Well, not really – but both these WTF Moments are crime-related. First up, Florida SWAT officers decide to take in a little Wii bowling after conducting a raid on a drug suspect’s house.
Personally, I respect SWAT Officers and could give a flying fark if after effectuating a search warrant, they decided to take a moment of downtime to use a drug dealer’s massive television and gaming console. Hell, if they came to raid my place (for what crime, I don’t know), I’d appreciate if a few of them would sit down and take a crack at Madden 10 with me while the rest searched the house. But to get caught on tape? WTF guys?
Earlier that night (around 7 or 8 PM), the house (which has four undergraduate roommates) had already been robbed of a Playstation and two laptops. No doubt, the kids were already on edge. So when someone decided to break into the house again at 1 AM, he was greeted with three feet of finely polished steel – spearing his upperbody and nearly severing his hand.
Police were correct in saying the intruder probably didn’t deserve to die, but if there was ever a moment for a “King of Your Domain” policy – this would be it. The deceased was most likely coming back for seconds or taking the advice of another thief to go back and get what was left behind. And the neighborhood had recently seen a spike in home invasions. “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.”
The Baltimore Sun quoted University of Maryland professor David Gray – a specialist in criminal law – say saying, “prosecutors must weigh whether [the student] felt his life was in danger or whether he became the aggressor.” But I can’t honestly see the District Attorney going after this kid – even though they say they are considering whether or not to press charges – unless he says he was waiting for someone else to break into the house.
But the WTF moment you ask? This was the second incident that week of a criminal being wounded while trying to commit a crime. According to the Baltimore Sun, “an off-duty Baltimore police officer shot and critically wounded a man who had tried to rob him at gunpoint in his Northeast Baltimore home.” So WTF criminals? Why are you asking for it?
Starring: Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Strong and Golshifteh Farahani
Director: Ridley Scott
Synopsis: CIA operations officer Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) is stationed in Iraq to track down a terrorist. Ferris’ only contact and friend is killed in a surprise attack while meeting a potential asset. Ferris, however, escapes with serious injuries. After recovering from his injuries, Ferris redeploys to Iraq with a fervor. Meeting with the head of Jordanian Intelligence (Strong) and reaching an tepid agreement, Ferris develops a new web of contacts and assets to infiltrate Al-Qaeda. This includes an Iraqi Nurse (Farahani) whom Ferris becomes emotionally attached to, including her extended family. Meanwhile, Ferris’ superior – Ed Hoffman (Crowe) – seems to be doing everything possible to abuse Ferris’ contacts and compromising his position in Iraq. Ferris and Hoffman butt heads over CIA operations, eventually culminating in frame-up, kidnapping and unraveling of the complex web of conspiracy.
Opinion: Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ridley Scott – how can you go wrong? And honestly, it didn’t. It wasn’t the best spy thriller I’ve seen, but it wasn’t the worst either – not by a long shot. The story itself seems entirely complex (especially when it comes to who is on which side), but when all is said an done, is realistic.
After watching Body of Lies, I didn’t feel like I had seen anything revolutionary or fresh – it was just a decent story with good actors. If you’ve ever seen Spy Game, you’ve seen the overarching theme running throughout Body of Lies. It seemed a little long at two plus hours since most of the story is focused on trying to explain the espionage taking place, but wasn’t infuriating. The end is certainly worth the wait.
For this week’s addition of Thirsty Thursday, I’m turning in my first review for a hard liquor… Jeremiah Weed Sweet Tea Flavored Vodka.
Appearance: It’s a merky brown before mixed – exactly like concentrated tea. Not too much to look at.
Appearance Score (out of 5):
Aroma: If you drink vodka, you know this simple rule: good vodka doesn’t smell like anything. But when the vodka is flavored, you know that it’s probably going to smell like scented gasoline. Jeremiah Weed fits in the latter category.
Aroma Score (out of 10):
Taste: I’m not brave or foolish enough to drink flavored vodka by itself… anymore. (Insert ten minute day dream of my senior year in college.) But when you mix Jeremiah Weed with water and Sprite, you’ve created the nectar of the gods.
