Busking For Nothing and your Chicks For Free

First, special thanks to Jose Marquez. Everyone needs a friend like him. But not everyone deserves one.

You've all heard of American Idol. I apologize for bringing it up and in no way think that show has any redeeming value. However, in the same vein TfL (Transport for London) is now having a competition to allot some busking licenses. This is either insane or brilliant or rubbish. I haven't decided, though after last year's trip I can tell you the buskers need improvement. One guy was playing to the accompaniment of a boom box, only the boom box was doing most of the work. Competition URL here.

I am still Canadian and was reminded of Tom Brokaw's awesome piece on Canada that was shown on NBC during the Olympics. It was well received. Conveniently, it's now available on YouTube and is an awesome seven minutes of film. Famous people you might not know are Canadian include Tom Brokaw, Neil Young, Doug Henning, Dan Aykroyd, Raymond Burr, Michael Cera, Yvonne De Carlo, Howie Mandel, Monty Hall, Alex Trebek, Shannon Tweed, Keanu Reeves, and my only famous relative, fourth cousin William Shatner. I apologise for the last bit.






The London Eye is ten years old and this article talks about how it came to be. It's amazing that something like this has turned into an iconic structure much like Eiffel Tower. I rode it on it very soon after it opened in addition to visiting the Millennium Dome and while it was much maligned, I loved it. The eye on the other hand has been well received and is insanely popular: deservedly so.

In other news, Pink Floyd has filed suit against EMI. Pink Floyd claims their contract prohibits selling their songs as "singles" and only album sales are allowed. That means their distribution on Apple's iTunes and other sites that do not honour album purchases is in jeopardy. EMI claim that the contract only applies to albums whilst Pink Floyd claims album means that album in all formats be it tape, CD, digital, and whatnot. The article doesn't expand much, but this case will have industry changing ramifications because if Pink Floyd wins, and I hope they do, an artist will have creative control over their music. I agree, for example, Dark Side Of The Moon is one complete work and shouldn't be doled out as singles. If that is the artist's wish, then so be it. Though it does beg the question of radio play. (Apple is famous for refusing to sell albums on iTunes that can't be separated into individual tracks and only disallows single track purchases for songs longer than 10 minutes.)

Back to Jose: he's been very instrumental in getting The Quagmire ready for the Big Move. I'll warn everyone once it happens, but you will have to update your RSS feeds and any other place you may subscribe to this blog. We're going to be going to WordPress in the very near future. The blog may continue to move, but you will all be given a URL that will always work no matter where the blog goes. That URL will be http://www.darsys.org and it should point your browser to wherever the blog is parked. (The blog will remain on the same server but in a subdomain and subdirectory for the time being until I move from Dreamhost to Photon.net which will happen eventually.) I'd like to tell you how much I helped, but I think the work ratio's about 10% me and 90% him. If anyone wants to provide educational training to me on WordPress once I'm up and running, that would be great. I'm sure I'll have questions because my WP experience is pretty limited.

This blog should be relocated before the end of the month and a final post will direct you to where you need to go. All posts will be available in the new blog, though some formatting anomalies may occur. If you point them out, I'll fix them. With 830+ posts it's going to take me awhile to do it manually. Old posts will remain here for one year before I remove them to preserve inbound links and Google PageRank. We're going to do some fancy .htaccess page directs to send you to the new blog once it's up and running. Just for those of you who care about what will happen.

Eric's Huge Announcement

This announcement is one of the happiest individual moments of my life: I can reveal the big secret I’ve been hiding for nearly a year. I am now officially and legally a Canadian citizen. Let me tell you all “aboot” it :)

I have always identified myself as half-Canadian* to people who’ve asked – everyone says it helps explain my obsessive love of hockey. My mother was born a Canadian though she has long since become a US Citizen. My father is an American. Me? I was born right here in the good-ole USA. From the viewpoint of the US government I am an American Citizen through and through. And indeed I have a US Passport, I have voted here, I live here, and I even pay my taxes here. And at the Olympics, I will report I’m for Team USA. Though this year I was mostly conflicted.

