty.html" target="_blank">KOFantasyBoxing's 2013 Best of the Year Awards</a></b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>Here are some contestants for 2014...</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/JTSOtYWhtbo" width="640"></iframe>
</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/dyTnohA4FHM" width="640"></iframe>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/yl9zQ0UssK4" width="640"></iframe>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/5J9mJL5Q90w" width="640"></iframe>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/cWe1-Ktr8rI" width="640"></iframe></div>
Alex Pierpaolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429434521631897977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611893979558961175.post-38947137901276046042015-01-09T15:05:00.001-08:002015-03-25T10:28:22.389-07:00Who we are and what we offer<div align="center">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7611893979558961175" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.qweeqwegsbarb.blogspot.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7611893979558961175" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7611893979558961175" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><b><br /></b>
<b>Alex Pierpaoli is a writer with a unique perspective.
He has been addicted to The Sweet Science since December of 1985 when he
saw Mike Tyson crush Sam Scaff in one round re-played on MSG Network completely by
chance one afternoon while he was still in High School. </b></div>
<div align="center">
<b>Alex Pierpaoli is a boxing analyst and historian and is a weekly contributor to the
<a href="http://www.billycboxing.com/" target="_blank">Talkin Boxing with Billy C show</a>.
On Wednesday's, starting in July of 2010, Pierpaoli
does the Blast-From-The-Past with host Billy C. </b></div>
<div align="center">
<b>A
member of <a href="http://www.ibroresearch.com/" target="_blank">
<span style="color: #0066ff;">IBRO</span></a> since July of 2009, Pierpaoli had an
essay published in the anthology
<a href="http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-4991-0" target="_blank">
<span style="color: #0066ff;">The First Black Boxing Champions</span></a> by
Colleen Aycock & Mark Scott, about Joe Jennette & Sam McVey and their 49
round Finish Fight on April 17, 1909. </b></div>
<div align="center">
<b>Pierpaoli's writing has
<a href="http://www.fistthingsfirst.com/archive.htm" target="_blank">
sporadically appeared</a> on the internet since 2001 at
<a href="http://www.doghouseboxing.com/" target="_blank">
<span style="color: #0066ff;">DoghouseBoxing.com</span></a> as well as on his own
websites:</b><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<div align="center">
<b>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">
</span></b></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Alex Pierpaoli is also head honcho at Webhead Entertainment, LLC </span></b></span></div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
<b>
<i>
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
<span style="background-color: green;"><span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Visit
</span> </span></span></i><span style="color: #006600; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: green;">
<span style="color: yellow; font-family: Tahoma;">Qweeqweg's Barb</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="background-color: green;"><span style="color: white; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></i><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="background-color: green;"><span style="color: white; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="background-color: green;"><span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><i>Alex </i></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="background-color: green;">
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><i>Pierpaoli's
Blog</i></span></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;">The
following is from C-SPAN2
<a href="http://www.booktv.org/program.aspx?ProgramId=7879&SectionName=In%20Depth&PlayMedia=No" target="_blank">
<span style="color: red;">BookTV's IN DEPTH</span></a> interview of Alexander
Cockburn by Connie Doebele</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #993333; font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: medium;">What does it mean to you to be a
radical?</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: medium;">
<span style="color: #000099;">It means basically, initially
challenging pretty much everything that's put before you in either audio
or visual form or in literature or in journalism. Obviously, it
has a social and political vision behind it. I mean radical is
like one of these words like liberal, it's very hard to even get a fix
on it anymore... Twenty years ago liberal meant something very different
from what it does now, I think. Radical really means that you
don't necessarily regard, in fact, you absolutely don't regard the
Democratic Party as about as far left as you can go on the American
political spectrum. It's seriously to the Left.</span> </span>
</b>
<span style="color: #006600;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial Black; font-size: large;">--</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: medium;">Alexander
Cockburn of </span></b></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: medium;"> <b> <a href="http://counterpunch.org/" target="_blank">
<span style="color: #006600;">Counterpunch</span></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: medium;"><b>"The doctor said I
wouldn't have so many nosebleeds if I kept my finger outta there."
-Ralph Wiggum</b></span></div>
Alex Pierpaolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10429434521631897977noreply@blogger.com0