December 2008

Some Thoughts on OJ Simpson

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Most criminal law legal experts say that OJ is going to be behind bars for a long time. Judge Jackie Glass, the judge that sentenced OJ, made it clear that the sentence being passed was for the kidnapping and weapons charges only. The fact that she gave a similar sentence to OJ’s partner in crime, Clarence “CJ” Stewart, more or less backs up the notion that the sentence was, indeed, punishment for these crimes only and not karma for something else OJ may have done.

Thirteen years ago, I stood in disbelief when that lame LA jury set OJ free. My hope for the future of this moron is that the parole board, in addition to his despicable character, takes into consideration OJ’s civil liability in the wrongful death of Nichole Brown and Ron Goldman. Throw away the key, people.

Dennis Miller, a longtime critic of post-murder-trial Simpson had this to say on Bill O’Reilly’s TV show:

“When I see O.J.’s mug shot,” Miller cracked, “he has that Mona Lisa smile – this guy is so nuts, I think he’s happy to be back in the limelight. He literally got away with murder, yet was willing to break into someone’s room to get some trading cards.”

Click on the image of Simpson, above, to hear Miller’s thoughts on OJ.

Simpson’s not smiling now, I bet.

More thoughts on OJ’s stupidity from examiner.com

What a sad spectacle and yet a lesson that can be learned by others if they take the time to watch and listen.

O.J.Simpson stood in chains and prison garb in front of the sentencing judge in Las Vegas today and pleaded for leniency. His lawyers had just finished admitting that he was stupid but that stupidity isn’t criminality.

The lawyers made the case for him that the items taken or attempted to be taken were his and there was no criminal intent when he and his little group of idiots burst through the doors of a room in a Las Vegas hotel that day in September 2007, The ownership issue is still a question according to a judge.

This should effectively end the O.J.saga in American life unless when he is released while in his late sixties he is still as stupid as he apparently is now.

Remembering Pearl Harbor

We remember and honor the fallen at Pearl Harbor sixty-seven years ago today. This post is from December 7th last year:


Pearl Harbor Day

Today we honor the men and women who died in the attacks on Hawaii late in 1941. In the photograph below, the Officers and Crew line the flight deck of the USS Ronald Reagan, CVN-76, as they salute the war memorial at the resting place of the USS Arizona.

USS Ronald Reagan at the Arizona war memorial

Freighter Cruising the Catalina Channel

We took a quick drive to the top of the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Southwestern Los Angeles County today, despite our busy schedule of chores, errands and shopping. The visibility was pretty good, but the lighting was unusual due to high clouds in the area. I took this photo of a freighter slowly making its way toward the Los Angeles Harbor through the Catalina Channel. You can see the Catalina Island Isthmus and Ship Rock at Two Harbors in the distance. Click for the full-sized image.

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Avalon Art

avalon.pngI took this photo of Avalon Harbor from the hill, south of the bay, near the Wrigley Mansion. We were in a tram getting a tour of the town of Avalon when we saw this spectacular view. At the time I took the picture, I was using 35mm film in my old Canon SLR, so this had to be scanned into electronic format. Since it was sort of grainy, Bob went with the flow and applied a photo shop tool to make it look somewhat like an oil painting. Anyhow, this was the result. Click for a bigger version.

As an interesting aside, visitors on the Avalon tour don’t get to go up to this location these days. There is a problem on Pebbly Beach Road, just below this location, with rock slides. The Island Conservancy is concerned with liabilities associated with injuries to visitors, so neither the tour tram nor those little golf carts are allowed access to this area; this is a unique view of the town these days.

Santa Fly-By

It’s December and just like the last several-to-many years in this location (I forget how many years), Santa made his annual fly-by our house this evening. Thanks to the sponsorship of the City and our first-class Police Department, Santa is able to visit most of the residential neighborhoods in town. He stops every block or so to hand out goodies to kids, young and old.

Here’s a short video of the man in red as he makes his fly-by. Santa made his next stop just around the corner from where the video ends.

The Most Beautiful Aircraft Ever Flown

As I made my rounds through reading the blogs today, I ran across a post that made a connection to the SR-71, which got me to look for this favorite picture of that magnificent aircraft.

As for the post (hat tip to The Liberty Sphere), it was not really about the SR-71, but about a speech made by a former pilot of one of these. These patriotic words of Brian Shul are partially listed at the Bloviating Zeppelin who has a very nice article and picture of Shul: Good Morning Monday: A Speech We NEED To Remember.

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If you want to see this bird full-sized, click on the image above.

A Pink Rose

Lately, the flower concession at the supermarket has been offering some very nice rosebuds. This pink one has been in the vase for about four days and has opened nicely. These aren’t very fragrant, though, but they have a hint of the familiar perfume if you get close enough to them. Click image for larger view.

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