When I was growing up, the USA took a very dim view of dual nationals to the point of not recognizing them in most cases. Sometime before I was 28, I had the opportunity to elect to become a Canadian citizen. Sadly I just didn’t know it at the time.

I continued to identify myself as half-Canadian when asked, which was a state of mind more than a legal condition. About 20 years ago, I checked into becoming a Canadian citizen but the process was onerous as all hell. The document was nearly as detailed and as long as the US Government’s official security clearance document: encyclopaedic. I guess the idea is to keep most people from even from trying. It worked because mentally I wasn’t up to the challenge. I don’t know that if I had to go through the full, long process I’d ever have the mental fortitude.

Some five or ten years ago (give or take) I had emailed my cousin John who was in the Canadian government with their trade commission. He told me there was a small grace period, but I blew it. I missed it and there was no hope for me and there wasn’t much he could do to help at that point. It was too bad because by then the US begin a bit more leniency in accepting dual nationals. You no longer were required to give up US Citizenship if you claimed another by right of birth. That meant I could claim Canadian citizenship without losing my US citizenship.

Let’s go back to early last year. My friend Maury brought this to my attention when she saw this video on YouTube. (It's a really funny video, so check it out.)

A new law amending the Citizenship Act came into effect on April 17, 2009. The new law gives Canadian citizenship to certain people who lost it and to others who are recognized as citizens for the first time. It also protects the value of citizenship by limiting citizenship by descent to one generation outside Canada. The previous law required people born in the second or subsequent generations outside Canada to submit an application to retain (keep) their citizenship, and to either live in Canada for one year or prove a substantial connection to Canada before their 28th birthday. If they did not do either of these things, they would have lost their citizenship, sometimes without even knowing. The old law was criticized for being complicated, confusing, and leading to uncertainty for many people about their citizenship status. The new law simplifies rules by eliminating this requirement.

This clause only allowed about 100,000 additional people Canadian citizenship if they wanted it. It so happens I fell into this group of 100,000 people. (So does Maury). It’s not automatic and you must apply to resume your citizenship.

I immediately got all the paperwork, got some photos taken – and let me tell you those special photos were the hardest part to find down here in Florida. The documentation required was hefty, but I did it all and it wasn’t quite as overwhelming as the full application. I spent a few hundred dollars on international couriers and expedited delivery. Within three weeks I had submitted my application and kept this all to myself lest I jinx it. Only two people knew: Mom had to know because she had lots of old documents I needed such as birth certificates and such. And of course Maury knew because she’s the one who told me.

After Thanksgiving, about seven months later, I got the first word. The application was initially rejected because the Quebec birth certificate my mother supplied was the old style and they wanted the new style. Seriously. It’s the same information but on a different form. Four weeks and a couple hundred dollars later, we get the new one. Which is surprising similar to the old one but with a different seal. I re-submitted it. And waited. It’s important to note, they require the original documents and not copies.

Some four months later, I was checking online to find the status of my application and it didn’t show they received the new documents even though my tracking information showed they did. I felt stuck in limbo. In frustration, I sent a polite fax to the local consulate after they happened to be at a recent NHL Panthers game and I spoke to them. In the letter I explained the situation. They called me a few days later and told me that there are so many applications now that the wait can easily extend to two or more years. However, they were very nice and helpful and they gave me a number to call because the one on the website only works from within Canada.

I called today (4 March as this is written). Today is also Mom’s birthday, I was told my application was approved. I am embarrassed to admit, I was so happy I started to cry though the lady on the phone thought it was very nice that I was so emotional over it. I called Mom at work from work something I have never done except in the direst of emergencies, told her, started to break up again, and hung up because I was too embarrassed to try and talk.

So, as I said when I started this story, I am now legally a Canadian citizen: a dual national, fully recognized by both countries. I know it’s Mom’s birthday but I think I got the best present. She’s happy too. She’s the only one who knew the day it happened. Everyone else has to wait until I get my certificate, which is when you will all see this post as a blog entry. (My Canadian relatives will also get emails.)

