Saturday, May 28, 2016

Seattle, suicide hotspot?



Seattle myth: Seattle has the highest suicide rate in the U.S. 

Not true. This high suicide rate is commonly blamed on the rain, and S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder), as well as serotonin deficiencies--caused by lack of sunlight--that lead to depression. In fact, Seattle falls in the bottom half of the top 50 cities. On the other hand, the Aurora Bridge is the second most popular place t
o commit suicide in the U.S. (behind the Golden Gate Bridge). 

The top cities for suicide per capita (including many sunny and warm places):

1 Las Vegas, NV
2 Colorado Springs, CO
3 Tucson, AZ
4 Sacramento, CA
5 Albuquerque, NM
6 Mesa, AZ
7 Miami, FL
8 Denver, CO
9 Jacksonville, FL
10 Pittsburgh, PA
10 Wichita, KS
12 Portland, OR
13 Fresno, CA
14 Phoenix, AZ
15 Tulsa, OK
16 Milwaukee, WI
17 Oklahoma City, OK
18 Atlanta, GA
19 Austin, TX
20 Cincinnati, OH
21 Charlotte, NC
22 St. Louis, MO
23 Indianapolis, IN
24 Louisville/Jefferson Co., KY
24 Virginia Beach,VA
26 Nashville-Davidson,TN
27 Cleveland, OH
28 Seattle, WA
29 Kansas City, MO
30 Houston, TX
31 San Francisco, CA
32 Fort Worth, TX
32 Honolulu, HI
34 Columbus, OH
35 Philadelphia, PA
36 Omaha, NB
37 San Diego, CA
38 Dallas, TX
39 San Antonio, TX
40 Arlington, TX
41 Long Beach, CA
42 San Jose, CA
43 New Orleans, LA
44 Minneapolis, MN
45 Memphis,TN
46 Oakland, CA
47 El Paso, TX
48 Los Angeles, CA
49 Chicago, IL
50 Detroit, MI
51 New York City, NY
52 Baltimore, MD
52 Washington, DC
54 Boston, MA

[source city-data.com]
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Thursday, May 26, 2016

Five things Paul Manafort revealed about Donald Trump yesterday

By Jack Brummet, National Affairs Ed.



Some crazy insane absurd things Paul Manafort (Donald Trump's campaign manager and chief strategist) said about Donald Trump yesterday in an interview with Howard Fineman (formerly Newsweek, now HuffPo):

The vice presidential pick will be part of the process of proving he’s ready for the White House, Manafort said. “He needs an experienced person to do the part of the job he doesn’t want to do. He seems himself more as the chairman of the board, than even the CEO, let alone the COO.”



Choosing a woman or a member of a minority group to run as vice president, Manafort said, “would be viewed as pandering, I think.”

We shouldn’t expect to ever see Trump’s tax returns.

Trump will be elected president easily. “This is not a hard race,” Manafort said.

“Does he know enough? Yes, because he knows he has more to learn.”
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drawing - Faces 1433: the backroom data cruncher

By Jack Brummet

click to enlarge
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Donald Trump's first dance with the presidency

By Jack Brummet, Election 2016 Ed.



"First, The Donald tantalized us earlier this year, and his polling numbers went--briefly--through the roof. Then he dropped out, but left the door open just a crack. Over the last few months, many of the Republican Presidential wannabes have made the trek to his office (for what--money? his blessing?). The Washington Post had a great piece on their blog in early December titled "2012 Republican are kissing Donald Trump's ring. But why?" It seems that Donald Trump, like most of the rest of the American electorate, has found Republican Clown War sorely lacking in substance, in a viable candidate, a rational platform--lacking in just about everything. Now, Trump has switched his political affiliation to "Independent," and is possibly considering running again. At least that is what some staffers and a spokesperson say. No word on how this would affect his reality show, which could be subject to equal time provisions from other candidates if he did decide to run.
From today's Christian Science Monitor:

"Given his not-too-shabby polling numbers, deep pockets, and new-found status as a registered independent, business mogul Donald Trump is in a decent position to launch a third-party run for president of the United States.
"The snark on the street is that Mr. Trump, a temperamental fellow who has toggled his party affiliation before, dumped the Republican Party on Thursday in anger after only two in the large field of GOP presidential candidates agreed to attend a debate he was slated to moderate. Some Republican hopefuls had questioned whether it was ethical for Trump to host a debate while considering a potential presidential run himself.
"A Trump spokesman, however, said his boss dropped out of the debate and changed his party affiliation "to preserve his right to run for president as an independent."

