Posts Tagged ‘irony’

Mr. DaTechGuy goes to CPAC Pt 1…

Posted: February 27, 2010 by datechguy in fun, opinion/news
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To say the last 40 days of my life has been the experience of a lifetime is the understatement of the year. Starting with picking up Robert Stacy at South Station on January 14 to today life has and continues to go in amazing and interesting directions. CPAC has been (so far) the culmination of that period, but that doesn’t mean it is all over.

Wednesday began with my late arrival at Mass. Due to a time mix-up I missed my regular parish but just made it to St. Joseph’s parish in time to receive Ashes. As I hadn’t been to confession I received both confession and communion after mass and then headed home. Most of the packing was done the night before so there was little to do other than confirm various stuff. I was rather frustrated by my inability to find my Knights of Columbus Rosary, I was hoping to touch base with my fellow Knights there (still ran into several all 4th degree to my mere 2nd) but my wife provided me with a very nice spare that was in the drawer next to the PC.

Next stop was Dutch Kitchen bakery. They carry the traditional Cannoli in two different sizes and several types. I bought as many as I could fit in a small box to carry on. Lucky for me Roxanne at Haemet assured me that it wouldn’t be a carry on problem.

I arrived VERY early to the airport, I hadn’t been on a commercial flight for 17 years (5th wedding anniversary) so it was rather interesting. Because I came so early the security measures were fairly easy as nobody was waiting behind me. Since it had been so long since my last flight the measures didn’t really bother me at all.

Next came the flight itself, I sat next to a fascinating gentleman who worked at Raython (I worked there out of college myself). He is apparently an expert in Nanotechnology so I’m already got Glenn Reynolds Jealous. I immediately found myself in conversation as I held the box on Cannoli on my lap. The conversation was fascinating going everywhere from the war to Beef Stroganoff, really nice guy, the flight time simply disappeared into vapor.

But soon enough I was landed and picked up by a person just as nice Smitty! We had one of several great conversations during the drive to his house. I settled in quickly and he then dropped me off at the metro station so I could register for CPAC proper.

The hotel was pretty impressive, I headed to the registration booth where I was informed that I missed registration by 30 minutes, however that gave me the chance to start the interviews that I conducted over the next several days.

I’m not much of a drinker so hanging at the bar would normally not be my scene however I grew up in a bar so to speak so I’m also very comfortable at one. There were a fair amount of people at the place and it’s were I met the first of many bloggers that I would befriend namely Steve Eggleston of No Runny Eggs.

Going from table to table I just started talking and interviewing anyone that struck me. While doing so I saw a face I knew but couldn’t place. It took me a few seconds to recognize him as Scott Brown’s campaign manager.

I found myself sharing a table with Pam Gellar, Barbara Espinosa and Evan Sayet. Evan I was meeting for the first time, Barbara I had exchanged e-mails with and Pam I met in Boston at the Scott Brown party. I must confess I was a tad embarrassed since I had once described her as “incredibly attractive”. She is an interesting person, fun but very blunt. She is the type of strong woman that reminds me of my oldest sister. I also met Michael who I instantly took a liking to. I would constantly run into over the next few days. I also met Tanya from the blog Midnight Blue for the first ( but not the last ) time.

Shortly thereafter I ran into Robert Stacy. You know it was a very good feeling to see him again. We spent a ton of time together compressed into a single week and in that time the friendship we formed via e-mail and phone became solid. Stacy has been a catalyst for all the amazing events that have surrounded me, he is like a force of nature that leaves confusion in its wake but also brings renewal and positive change. Consider for a moment the irony that if Charles Johnson hadn’t attacked Robert Stacy, leading to my defense of him none of the events to this point would have happened. Who says God doesn’t make lemonade out of lemons?

After a series of interesting conversations it was time to crash, so it was back on the Metro and off to the house, where I finally opened up a youtube account and started uploading video and scheduling post. My excellent adventure at CPAC was about to begin.

Update: adding links after the fact since the Cellar cleaning takes priority.

Update: Parts two and three are up.

Update 2: Bad links fixed

How left wing hackery killed Doctor Who…

Posted: February 15, 2010 by datechguy in doctor who, internet/free speech, oddities
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…in 1989.

Sylvester McCoy, the actor who played Doctor Who for two years in the 1980s, has revealed that left-wing scriptwriters hired by the BBC wrote propaganda into the plots in an attempt to undermine Margaret Thatcher’s premiership.

Shades of the Adventures of Robin Hood circa 1955:

“The idea of bringing politics into Doctor Who was deliberate, but we had to do it very quietly and certainly didn’t shout about it,” said McCoy.

“We were a group of politically motivated people and it seemed the right thing to do. At the time Doctor Who used satire to put political messages out there in the way they used to do in places like Czechoslovakia. Our feeling was that Margaret Thatcher was far more terrifying than any monster the Doctor had encountered. Those who wanted to see the messages saw them; others, including one producer, didn’t.”

