Rants, Links, and Photography.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
R.I.P. Rick
I was researching crime, punishment, and residavisim here in Finland, for an articulate rant to post on my newly created Salon.com blog, thinking here's a chance to be literate, witty, and just a bit caustic for a wider audience. Kind of Truman Capote meets Jon Stewart with the factual integrity of Anne Rule. A rant regarding violence and the attitude towards it in the pristine welfare state. A state that earnestly believes in rehabilitation, often to the disgust of its citizens, who like most opposed to the death penalty will make an exception for it's use in especially brutal cases. Not many would shed a tear or light a candle for ?Briekvik? if they gave him a needle to the next plain of existence. Of course he wont be "put down" he'll get "life" about 15 years, more or less in Scandanavia with good behavior.It's likely he will be detained for life in a "secure facility" for the mentally ill until he's dead or too feeble to be a threat.
It was while scrolling through these types of grim stat.'s and articles I opted for a facebook break. Lighten my mood with the banal delights of my many social games, LOL catz, political gaffes, and trite celebrity gossip. When I came across a post from an old school friend. it was a re post from another school friend about another school friend who had passed away late Sunday night. Richard Sprague was dead, murdered, in an especially harsh manner. He was stabbed and robbed on the street in his own San Francisco Mission District neighborhood, the utterly shocking thing is it took many hours for him to die in agony on the street bleeding screaming for help until he ran out of breath. Passers by took no notice as it was late at night they simply assumed he was another poor drunk or drug crazed homeless person, they couldn't be bothered to call 911, even if to annonomuosly just say some drunk is bleeding on the street here send a cop, 30 seconds could have saved his life. You call 911 and you say there's a disturbance, the cops will come eventually.......Well they came 5 hours too late, he lay on the fucking street for 5 hours in agony! In San Francisco. a city which by the way I found to be the rudest I've ever been too and I've lived in L.A., London and New York! I cant believe this isn't a huge headline nationwide or even the S.F. paper this is Kitty Genovese yet again. How self involved do you have to be to walk passed a man bleeding on the ground begging for help, for someone to call an ambulance. I understand not wanting to get involved, with the police etc.. you don't have to, just call 911 at least as you walk away it's not like you don't have a dime for the payphone down the block! Did everyone's battery die? Didn't anyone have enough credit on their prepaids? Isn't 911 a toll free call? Don't the cops cruise around the city on their mountain bikes? WTF is wrong with people! I thought San Francisco is supposed to be a great big compassionate tolerant love in of a city with a strong sense of community and liberal do goodyness.
Makes me wonder if this had happened in Ricks old home town of Seattle, how long would it have taken for someone to call 911? Not 5 fucking hours that's for sure! It wouldn't happen in New York where these days folks are pushy and hurried, as always, but also curious and very very helpfull when prompted by their morality reflex.. Even here in urban Finland where we suffer an extreme plethora of nasty ass drunks when just going out to the supermarket on a cold Tuesday afternoon, this wouldn't happen, I see it at least every other week (almost daily in summer) when some alcoholic has fallen down and hit their head, someone always calls the cops, because, jaded and cynnical as we are we still have our humanity! But Rick wasn't some old drunk stumbling around he was the victim of a crime, a kind man, a decent man, he loved his partner, his family, his friends and pets, He was gemologist and traveled the world, He was planning a trip to Finland at some point in the future and we could have caught up in person, and no doubt been impressed by how we've maintained our good looks over the years, those of you who knew him will remember his sense humor.
