Isci_the_Weatherman's Blog

So, two blogs ago I showed you a story about police who tasered a seriously injured boy apparently for no reason.  Now for part two of this series I present this case.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-mayor08
07,0,4563211.story

Police in Maryland invaded this family's house, killed their dogs and tied up an old lady.  No explanation has been given for their conduct and no apology has been offered.  The victim was a city's mayor. 

What scares me is that this seems like a trend.  There appear to be rogue police departments that feel that they can violate anyone's civil rights and get away with it.  So what do you think of this one?  There may be a logical explanation here, and if so I'm waiting to hear it.

By the way, I am not anti-police in any way, shape or form...I am pro-rule of law and I don't think anyone is above it.  I'm sure most police officers would agree with me.

As expected, lots of people are beating up the weatherman today...saying that we "cried wolf" about Edouard.  They say that the forecast was off and that we made it out to be worse than it was.

Here are the facts:  This was the forecast track from the National Hurricane Center on Monday morning, a full 24 hours before Edouard hit Texas.

 How far off was the forecast?  About 40 miles.  So, the 24 hour forecast was 40 miles off.  Does that warrant all the criticism?  Let me hear your thoughts and when possible please site specific examples rather than just feelings or accusations.

So if police come across a badly injured teenager and he doesn't "respond" properly, I guess it's time to break out the Taser.  Hard to believe?  Check out this story from Missouri

http://www.ky3.com/home/video/25829234.htmlp>

My favorite part is the last line where police say we should question their use of the Taser.  Are we on the path to tyranny?  or is this just a crazy isolated incident?

In a scenario we have seen time and time again, another little child has been beaten to death by her mother's husband/boyfriend. This time the poor little girl wasn't potty training fast enough for this piece of BLEEP man and so he killed her and the mother stood there and did nothing! CPS had already investigated this family and did not solve the problem, now this girl is dead after a brutal beating.

So, do you think that CPS does enough to investigate and follow up in these situations? Why do women choose to have their children exposed to violent boyfriends?

Interesting...I notice that some news outlets decide to tell you that the suspect Timoteo Rios is in this country illegally while other news outlets conveniently leave that information out.  Have you noticed this too?  How do you feel about that and are you angry?

Please tell me this story isn't true.  This is a story from the Yale student newspaper

Art major Aliza Shvarts '08 wants to make a statement.

Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself "as often as possible" while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process.

The goal in creating the art exhibition, Shvarts said, was to spark conversation and debate on the relationship between art and the human body. But her project has already provoked more than just debate, inciting, for instance, outcry at a forum for fellow senior art majors held last week. And when told about Shvarts' project, students on both ends of the abortion debate have expressed shock . saying the project does everything from violate moral code to trivialize abortion.

But Shvarts insists her concept was not designed for "shock value."

"I hope it inspires some sort of discourse," Shvarts said. "Sure, some people will be upset with the message and will not agree with it, but it's not the intention of the piece to scandalize anyone."

The "fabricators," or donors, of the sperm were not paid for their services, but Shvarts required them to periodically take tests for sexually transmitted diseases. She said she was not concerned about any medical effects the forced miscarriages may have had on her body. The abortifacient drugs she took were legal and herbal, she said, and she did not feel the need to consult a doctor about her repeated miscarriages.

Shvarts declined to specify the number of sperm donors she used, as well as the number of times she inseminated herself.

Art major Juan Castillo '08 said that although he was intrigued by the creativity and beauty of her senior project, not everyone was as thrilled as he was by the concept and the means by which she attained the result.

"I really loved the idea of this project, but a lot other people didn't," Castillo said. "I think that most people were very resistant to thinking about what the project was really about. [The senior-art-project forum] stopped being a conversation on the work itself."

Although Shvarts said she does not remember the class being quite as hostile as Castillo described, she said she believes it is the nature of her piece to "provoke inquiry."

"I believe strongly that art should be a medium for politics and ideologies, not just a commodity," Shvarts said. "I think that I'm creating a project that lives up to the standard of what art is supposed to be."

The display of Schvarts' project will feature a large cube suspended from the ceiling of a room in the gallery of Green Hall. Schvarts will wrap hundreds of feet of plastic sheeting around this cube; lined between layers of the sheeting will be the blood from Schvarts' self-induced miscarriages mixed with Vaseline in order to prevent the blood from drying and to extend the blood throughout the plastic sheeting.