Will I get a Canadian passport? I want one, so maybe one day. But not right now as I'm not sure I've got the patience to go through with that again. I am still an American and don’t need one though some of the places I travel it’d probably be more comfortable to use. For now, I will continue to travel on an American passport. More importantly, American law requires all US Citizens to use their American passport when you enter or leave the USA.

Will I move to Canada? Not now and not even soon. When I retire, it’s certainly an option. Right now, my home, my job, and many of my friends are all here. Leaving for anywhere else would be hard. Besides, I still want to retire to London one day. On the other hand, Sarah Palin is running for president in 2012….

Will I vote in Canada? I’m not sure. First, it would be unfair for me to vote in any election where I wasn’t properly informed. I’d like to fix that, so I suppose I should resume my subscription to MacLean’s magazine (think Canadian Newsweek) so I can at least hone up on local politics. Honestly, I am still not quite sure if I can vote as a Canadian living abroad since I only lived in Canada for about a year when I was a small boy and wasn’t technically a citizen at that time. I am receiving much conflicting information on this topic from various Canadian government websites.

I like hockey, curling, maple syrup, and I like the cold too. But I like BBQ and football too, and hate poutine. I know both national anthems from memory. I knew French but it's become worthless because I've not spoken it regularly in decades. I am an American and I am a Canadian. And I’m not conflicted about it in the least.



* My left half, I think.

Alice In Wonderland

We saw Alice in Wonderland Burtonland today. After hearing all the negative comments on the 3D aspect, we decided to go for 2D. Alice was originally shot in 2D and the 3D was added afterwards. When this isn't done properly your eyes and your brain don't communicate and you can get headaches and/or nausea -- which is what a number of people were complaining about. I get headaches at most 3D movies anyway so this decision didn't bother me.

The film is directed by Tim Burton so if you're expecting normal, you've gone to the wrong cinema. This film is odd, unusual, strange, bizarre, weird, atypical, freaky, nutty, yet still pretty damn visually fantastic. And, indeed, that's what it is. The movie starts off in Victorian England as Alice is being betrothed unwillingly to a suitor. She espies the white rabbit and the film is afoot.

Many odd things happen once Alice drinks that first potion and you will be captivated by all of it. Whether you like it, I'm not sure. I mostly enjoyed the film but I had some quibbles with some of the odd story tangents. Loved the Hatter, Cheshire, and the Red Queen and we could have used more of them and less of the White Queen for sure. The bandersnatch was an awesome creature indeed besides giving me the excuse to say bandersnatch. The jabberwocky wasn't nearly as impressive.

The one brief dance scene near the end was terribly contrived and I'm not sure why it was even part of the film. Probably just an excuse to use the word "futter" in the movie.

There were two kids in our group (5 and 7) and they were fine with it, so I give this a green light to most audiences. I was secretly hoping my favourite Jefferson Airplane song would make a cameo, but it didn't. It would have been most appropriate.

Sorry this review is shorter than what I originally wrote but Blogger farted and ate it all.

As much as it pains be to thank David Streeter in public, this video link he sent me demands it. It was an amazing bit of nostalgia. The clothing, the vehicles, the traffic chaos, the atmosphere. The film is from a cable car travelling East down Market Street in San Francisco, just a few days before the infamous Great Earthquake of 1906. You can clearly see the clock tower at the end of the street at the Embarcadero Wharf on the Ferry Building that is still there today. Authentic, live-action hundred year-old film is a rarity so treat yourself to this seven minutes of history.

Lastly is this great article on cover songs. Many songs you know and love are actually covers. Aretha Franklin's legendary Respect, Tina Turner's Proud Mary, and even Elvis Presley's Hound Dog to name a few. Most covers of legendary songs are big blunders. Sometimes a cover becomes the canonical version. Next time you're trashing Marilyn Manson for ruining a song (as he richly deserves) don't forget that not all covers suck.

Special thanks to Jose as we continue to work to figure out the final details to move this blog to its new home. I will remind me readers to look out for the notification that we've moved. The new URL will be http://www.darsys.org/ if you want to bookmark it now. That URL will always point to this blog no matter where it moves. For those of you reading via RSS you will need to update your feed when the announcement is made and not before.