Updated the SF chron. says he wasn't stabbed or shot......more later
It was while scrolling through these types of grim stat.'s and articles I opted for a facebook break. Lighten my mood with the banal delights of my many social games, LOL catz, political gaffes, and trite celebrity gossip. When I came across a post from an old school friend. it was a re post from another school friend about another school friend who had passed away late Sunday night. Richard Sprague was dead, murdered, in an especially harsh manner. He was stabbed and robbed on the street in his own San Francisco Mission District neighborhood, the utterly shocking thing is it took many hours for him to die in agony on the street bleeding screaming for help until he ran out of breath. Passers by took no notice as it was late at night they simply assumed he was another poor drunk or drug crazed homeless person, they couldn't be bothered to call 911, even if to annonomuosly just say some drunk is bleeding on the street here send a cop, 30 seconds could have saved his life. You call 911 and you say there's a disturbance, the cops will come eventually.......Well they came 5 hours too late, he lay on the fucking street for 5 hours in agony! In San Francisco. a city which by the way I found to be the rudest I've ever been too and I've lived in L.A., London and New York! I cant believe this isn't a huge headline nationwide or even the S.F. paper this is Kitty Genovese yet again. How self involved do you have to be to walk passed a man bleeding on the ground begging for help, for someone to call an ambulance. I understand not wanting to get involved, with the police etc.. you don't have to, just call 911 at least as you walk away it's not like you don't have a dime for the payphone down the block! Did everyone's battery die? Didn't anyone have enough credit on their prepaids? Isn't 911 a toll free call? Don't the cops cruise around the city on their mountain bikes? WTF is wrong with people! I thought San Francisco is supposed to be a great big compassionate tolerant love in of a city with a strong sense of community and liberal do goodyness.
Makes me wonder if this had happened in Ricks old home town of Seattle, how long would it have taken for someone to call 911? Not 5 fucking hours that's for sure! It wouldn't happen in New York where these days folks are pushy and hurried, as always, but also curious and very very helpfull when prompted by their morality reflex.. Even here in urban Finland where we suffer an extreme plethora of nasty ass drunks when just going out to the supermarket on a cold Tuesday afternoon, this wouldn't happen, I see it at least every other week (almost daily in summer) when some alcoholic has fallen down and hit their head, someone always calls the cops, because, jaded and cynnical as we are we still have our humanity! But Rick wasn't some old drunk stumbling around he was the victim of a crime, a kind man, a decent man, he loved his partner, his family, his friends and pets, He was gemologist and traveled the world, He was planning a trip to Finland at some point in the future and we could have caught up in person, and no doubt been impressed by how we've maintained our good looks over the years, those of you who knew him will remember his sense humor.
Updated the SF chron. says he wasn't stabbed or shot......more later
Insomnia and a broken stove
Instant coffee!
Not since London in the 80's had I savored its rich freeze dried crystals, Now I grew up in Seattle so I know coffee and I love coffee, never did I think I would drink instant again, but it's actually fine. I don't miss the "real" stuff at all. it's way better than tee. So now I'm hooked on the brown crystals and of course last night the stove craps out as my gentleman friend is in the middle of making his favorite school cafeteria style ground beef gravy and boiled potatoes. I don't eat boiled potatoes cause they are gross and for rubes, I would have made basmati rice for myself but instead I had yesterdays leftover lunch cold pasta salad and a cup on gravy for dinner as he paced and freaked for an hour. Once he shut up and sat down to sulk. I had a moments peace to E-mail the super. I wasn't about to put in an emergency after hours call, you can live without a stove for a few days if needed, So now I'm having a nice warm cup of microwaved water with instant coffee and creamer. The stove seems to be working again since we flipped the circut switch, now just dreading when the super, calls and saying it's fine., feel like such an overreacting 'tard.The only trouble with the instant it just does not have the same caffeine efficiency as regular and I need a kick now to get to the store on the bus in a snowstorm AGAIN.....
Monday, February 6, 2012
Winter Rant
WEATHER
I haven't had much to say lately, been eating and sleeping well, therefore in a reasonably good mood, haven't been out except to shop and walk the dog, no reason to venture out voluntarily into the arctic air. Now as you may know this is a blog primarily about my distaste for the sun and all the angst and douchery associated with it and its mindless fans, rarely will you ever hear me bitch about the cold BUT DAMN BITCH its been fucking COLD!!!! -24C that's, wait let me find my phone and convert...........yeah there it is....-11.2 FAHRENHEIT! So the sun doesn't seem as evil as usual (but just as some believe in the devil and that he/she can fool you into trusting their benevolence) the Sun is a malevolent trickster, don't trust it for an instant, just 5 minutes exposure will turn the tip of your nose red! Thankfully it is only present for about 6-7hrs a day at this time of year, I can sill avoid it for the most part by maintaining to my nocturnal schedule. I'm sleepy and content and sweat only when the dogs drags me too fast behind him, this is easily resolved by removing my hood to vent steam. Sadly Spring is slowly starting to creep into my thoughts only 2 more months until the evil yellow orb takes control and turns the snow to mud and dust, exposing all the nastiness, thawing dog turds and beer cans left to rot under the pure clean of winter. Only 4 months until the sun dominates the night......the thought depresses me I cant bear it......Must enjoy the next few weeks while it is still dark enough to sleep!