Taste Score (out of 10):
Overall: My best friend “D” in Texas turned me on to Jeremiah Weed while I was visiting for a wedding, but my younger sister has evidently been drinking the stuff for a while now. D warned me that Jeremiah Weed was “dangerous” – even more so than the Incredible Hulks we discovered around our second year of law school. And I understood what he meant almost immediately. If you mix one part Jeremiah Weed with one part water and add a splash of Sprite, you have sweet tea. You honestly can’t taste the vodka. You could sit there and have four or five and the only time you’d realize you were drinking alcohol is when you were passing out.
If you have $20.00 to spend and enjoy sweet tea (even half as much as I do), you need to pick yourself up a bottle.
New Jersey Real reports that the New Providence borough is “considering allowing police officers to go onto private property if they believe that underage children are hosting a drinking party without any adults at home.” Evidently, the only debate over this proposed trampling of rights is whether “underage children” includes all those under the age of 21 or only those under the age of 18 (because clearly you can tell the difference between a 17 year old and a 20 year old).
While I certainly don’t condone underage drinking, I do question the sudden ignorance of the 4th Amendment. Yes, police officers are afforded certain abilities to enter households without a warrant – but those exceptions have been severely limited (i.e. exigent circumstances – an emergency situation requiring swift action to prevent imminent danger to life or serious damage to property, or to forestall the imminent escape of a suspect or destruction of evidence).
So has underage drinking fallen under the description of an exigent circumstance? Yes – some people are too stupid to have a good time (R.I.P. Patrick Swayze), but do those few instances warrant such action? If you ask me, it’s horsesh*t. Police officers should certainly be allowed to confront homeowners (or those present on the property) with reports of serious noise violations and if they spot something illegal in plain view, should certainly be allowed to address the infraction. But allowing police officers to enter a house simply because they believe an young-looking individual, who may be well over 21, is drinking outside the presence of their parents goes too far.
Boston Dynamics – a robotics firm in Massachusetts funded by the U.S. government – developed the Precision Urban Hopper to explore war zones, particularly urban areas where obstacles (such as fences) may be prevalent. The four-wheeled robot can be controlled remotely or operate via GPS guidance.
For what seems like such a simple idea, this is an amazing piece of engineering. I didn’t see a video camera on the robot nor read anything about video capability, but I’m assuming two (since they’ll probably need one for each side depending on how the robot lands) will be attached before it’s manufactured and delivered in 2010. I’m just curious how they’re going to fix the cameras so that they’re not prone to damage and don’t sit higher than the wheels.
Now if I could only get one to race around the neighborhood…
Starring: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels, Robin Wright Penn and Helen Mirren
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Synopsis: Journalist’s Cal McAffrey (Crowe) probes into the suspicious deaths of Congressman Stephen Collin’s (Affleck) mistress and a drug dealer who had obtained a suitcase containing photos of the mistress. Meanwhile, McAffrey’s editor (Mirren) is pushing for him to publish the story so the struggling newspaper can be first to cover the scandal while a “green” online journalist (McAdams) seems destined to make the editor’s wishes come true. McAffrey must balance educating his fellow reporter on journalistic integrity, maintaining his friendship with the Congressman and discovering/reporting the truth.
Opinion: The plot of State of Play is rather unoriginal considering past political dramas, but seemed to have potential. But at a little over two hours, the movie drags rather than entices. Based on a six-part BBC mini-series, State of Play weaves a pretty complex web initially but ends up with an ending that leaves you going, “I sat through all that for this? FML.”
None of the actors have a memorable performance. Russell Crowe dons the long hair from American Gangster, but loses the gritty attitude that made him enjoyable to watch. Jason Bateman takes over his role as a strung-out pervert from Smoking Aces, but less amusing. Rachel McAdams is… well… just nice to look at. In other words, the acting isn’t horrible, but it isn’t great.