Having Sex With Your Hand (And Not Making A Mess)

Yeah, before we get to the subject line, let me first mention a few real stories.

The most admired and trusted company in the world is? Apple Computer. Forbes, who conducted the survey says "this year generated the highest response rate in its history ... For the third straight year Apple takes the No. 1 spot -- this time by the highest margin ever." The nearest competitor on the list is Google. Say what you want, that's some survey.

Paul shares this link with me. Politics are a dirty business, but if you're donating to the RNC, you might want to see what they think of you. If you're in the DNC you need to see what you're up against. It takes a special sort of person to look slimier than a used car salesman, yet they manage it. I do not believe all members are like this, but it's sad this is done so openly with the base assumption that the RNC clearly thinks the people who donate to it are idiots. (Hey, wait, maybe I share something in common with them... ::laugh:: )

And, today, we have news of the absurd. I provide this instead of the huge, major, earth-shattering announcement I was hoping to release today. It'll just have to keep waiting until I can make it. I do have that special post written and I'll I need to do is release it. So, today, we have news of the absurd.

The Swiss have begun producing extra small condoms for use by 12 year olds. In the article it says: The Hotshot condoms, which cost about US$8 for a packet of six, have been created by Lamprecht AG, a leading condom manufacturer in Switzerland. A standard condom has a diameter of 2ins (5.2cm) in comparison with the Hotshot's diameter of 1.7ins (4.5cm). Both are the same length – 7.4ins (19cm). I really have no idea how I should feel about this. I think protection is important for people of all ages, but I don't think twelve year olds should be having sex except with their hand*. In fact, I know a few people in their 30s who shouldn't be having sex either.

And speaking of sex, a city in New Jersey has gone of the deep end. A family (mother, son, and daughter) made a snowman. In fact, it was a snow lady. A near perfect replica of the world famous semi-nude marble Venus de Milo — aka Aphrodite of Milo. Yeah, the same one every single kid has seen in junior high in art class. It's not obscene, and not even titillating**. Yet, amazingly, someone complained and they were told to tear it down or cover it up. There's photos of it (clothed and nude) in USA Today. So it's okay for USA Today (and BBC and the AP and everyone else who carried the story) but not for a front lawn. Someone needs to get a grip.




* And only if all five fingers give their consent
** TITillating. :)

The Big-Ass Concert Post To End All Concert Posts

Mom had mentioned that my cousin Ken could rattle off every concert he ever went to. I'm just not that good with my memory in some things. However, I do save my ticket stubs and so I was able to compile this list. Venue names are the name of the venue as printed on the ticket at the time so some venues are listed under multiple names. If the date is hyperlinked, that will go to my review of the concert as posted in my blog. As you can see, I spent some time on this.