POLITICS
It was election day here in Finland today, a very polite campaign was waged on both side's. One candidate was a dull grey "conservative" (which by Finnish standards means he is for a free market economy and open minded on NATO) the other candidate was a dull grey member of the Green party, an openly gay man living in a domestic partnership with an Ecuadorian hairdresser. Seriously! No bullshit check online if you like. Now this could have been a very interesting, colorful campaign, anywhere else in the world outside Scandinavia or San Francisco, but no..... everything is so fucking proper and "dignified" here no one would dare say a word or crack a joke, don't get me wrong I adore gay guys, I'm a massive old fag hag always have and always will be, what bugs me is that most people are too emotionally repressed here to openly comment one way or another on the topic in fear of somehow tarnishing the sacred dignity of the political process! The skinheads were silent (not that I actually know any) at least in public, they would just say "No, I cant vote for him" when asked why they would just grin and shake their bald heads and scratch their scragley goat beards and mumble "just cant" same with the old farts and tarts...Imagine polite Nazi's! It's just so very bizzare for someone used to FOX news. I wanted the gay guy to win if only to send a giant "fuck you" to the rest of the world and say "Hahaa, we're more tolerant than you! neener neener!" He did get about 37% of the vote which is quite respectable in itself and it is a source of pride to be in a country where this can happen, there may be only a dozen places on earth so open minded. The "conservative" guy is okay and he's about as right wing as Bill Clinton, so no worries there, the welfare state will remain intact. I have actually met the new president a couple times when I worked at a Jazz club in town and he seemed cool. I'm not worried about politics here in the least, but as for the other election the big one that impacts the entire world in November, that is starting to concern me a bit.......more on that, much more later.
Photos by me
POLITICS
It was election day here in Finland today, a very polite campaign was waged on both side's. One candidate was a dull grey "conservative" (which by Finnish standards means he is for a free market economy and open minded on NATO) the other candidate was a dull grey member of the Green party, an openly gay man living in a domestic partnership with an Ecuadorian hairdresser. Seriously! No bullshit check online if you like. Now this could have been a very interesting, colorful campaign, anywhere else in the world outside Scandinavia or San Francisco, but no..... everything is so fucking proper and "dignified" here no one would dare say a word or crack a joke, don't get me wrong I adore gay guys, I'm a massive old fag hag always have and always will be, what bugs me is that most people are too emotionally repressed here to openly comment one way or another on the topic in fear of somehow tarnishing the sacred dignity of the political process! The skinheads were silent (not that I actually know any) at least in public, they would just say "No, I cant vote for him" when asked why they would just grin and shake their bald heads and scratch their scragley goat beards and mumble "just cant" same with the old farts and tarts...Imagine polite Nazi's! It's just so very bizzare for someone used to FOX news. I wanted the gay guy to win if only to send a giant "fuck you" to the rest of the world and say "Hahaa, we're more tolerant than you! neener neener!" He did get about 37% of the vote which is quite respectable in itself and it is a source of pride to be in a country where this can happen, there may be only a dozen places on earth so open minded. The "conservative" guy is okay and he's about as right wing as Bill Clinton, so no worries there, the welfare state will remain intact. I have actually met the new president a couple times when I worked at a Jazz club in town and he seemed cool. I'm not worried about politics here in the least, but as for the other election the big one that impacts the entire world in November, that is starting to concern me a bit.......more on that, much more later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)