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Smoking or Non?
Nieceev99, what exactly makes Naomi's review "borderline racist?" The play on "white men can't jump (Q)?" or the puns on "black art" or "black magic?" While a bit cheeky, I honestly don't see how her owning that authenticity of a cuisine tends to be regional and ethnically oriented is borderline racist. You are incensed about your favorite BBQ place not getting the credit you think it deserves, so let's not up the rhetorical ante based on this peeve alone. Instead, why not write your own review, in the form of an intelligent response describing your favorite dishes, and cooking methods, showing exactly why you think this place and its food deserves higher marks and merit? This way, you can at least attempt to back up your opinion that better reviews might be written.— June 13, 2009 4:24 p.m.
Don't Tase Me, Sonny!
Well said, refried. Uh, yes, Josh, I am soooo part of the problem. (?) And again, I did not mean to bring up drinking on the beach. I meant only for you to recognize similarities of your own rhetoric in Burwell's hate-filled, violent nonsense. I once worked with young adults who had a variety of developmental disabilities, and was injured a couple of times dealing with a young man who would suddenly and violently strike out at his caretakers and teachers. Of necessity I took a day long training course on physical self-defense, when dealing specifically with people with developmental disabilities. I believe some of these might appropriately be extended to treatment of the elderly. I could not reproduce any of these moves now--over 15 years later--but we learned there are plenty of clever ways to disarm a person physically without harming them--and WITHOUT tasing or macing them. There are places on the body upon which pressure can be applied with precision, and there are ways to swiftly bring someone to the ground or restrain them without hurting them. Apparently, you have not considered the possibility of giving an elderly person a heart attack with a taser, or serious eye damage and undue pain with mace. They are a fragile population, and need to be dealt with differently than a healthy perp of normal reflexes and muscle tone. And lord forbid we learn to take a moment and use some psychology--some TALK before action to try and reason with an elderly person. "M'am, why don't we sit down here, and talk for a moment. Are you thirsty? Cold? Here, take my jacket. Let's talk this out."— June 13, 2009 3:56 p.m.
What's your favorite website?
I don't find that everyone just takes senseless quizzes and surveys on FB, as you've commented a few times, magics. In fact, I don't think anyone has at all presented me with such a thing. I set up a FB page a year ago, just to keep in the mix with a young relative living out of state, and she reminded me very recently to start paying attention to it. It has been a great way to reconnect with a couple of old friends, and people tag each other to write a top ten list of books, etc. I also like reading updates on people's travels and seeing their photos. It is also fun to wake up and see a New Yorker's comments on weather for that day, or what the coffee tasted like at a Brooklyn cafe...— June 13, 2009 3:38 p.m.
Escondido by Night
Likewise, I promise not to fall off my trike, respect your opinions, and I can always clarify my own (sometimes sputtered) comments. I also promise to let you buy me a pisco sour, or a scotch and soda.— June 13, 2009 12:07 a.m.
Escondido by Night
refried, I totally agree, and you know my position on the absolute necessity of literary criticism. It just gets tiring to hear careless and uninformed commentary or lazy, mindless invective. A lot of such pizzle is frequently leveled at Duncan too, with nothing to back it up, and it always seems a product of the reader's defensive frustration over just not understanding what he writes. Mr. Brizz does fall off the wagon now and then, and has written some about it--a couple of months back he wrote about having a few drinks and talking with some tourists over at the Elephant by the bay. I don't think he needs to do so in order to write a great piece, and would rather see him guard his already fragile health--to write and be as well as he can.— June 12, 2009 11:28 p.m.
Don't Tase Me, Sonny!
Josh wrote: "That being said, if a drunk gets out of line, I think the cops should tase, mace, or shoot...if that's what it takes to get him/her under control." Uh, Josh, I think you need to read Burwell's comments again--clearly, I did not mean to start a discussion about drinking at the beach. He is all for the kind of police state you seem to support. You know, mandatory breathalizers upon exiting bars, and senseless beatings, tazing, shootings all around. Josh wrote: "I know that logic can be harsh, but really...old people can't just run around like space cadets." WTF does any of this mean? Logic can be harsh? I don't see where you employ a traceable logical argument. The elderly have poor reflexes, and unarmed, are not generally considered to be such a threat. You support violent physical action being taken against people who are handicapped in some way, again and again--why? Is it testosterone overload? Do you, like Burwell, have some kind of righteous fetish for violence? Josh wrote: "And, just to further explain myself. I'm not saying I would've necessarily tased her at that point. I just thinking this officer can't possibly be in the wrong for doing it." Can't possibly be in the wrong for doing it? Just want to make sure you're clear on what you are saying. No, I am not uniformly critical of "the man," I just don't blindly and enthusiastically support any and all measures taken to subdue an unruly citizen, without taking into consideration the specifics of each confrontation--and I don't assume that the same approaches for subduing an individual are always appropriate. Cops are not gods. As you yourself have occasionally admitted--they can make mistakes. I'll add that sudden bursts of adrenaline can screw up the best of intentions. Your fallback retorts run along the lines of 'you are not in touch with reality,' 'watch too many movies,' and 'life is not like an afterschool special,' etc. But it seems that really, Josh, you are the one watching 'reality' cop shows, and having violent law enforcement fantasies. You can support law enforcement and still be a concerned citizen when it comes to brutality and bad judgement.— June 12, 2009 11:10 p.m.
Let’s Toast to Banning Booze
Well, beermonkey, I have other tricks up my sleeve, but you are right--I will refrain from sharing further tips here, and put an immediate hold on the publishing of my Savvy Beach Drinker's Guide. Magic Wands? Sounds like an excellent way to spend a few tax dollars. Sheez--for real? Fred, I think SpliffAdamz, who shares no evolutionary DNA with primates of any order, might be interested in the job. Then at least we then might legally smoke a spliff and enjoy a cold one come green flash time.— June 12, 2009 10:44 p.m.
Tijuana Snapshot
I disagree, folks. The point is, there is no one 'real' TJ, just as there is no one archetypal image of anything--right, our Plato-loving refried? The myth of the city is endlessly exploitable, and should be presented from a kaleidoscope of perspectives. Creative license is fine, but I don't think we are exactly getting the point. Note that we are reading Tijuana life here filtered through an individual consciousness, someone who feels he does not exactly belong, even as he has chosen to make this city his home. I enjoy the postmod stream of consciousness style, and like desolationangel's noir-filled imagery. I also love the "subcultural" vibe, as well as the nighttime queering of our bordertown. Write on, brotha!— June 12, 2009 3:42 p.m.
Escondido by Night
Hey, chill on Mr. Brizz, guys! His columns are infrequently a little less focused, but they are alternated with pure gems of mnemosyne and a wit that does not always fail. Despite the changes and upheavals he's experienced, the column is still called "TGIF," and he plays on this stubborn constraint sometimes with irony, and sometimes with sarcasm.— June 12, 2009 2:27 p.m.
Don't Tase Me, Sonny!
Josh wrote: "I should say right now, I have no problem with this old bat getting tased." "I don't even know the details of the story yet." "It's about time you realize that cops have a tough job. If you don't follow their rules, you might go down." Jesus, you are obsessed. There's a fellow named Burwell you'd probably like to meet. Find your new best friend here, Josh: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2009/apr/29/le…— June 11, 2009 11:03 a.m.