Artist	Venue (w/Location)	Date
Barry Manilow	Hollywood Sportatorium (FL)	10/18/1980
Bruce Springsteen	Oakland Coliseum (Stadium)	10/22/1984
Genesis	Oakland Coliseum (Arena)	10/19/1986
Bridge School Concert IV	Shoreline Ampitheatre Mountain View, CA	10/26/1990
Bridge School Concert VI	Shoreline Ampitheatre Mountain View, CA	11/01/1992
Paul McCartney	Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL	05/09/1993
Tina Turner	Miami Arena	08/22/1993
Elton John	Sunrise Musical Theatre	10/01/1993
Rod Stewart	Miami Arena	11/21/1993
Billy Joel and Elton John	Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL	02/21/1994
Jimmy Buffett	Sunrise Musical Theatre	04/13/1994
Phil Collins	Miami Arena	05/31/1994
The Eagles	Orange Bowl Miami, FL	07/24/1994
James Taylor	Sunrise Musical Theatre	10/21/1994
The Eagles	Miami Arena	02/25/1995
Billy Joel and Elton John	Joe Robbie Stadium Miami, FL	04/13/1995
Neil Diamond	Miami Arena	12/09/1996
Phil Collins	Miami Arena	03/03/1997
Elton John	Miami Arena	05/04/1998
Elton John	National Car Rental Center Sunrise, FL	10/04/1998
Neil Diamond	National Car Rental Center Sunrise, FL	12/18/1998
Billy Joel	National Car Rental Center Sunrise, FL	02/02/1999
Bruce Springsteen	National Car Rental Center Sunrise, FL	03/09/2000
Tina Turner	National Car Rental Center Sunrise, FL	04/15/2000
Tina Turner	National Car Rental Center Sunrise, FL	04/16/2000
Tina Turner	National Car Rental Center Sunrise, FL	10/18/2000
Jimmy Buffett	National Car Rental Center Sunrise, FL	02/10/2001
Neil Diamond	American Airlines Arena Miami, FL	02/21/2002
Crosby Stills Nash Young	National Car Rental Center Sunrise, FL	04/13/2002
Billy Joel and Elton John	National Car Rental Center Sunrise, FL	05/03/2002
Paul McCartney	National Car Rental Center Sunrise, FL	05/17/2002
Jimmy Buffett	MGM Grand Garden Las Vegas, NV	05/25/2002
Rolling Stones	National Car Rental Center Sunrise, FL	10/22/2002
Elton John	American Airlines Arena Miami, FL	09/27/2003
Simon and Garfunkel	American Airlines Arena Miami, FL	12/17/2003
Simon and Garfunkel	Office Depot Center Sunrise, FL	12/18/2003
Jimmy Buffett	Office Depot Center Sunrise, FL	05/01/2004
Elton John	Royal Albert Hall London, UK	07/04/2004
Phil Collins	Office Depot Center Sunrise, FL	09/30/2004
Styx and Kansas	Office Depot Center Sunrise, FL	02/03/2005
Jimmy Buffett	Office Depot Center Sunrise, FL	02/19/2005
REO Speedwagon	Office Depot Center Sunrise, FL	04/07/2005
Elton John	Office Depot Center Sunrise, FL	05/18/2005
U2	American Airlines Arena Miami, FL	11/14/2005
Billy Joel	BankAtlantic Center Sunrise, FL	01/07/2006
Queen w/Paul Rodgers	American Airlines Arena Miami, FL	03/03/2006
Trans Siberian Orchestra	BankAtlantic Center Sunrise, FL	11/04/2006
The Who	BankAtlantic Center Sunrise, FL	11/20/2006
Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band	Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, FL	01/11/2007
Trans Siberian Orchestra	BankAtlantic Center Sunrise, FL	11/04/2007
Van Halen	BankAtlantic Center Sunrise, FL	02/20/2008
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers	BankAtlantic Center Sunrise, FL	07/15/2008
Neil Diamond	BankAtlantic Center Sunrise, FL	10/26/2008
Tina Turner	American Airlines Arena Miami, FL	10/30/2008
Elton John	Caesars Palace Coliseum Las Vegas, NV	11/03/2008
Trans Siberian Orchestra	BankAtlantic Center Sunrise, FL	11/13/2008
Elton John	O2 Arena London, UK	12/31/2008
The Eagles	BankAtlantic Center Sunrise, FL	01/26/2009
Tina Turner	O2 Arena London, UK	04/07/2009
Metallica	BankAtlantic Center Sunrise, FL	10/01/2009
KISS	BankAtlantic Center Sunrise, FL	10/22/2009
Santana	Hard Rock Joint Las Vegas, NV	11/14/2009
Jimmy Buffett	BankAtlantic Center Sunrise, FL	02/27/2010

It's pretty complete though I can think of a few things that are missing like a 4th of July concert by Chicago at ProPlayer Stadium some time in the 1990s. Tina's listed six times but I'm sure the correct number is seven. I also think Neil Diamond's total is missing one too. I only included musicians so comedy concerts aren't included, nor are any mixed media shows. Everything listed was a full length concert.

I had a great deal of fun doing this. I really didn't grasp that I had seen over sixty concerts in my life. The first three were fun because I didn't have tickets but those were the first three concerts I saw in my life. And with the help of Google -- they know everything -- I was able to figure out what the dates were.

For those of you who went to any of these shows with me, feel free to add comments. If you know of any that are missing, drop me a note and I'll update the post.