And the Doctor wasn’t alone in this belief:

Sophie Aldred, who played Ace, the Doctor’s feminist companion, said a shared contempt for right-wing ideology had inspired “a real bonding process” for cast and crew.

“Thatcher was our prime minister and we weren’t happy,” she said.

Well of course they weren’t, after all you had people like Sakharov repressed not to mention people shot trying to cross the wall. Thatcher had much to answer for, oh wait that was East Germany and the Soviets the people Thatcher was opposing wasn’t it?

Well it didn’t matter after all it wasn’t as if a leftist tilt would kill a British institution that had existed for 26 years…oh wait:

However, ratings slumped from a high of 16m, when Tom Baker was the Doctor a decade earlier, to 3m and the show was taken off air twice: in 1986-7 by Michael Grade, then the director of programmes — who said it had “no redeeming features” — and again in 1989, two years after Grade had left the BBC.

Ah the joys of the left managing to make a British institution so unpalatable that it could not survive. One interesting thing to note, You see that same tilt in a few of the 7th doctor audios such as The Fearmonger. I wonder if this will come up in some of the commentaries?


Update: I just realized that I neglected to give the deserved hat tip to Life Dr. Who and Combom. Very much my bad.

Talk about bad timing

Posted: February 14, 2010 by datechguy in internet/free speech, local stuff, opinion/news
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Ya think some Planned Parenthood fans might have wished that report didn’t make it out this week? The ones involved in Fitchburg likely do:

Local city and religious leaders this week reacted to a report issued by the International Planned Parenthood Federation, which criticizes the approach the Catholic Church and Islam take to sexuality, and states that children as young as 10 are “sexual beings.”

Suddenly Massachusetts planned parenthood doesn’t know these people:

Jesse Mermell, vice president of External Affairs for the organization, on Thursday said she is not familiar with the report, and that the International Planned Parenthood Federation is a “completely different organization, of which we happen to be a member.”

Mermell said the connection between the Massachusetts league and the international organization is weak.

It has elicited some comment from the city counsel:

Ward 4 Councilor Kevin Starr said though he hadn’t read the report, he took issue with Planned Parenthood’s apparent criticism of religious groups.

“You need to respect the beliefs of the people in this city. There’s a lot of Catholics in this city,” Starr said.

Planned Parenthood would do well to keep quiet about different religions, given all the controversy that surrounds the organization, said Ward 5 Councilor Joseph Solomito, who had not read the report.

“You have a right to do it. Just do it quietly. Don’t put it in people’s faces,” said Solomito.

Still, the report doesn’t change his belief that Planned Parenthood has a right to come to Fitchburg, and the City Council should not oppose the organization.

Hey Joe if that doesn’t change your belief what will? I suspect that if you were as familiar with their history as Rosemary Reynolds was you still wouldn’t change you mind.

Councilor-at-large Rosemary Reynolds, who is pro life and has adamantly opposed Planned Parenthood, said she doubts the City Council is familiar with all aspects of Planned Parenthood.
“They’re not really upfront about it, and you have to go digging,” Reynolds said.

It’s must easier to keep oneself ignorant when you want to duck a tough call. It takes a special kind of courage to see what is in front of you and say it. Rosemary has that courage.

Tuesday’s meeting should be quite interesting.

Did I just hear Tina Brown…

Posted: February 3, 2010 by datechguy in Uncategorized
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…beat her breast over Andrew Young as the enabler of John Edwards and his book?

Were none of these people employed as journalists in 2008? They certainly believe that Morning Joe viewers don’t read Kausfiles.

You want to see enablers of John Edwards Tina, look in the mirror.

Update: Byron York Elaborates:

Dec 2007:

At the time, Edwards thought he had outsmarted the watchdogs of the press, frustrating their best attempts to uncover the story. But it later turned out that many journalists just didn’t want to report the news and hadn’t tried very hard to uncover the facts.

And then again July 2008, Edwards is actually caught in a Hotel:

The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the broadcast networks and the cable news outlets — none reported the story. And yet this time it bubbled up, from the blogs to talk radio to late-night television. By the second week of August, Edwards appeared on ABC News to semi-confess.

An explosive scandal had been kept out of the press for months at a time when the man at the center of it was an important player in national politics. Why? Young thought it was because the Edwards camp so tightly controlled information that journalists weren’t able to find sources to corroborate the Enquirer’s reporting. Perhaps that was part of it. But the fact was, many editors and reporters just didn’t want to tell the story. They admired Elizabeth Edwards. They saw no good in exposing John Edwards’ sordid acts.

Journalists saw no good in exposing the sordid acts of a former, senator, vice presidential and presidential candidate.

Remember Media when you ask why you aren’t trusted or respected remember that you did this to yourselves.

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