If you do run, Mr. Trump, may we suggest that you sign up your old friend, the Ex-Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, as your running mate? With a double whammy like that, what could possibly go wrong?
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Wednesday, May 25, 2016

NYC survival tips from the mid-1970's

By Jack Brummet, NYC Metro Ed.

NYC was a dangerous, dirty, and crazy place in the mid-70s (when I lived there, in Loisaida, in Brooklyn, and the Upper West Side).  In the mid-1970's, the Council for Public Safety (police, firefighters and other unions) published a pamphlet called "Welcome to Fear City: A Survival Guide for Visitors to the City of New York."   Both the Blackout and the arrest of Son of Sam happened during my first two months there (The Summer of Sam as Spike Lee called it). This pamphlet caused a lot of turmoil in the city, and was later renamed "If You Haven't Been Mugged Yet..."  [Ed's note: I was mugged three times over the course of five years.]

The tips are below the video. 





Fear City page 1

Times Square

Fear City page 2

Fear City page 3

garbage burning in the streets, mid-70s
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Drawing: Yoga

By Jack Brummet, Staff Artist, ATIT

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My city on fire

By Jack Brummet

click to enlarge 

Detail:

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Tuesday, May 24, 2016

The 2016 primaries continue, a/k/a beating a dead horse

By Jack Brummet

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First Gerald Mayo sued Satan and now, an Israeli sued God

Aunidentified Israeli man recently petitioned Haifa Magistrate’s Court recently for a restraining order against God, claiming the Almighty has exhibited (quoting the Times of Israel article) “a seriously negative attitude toward him,” especially over the previous three years. 



 The judge rejected the petition "even though God was not present to argue against it (or at least His presence could not be detected"). [Times of Israel, 5-4-2016]

See our related post here: When Gerald Mayo sued Satan—
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Sunday, May 22, 2016

Drawing: Faces 1422 - Illustrated cypress knee

By Jack Brummet

[click to enlarge]

I've had this 2 foot tall cypress knee sitting around for a couple of years. . .since my niece Melanie brought it back for me from Louisiana. The knees grow off the cypress roots and are sort of like a burl, except they are covered in bumps and knobs and contusions (many of which resemble the outlines of faces).

Cypress knees are a cone-shaped exposed growth forming above the  roots of a bald cypress tree:


1422 Detail:


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Friday, May 20, 2016

Remington Portable Typewriter Model No. 2 (1925-1928)

By Jack Brummet, Old Ways Ed.

I am working on restoring/rehabbing an old typewriter I've had for years.  I originally bought it when you still needed a typewriter and it was small and very portable.  It's actually in good shape and mostly just needs a cleaning and lubrication and a serious type cleaning.

It's a Remington Portable Model No. 2, manufactured between 1925 and 1928.

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When Gerald Mayo sued Satan—

By Jack Brummet, Jurisprudence Ed.

Someone—Gerald Mayo—actually did sue The Great Deceiver.  It is documented in a book by Alex Ruskell (A Weekly Guide to Being a Model Law Student).  

My lawyer friends can find the case at Mayo v. Satan and His Staff 54 F.R.D. 282 (1971). I guess you have to file multiple suits to be found a vexatious litigant?




See our related story below:

First Gerald Mayo sued Satan and now, an Israeli sued God

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Monday, May 16, 2016

The Assfish

By Jack Brummet


The species Acanthonus armatus appeared only 10 years ago off the coast of Vancouver, British Columbia.  Its arrival generated a lot of excitement—mainly because it is commonly known as the assfish. The Royal BC Museum in Victoria, British Columbia, put one on display this January.  I can't find any information on whether or not the fish has appeared in Washington's Pacific coast or in Puget Sound. 

With its bulbous head and flabby skin, a curator said it resembled a “glorified tadpole,” but declined to guess at the origin of its name.  "As might be expected from its common name, the bony-eared assfish, which is a member of the cusk-eel family, will never win an ichthyological beauty contest."  For more information, read the original article in  Canada's National Post.



As Liz Langley wrote in National Geographic "With a name like assfish, you're probably used to being the butt of jokes."
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Newt Gingrich Vice-President trial balloon?

By Jack Brummet, National Affairs Ed.




It looks like someone in the Trump "organization" leaked—or maybe threw up a trial balloon—that Newt Gingrich is on the short list for Donald Trump's VPOTUS slot.  Of course the leak may well have come from that self-aggrandizing blow hard, The Newt himself. Holy S***!

I knew they were looking for a congressional insider; a Speaker [1] fits the bill.  This race just keeps getting stranger and juicier.  I just saw a clip on Fox where Gingrich [2] said he'd be glad to take the job... with a few (unstated) conditions.
               