Elton John wins with a total of 11 concerts (8 without Joel and 3 with). Tied with Tina at six is Buffett's but I think that one's correct. By venue the 31 shows at the same place win -- National Car Rental Center, Office Depot Center, and BankAtlantic Center are all the same building -- out of 62 shows that's an impressive fifty percent.

The Vatican and I Agree....

... on something. Seriously. While they didn't check with me first, this article tells it all. It sort of relates to my infamous Led Zeppelin post by failing to mention Led Zeppelin at all. The actual article can be found on the Vatican's website in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's official newspaper. If I'm going to invoke the Vatican, you know I check it first. They have given their blessing to a clutch of albums saying its top 10 ten albums would be perfect for anyone marooned on a desert island. Seriously. The list is noteworthy.

1. Revolver by the Beatles
2. If I could Only Remember My Name by David Crosby
3. The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
4. Rumours by Fleetwood Mac
5. The Nightfly by Donald Fagen
6. Thriller by Michael Jackson
7. Graceland by Paul Simon
8. Achtung Baby by U2
9. (What's the story) Morning Glory? by Oasis
10. Supernatural by Carlos Santana

This list is some fine music for the most part, though I'm not sure how Fagen's album fits in with rest. I can't imagine the Pope sanctioned this. Pink Floyd's awesome Dark Side of the Moon is a famous icon of stonerdom. Supernatural is heavy with overt sexual references. Morning Glory features a hit song about a drug cocktail (Champagne Supernova if you don't know). And it includes a Michael Jackson album which begs all kinds of jokes that I'll skip for now. But, I will agree with the Vatican. If stuck on a desert island, you could do much worse. I am pleased the Holy See has given its blessing to these fine albums.

In the ultimate irony of all time -- I challenge anyone to beat this -- Bill Clinton offered his support to Tiger Woods with his marital problems. I don't even know where to begin. This is a punchline to some joke that's too far out for me to even comprehend.

'Bacon-trepeneurs is a term coined for this article on how bacon makes everything better. Who can argue? Nobody, of course. You can go on and on about how bad bacon is for you and everything that's wrong with it. Yum. Tasty.

I need a date to the Paul McCartney concert. I have bought two tickets at face value and as of right now, have nobody to go with. Offers accepted from all real fans....

As I said before, I am very happy for Team Canada and which them the very best with the gold medal they clearly deserved. My sole complaint is that whiney bitch Sidney Crosby. He'll be even more insufferable now. Can you even imagine it? In his new contract he's likely going to ask for a private bus just to carry his ego from game to game.  █ ♥ █

I find it hard to be rational with Crosby. He's a true diver and he whines about everything and while his skill is undeniable, his antics cheapen the game. He whines to the refs, he whines to the media. And he's soft as hell, though this year he's actually had a little resemblance to a man instead of a woman. As Kathy says, "Man up princess and hit him with your purse." He just irritates me ever so much. Hell, Malkin on the same team is a much better overall player. Sid's been anointed and it's gone to his head. Shut up, Bitch, and just play hockey. Want to see his diving ways? Go to this YouTube video.

Hockey (Olympics, Panthers, NHL, and so much more)

The Olympic gold medal game USA versus Canada became the highest rated television program in Canadian history. Period. Over half the country watched. I think that's great but ratings in the US were through the roof too, with 27.6 million people watching (more than the entire population of Canada) and the highest rated hockey game since the 1980 Winter Olympics. It was big stuff by any measure and if the NHL has a brain -- oh, shit, we're doomed -- they'd use this wave of popularity and ride it to new heights.

Instead the NHL is still not getting regular coverage other than a few games on NBC here and there in the tail end of the season. DirecTV and Versus are still in a pissing match while the station stays dark, leaving NHL fans no way to watch many games from out of market teams. The story begins here but the good news is, that Sports Illustrated reports a deal should be worked out this month.

The NHL plays Russian roulette with its ratings and others play Russian roulette with chat. Josh Lowe posted this on his Facebook account, and I wasn't going to watch. I'm not much for online chatting. I ended up watching it and it was fascinating. The video is just under six minutes and while I have no interest in the chat roulette service, the video is an interesting exercise in understanding what makes people tick. I like social experiments so the video's worthwhile.