Schvarts will then project recorded videos onto the four sides of the cube. These videos, captured on a VHS camcorder, will show her experiencing miscarriages in her bathrooom tub, she said. Similar videos will be projected onto the walls of the room.

School of Art lecturer Pia Lindman, Schvarts' senior-project advisor, could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

Few people outside of Yale's undergraduate art department have heard about Shvarts' exhibition. Members of two campus abortion-activist groups . Choose Life at Yale, a pro-life group, and the Reproductive Rights Action League of Yale, a pro-choice group . said they were not previously aware of Schvarts' project.

Alice Buttrick '10, an officer of RALY, said the group was in no way involved with the art exhibition and had no official opinion on the matter.

Sara Rahman '09 said, in her opinion, Shvarts is abusing her constitutional right to do what she chooses with her body.

"[Shvarts' exhibit] turns what is a serious decision for women into an absurdism," Rahman said. "It discounts the gravity of the situation that is abortion."

CLAY member Jonathan Serrato '09 said he does not think CLAY has an official response to Schvarts' exhibition. But personally, Serrato said he found the concept of the senior art project "surprising" and unethical.

"I feel that she's manipulating life for the benefit of her art, and I definitely don't support it," Serrato said. "I think it's morally wrong."

Shvarts emphasized that she is not ashamed of her exhibition, and she has become increasingly comfortable discussing her miscarriage experiences with her peers.

"It was a private and personal endeavor, but also a transparent one for the most part," Shvarts said. "This isn't something I've been hiding."

The official reception for the Undergraduate Senior Art Show will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on April 25. The exhibition will be on public display from April 22 to May 1. The art exhibition is set to premiere alongside the projects of other art seniors this Tuesday, April 22 at the gallery of Holcombe T. Green Jr. Hall on Chapel Street.

I love this...it's my new favorite saying.  I misspoke.  Not, I lied...that sounds bad.  Misspoke sounds so much better.  Let me try it out in a few situations and see how it works.  Try this with me at home:

Q: "Honey, why is there an eviction notice on the door?"

A: "Oh, when I told you I paid the rent I misspoke"

Q: "Little Susie, your teahcer called me today and said you didn't turn in a science project.  You told me you did!"

A: "Mommy, I misspoke, I'm human"

Q: "Officer Johnson, you wrote in your report that you had to taser and punch this suspect because he was resisting arrest, but this video shows that he was fully cooperating."

A: "Oh, I just misspoke, I misremembered.  I am human you know"

Here, you try some.  I want to hear your ideas!!!

I don't know why stuff like this frustrates me, but it does.  Every year on this day I get confused because some people say Happy Presidents Day, while others say President's Day Sale, and yet others Day Off For Presidents' Day.   What is up with that traveling apostrophe?  What's correct here?  Why so much disagreement?  I've been doing research and the results are surprising and educational:

First, there is no such thing as Presidents' Day...the federal holiday is Washington's Birthday.  It is celebrated on the 3rd Monday in February and there has never been any law that changed the name from Washington's to Presidents'...apparently it is merely a creation of popular culture for the purpose of including Lincoln and the other presidents in the holiday.

As for the apostrophe, it can go either way and there is a valid argument for both s' and no apostrophe.  I think we can agree that 's would be wrong, but the others?  Well, s' would mean that the day belongs to all the presidents while no apostrophe means that it is the day of the presidents.  Most grammar sticklers seem to favor s'.

Now, if you really want to scratch your head, consider this...Veterans Day has no apostrophe!  The official US government holiday is Veterans...as in a day for all veterans.  Oh man, I need to stop now...don't even get started on Mother's Day or Father's Day...or is it Fathers'?

Interesting headline huh?  So here's the story.  Yesterday we took advantage of the nice weather and took the girls to the park.  There were a bunch on ducks there and my little Juliana was absolutely having the time of her life chasing the ducks...Anne Marie was a little less interested, but still watching closely...anyway, after about an hour spending time with the with birds it was just about time to go home.  Just then a big male duck flys in (which prompted a look from the girls like "WOW, what was that?").  This huge duck parked himself right in front of Juli, and then I hear -squirt-   Oh boy, thank you Mr.Duck, that was disgusting.  So I immediately pick up Juliana so she didn't step in it, but I was too late and now the duck poop is all over my jeans and shirt.  AHHHHH!  Nasty!

We'll see if that guy gets any stale bread from me next time.