—————————————————————
[1]  Even a disgraced Speaker of the House who was ridden out of town on a rail

[2]  Illustration of Newt is by me, from an All This Is That post during the 2012 primaries)

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Megumi Igarashi being prosecuted for vagina kayak

By Jack Brummet, Asian Arts Ed.


Do you remember the story about the Japanese artistMegumi Igarashibeing prosecuted for making a kayak molded into what authorities (and she) said was a depiction of her female parts? She recently wrote a book about the experience. Japan Times noted that "If convicted, Igarashi could face up to two years behind bars and a fine of [$20,755]."


Curiously, not being prosecuted for many years is the annual "Festival of the Steel Phallus," in Kawasaki, which includes a parade with models and sculptures of male genitalia.

Images from the apparently perfectly legal phallus fest:



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Mark Cersosimo's short film about Stephen Wright's *House Of Dreams*

By Jack Brummet, Outsider Art Ed.

Mark Cersosimo recently made a short about Stephen Wright, who turned his London home into an artwork, “The House Of Dreams."

I would love to make a US house of dreams. If anyone has a spare house I could use, let me know!
/jack

The House Of Dreams from Mark on Vimeo.
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Faces 1398 - faces on conduit found in Baja

by Jack Brummet

click to enlarge

Detail: 


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Sunday, May 15, 2016

Escape training video: how to escape if you are a prisoner of war

Escape Training - Captive Escape Training Through Identifying Opportunities. This 1950s military training film shows studies of how you might escape if taken captive as a prisoner of war.


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Rape and Brigham Young University's "honor code"



"Madi Barney, 20, courageously publicly reported her own rape accusation recently in Provo, Utah, and as a result has been disciplined as a student at Brigham Young University for allegedly violating the school’s 'honor code.' (She is barred from withdrawing from courses or re-registering.) Whether the sex was consensual must be investigated by Provo police, but BYU officials said they had heard enough to charge Barney with the no-no of premarital sex." [Washington Post, 4-20-2016]
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Saturday, May 14, 2016

Daily Banter: "You're Rewarding 25 Years of GOP Smears"


The Daily Banter has an interesting piece on how the rage against Hillary from the left is the result of a quarter century of GOP attacks against HRC. Excerpt:
"With the exception of maybe Barack Obama, whom they've irrationally loathed with the fire of a thousands suns, it's tough to name anyone conservatives have more vigorously derided throughout the years than Hillary Clinton. Even her husband, as much as they tried to take him down at every turn, earned a begrudging respect from many in the Republican party. Beating him up for, say, his sexual proclivities was the height of Beltway hypocrisy and they knew it, but politics demanded they grab onto any potential scandal they could with both hands and ride it as far as it would take them. While it's true many were bitterly jealous of Clinton's seemingly depthless charisma and sorcerer's way with voters, for the GOP leadership at the time it wasn't personal -- just really dirty business. Hillary on the other hand has always been cast as an arrogant bitch, a soulless bête noire, an irredeemably corrupt and fundamentally dishonest political hustler. From the very beginning of her time in the national political limelight, she was vilified for refusing to simply sit back and be an ornament on the White House Christmas tree, as she was apparently supposed to. And when she ventured out into her own separate political career, what was considered calculating but somehow forgivable from her husband became merely calculating -- and nefariously so -- from her. Bill was allowed to be Slick Willy. Hillary was just a rotten to the core."
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Drawing: Faces 1417 - the advance man

By Jack Brummet

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Friday, May 13, 2016

Drawing: Faces 1416 - Uncommitted

By Jack Brummet

[Sharpie®, Sharpie Industrial®, Marks-a-lot®, acrylic paint, and #5B pencil on 4' x 1' 4" concrete panel]

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Things fall apart: The state of the Democratic Presidential Primary

By Jack Brummet, National Affairs Desk


It could all fall apart, but the Trump-Ryan meeting fallout (and a lot of happy talk from both sides) today makes me nervous that the GOP-TEA PARTY is coalescing, while the Dems are embroiled in factionalism, mud-slinging, pointless churning, and back-biting.

The Dems, people seem to believe, were handed a gift horse candidate by the GOP-TP, and now they (we) are on the verge of blowing it by not capitalizing on our position. This needs to happen right here, right now...not 33 days from now when primary voting is over, and not on July 29th after the convention.

It's a very strange year where much of the conventional wisdom and laws of gravity have been swept out the door.  We need to act accordingly.
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What Donald Trump looks like under the tan and wig

From "God"'s newsfeed on Facebook:  Donald Trump looks almost human!

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Drawing: Faces 1414 - 33 days to go with Mr. Wilson and Mrs. Beasley

By Jack Brummet

click to enlarge
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