Still keeping with the hockey theme,I continue with another comment about the Florida Panthers team management (I use the term loosely as they couldn't manage to claw their way out of a paper bag). As my blog readers know, I was at the Jimmy Buffett concert Saturday night. I'm a big fan and I had a blast. I mention it because, it's quite fun and there were lots of people tailgating.

Tailgating. That's something that a great group of Panther fans started to do a few years back. Some of those fans were and are good friends of mine. After a few games the 'authorities' came over and complained about the cooking saying it was not allowed according to local ordinance or something along those lines. The tailgates continued without the cooking. Then the tents and tables had to go after the 'authorities' complained, again because, they said, there was some local ordinance.

Honestly, that's when I stopped going. When is a tailgate not a tailgate? Hard to say but they lost their appeal for me when it became a bunch of people standing in an open concrete parking lot. Nothing against those that enjoy it, at all. I support them, am happy for them, and still sometimes go by and say hello to them. I support fans that are trying to be fans especially this group because they are among the most loyal fans in the building. The team should be supporting them too. Right? Absolutely. A number of them are my friends, as I said, and I know they're good people.

So, my question is that if they can have grilles, tables, tents, generators, and swimming pools (yes, swimming pools) at a concert, why can't they at a game? The place was crawling with police looking for lawbreakers. It got me to thinking: what if Panthers Management was lying about this alleged ordinance? They have a long, long history of lying to and misinforming fans. It's the reason they have no credibility with fans, though their heads are stuck so far in the sand they don't realize they have less credibility than Osama Bin Laden trying to sell used cars. While I'd like to blame Yormark, I can't do that because I'm not sure where this policy came from, though it's got "yor marks" all over it. If you've ever been stopped by a copy who yells at your for speeding on "his road" you've got the idea with Yormark. When you talk to him, it's "his building" even though the building belongs to the city of Sunrise.

After the concert, I was so bugged by this, I decided to do a fact check. I'm good at those. I went to the City of Sunrise website to look it up. I went to the codes and ordinances page which in turn links you to a searchable database at MuniCode -- and come to find out there is no ordinance prohibiting tailgating. None. Zero. Trust me, I looked up very possible word. Tailgating is perfectly legal in the City of Sunrise.

Someone's lying and I'd love to know why and who. It's not the city because it's all there and black and white for any citizen to read. It's a law or it's not a law. It's not a law. Google searches show a number of people who were harassed by security (not law enforcement) and told there was such an ordinance. This is quite interesting, to me. An on-duty police officer enforces the law but there is no such law. And the fact that the parking lot of the recent Buffett concert -- like many concerts -- is full of tailgaters, and police doing their jobs making sure everything is orderly is pretty visible proof of this. What I don't understand is why does Panther management care? What's the big deal? Same parking lot but more people and it's okay. There's a logical disconnect here.

So Panthers Management doesn't want fans of our team to tailgate but it's okay for concert goers to do it? Can anyone tell me where the logic is? This team does so many things to alienate fans and this is one more example. If you are (or were) a tailgater at the Panthers games, maybe it's time for you to ask some questions. Just sayin' because you guys deserve to have fun because you're a team asset. If you live in Sunrise, this is your tax dollars at work. Ask your commissioner, ask the mayor. It's your legal right as a citizen to demand and get answers.  

 

I have started something new. It's called "Where's George" and you enter serial numbers from your currency into your account. You optionally stamp your bill with the URL. (I've ordered the stamp). I was first told about this by my friend Liz and just sort of watched her with fascination but not much interest. You spend your money as usual, take it to the bank, or whatever it is you do with your money. Other people enter their bills and you can watch your money travel around the country. Here's a report for one bill I entered; it's the only one I've entered that has a history, but I am encourage. With an account you can search by state, zip code, denomination, reserve bank and more. It's free and I think it'll be fun. (It's against the rules to exchange bills with friends to increase your hit rate -- it's a real project trying to track money. So like Seti@Home, please don't try and scam the system.)