Okay… I lied about the video jokes being back. I couldn’t get one filmed before leaving for Texas. Next week though. Yeah – that’s the ticket.
A few days after Christmas, a mother was working in the kitchen listening to her young son playing with his new electric train in the living room. She heard the train stop and her son said, “All of you sons of bitches who want off, get the hell off now, cause this is the last stop! And all of you sons of bitches who are getting on, get your asses in the train, cause we’re going down the tracks.”
The mother went nuts and told her son, “We don’t use that kind of language in this house. Now I want you to go to your room and you are to stay there for TWO HOURS. When you come out, you may play with your train, but I want you to use nice language.”
Two hours later, the son comes out of the bedroom and resumes playing with his train. Soon the train stopped and the mother heard her son say, “All passengers who are disembarking from the train, please remember to take all of your belongings with you. We thank you for riding with us today and hope your trip was a pleasant one. We hope you will ride with us again soon.” She hears the little boy continue, “For those of you just boarding, we ask you to stow all of your hand luggage under your seat. Remember, there is no smoking on the train. We hope you will have a pleasant and relaxing journey with us today.”
As the mother began to smile, the child added, “For those of you who are pissed off about the TWO HOUR delay, please see the bitch in the kitchen.”
Pryvet! This week for Thirsty Thursday, I’m reviewing a Russian brew… Baltika #3.
Appearance: The beer pours a pale, clear yellow – which isn’t bad. It’s the enormous amount of carbonation and thick head that brings down the appearance score.
Appearance Score (out of 5):
Aroma: Baltika #3 has a sweet floral aroma, followed by a softer – almost bready – malt smell.
Aroma Score (out of 10):
Taste: As a lager, the beer is a little sweet, but finishes dry. It’s not smooth – it certainly grabs the attention of your taste buds. Definitely not a light beer like you might expect from its appearance.
Taste Score (out of 10):
Overall: I didn’t find Baltika #3 in a six-pack. I bought a pint bottle for $2.39 on the International aisle at the liquor store. Overall, I thought it was a fairly good buy. I enjoyed it thoroughly (along with a few slices of pizza). While I doubt I’d buy a six pack to keep in my fridge, I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to order it at a bar.
President Barack Obama has indicated that a “sin tax” on sodas and other sugary drinks is worth consideration.
According to the New York Daily News, in an interview conducted by Men’s Health Magazine, President Obama said taxing sodas and other similar drinks should be explored. His basis for supporting the tax: “There’s no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda. And every study that’s been done about obesity shows that there is as high a correlation between increased soda consumption and obesity as just about anything else.”
The article referenced Governor David Paterson’s recent proposal to tax soda and other sugary drinks at 18% in New York. The proposal, as expected, died in a storm of protest.
Research Analyst for the Center for Consumer Freedom, J. Justin Wilson stated for the New York Daily News, “The tax code should not be used as a method for social engineering, and that’s what this is…”
WTF Obama? Obviously, you’re trying to fund your trillion dollar (over 10 years) health care initiative. But you’re going to tax soda? Forget the white supremacists. Just wait until you have the fatties on your case.
I drink Caffeine Free, Diet Dr. Pepper – it’s not exactly the most healthy thing on the planet, but it’s a nice piece of refreshment. I don’t think I’d care if there were a five cent tax on a can of soda or twenty-five cent tax on a 12-pack. It wouldn’t stop me from buying it. But I’d still be pissed that I was paying the tax to fund a system I don’t believe in.
A New York Times article indicated that close to 10.2 billion cases of soda were sold in the U.S. in 2005. Assuming each case of soda holds 24 cans of soda, and each case brings in fifty cents of tax revenue, the government would bring in a mere $5 billion dollars. To help fund a $100 billion dollar a year health care system. Brilliant! So that means either the tax will be a helluva lot higher or there’s going to be other taxes.
So yeah, not only do I not want to pay a tax to support others, but I don’t want to pay a tax that’s not going to help.
