OT: Writing in general

[mimo_100]

Hello Jack,

Welcome to the MrMarket boards.

I would be interested in how you got your first article published. Who did you contact, etcetera.? I would love to do something like this.

Regarding windmills, there is a company in Canton, Ohio called the Timken Company (TKR). Its facilities are not far from riverbabe and myself. Among other things, it manufactures tapered roller bearing for windmills. There is a big difference between a ball bearing (which is a sphere) and a tapered roller bearing (which is similar in shape to a cone with the pointed end lopped off). If windmills are to be energy efficient, they must have top-notch bearings, otherwise friction eats up the energy.

Have a great day.

Tim

Disclosure: I do not have any debt or equity interest in TKR.

[SundialMan]

The Academy Award Ceremonies, what I'd like to see

I sent this one into my editor at American Thinker. He doesn't usually post comedy/parody pieces. I sent it as much as a private read as an actual short blog article submission - and I thought I'd post it here as well.

Jack

If the Academy Awards met the "challenge" of global warming

George: Hello, this is George Clooney, member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to talk about this year's Academy Awards presentation.
Al: And this is Al Gore, Oscar nominee for "Earth in the Balance" which I think is a surefire winner.
George: Al, don't declare yourself a winner before the votes are counted. You know that doesn't work well for you.
Al: Listen, if I'm not declared the winner, I'll take it to the Ninth Circuit Court in California.
George: Sure, Al. But this time, your opposing movie producers will probably also be liberals.
Al: Gee, I never thought of that.
George: We're here today to announce the end of Hollywood hypocrisy about Global Warming.
Al: Yes, how many of you see Hollywood stars warning about global warming and riding around in limousines and private jets? Don't you wish they were more committed to the cause?
George: Yes, we hear a lot of you think Hollywood stars should be committed. So today we are here to announce that this year's Academy Awards are going to put down a much smaller carbon footprint, in compliance with the Kyoto Accords.
Al: The stars are gonna arrive in Toyota Accords? I thought Honda made the Accord.
George: No, Al, it's even better than that. Instead of spending a fortune on clothes and arriving in gas guzzling stretch limousines, this year we will be tearing out the seats of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and replacing them with some surprises. Everyone will arrive by foot, bicycle, or skateboard. There will be a special allowance made for seniors and people with notes from their doctors: those people will be allowed to arrive in a pedicab with a driver doing the peddling. Only Asian stars will be allowed to arrive in a rickshaw because it would be racist for anyone else to use one.
Al: That's wonderful. That will really save a lot of fossil fuel.
George: Yes, Al, and when people arrive at the Awards, instead of seats, everyone will have a stationary bicycle hooked up to an electric generator. Applauding will be done by holding a playing card in the spokes of the bike wheel. The exercise equipment was picked out by Jane Fonda herself.
Al: Gosh, George, you people thought of everything.
George: That's not all, Al. To generate even more electricity, we will have a huge windmill just to the side of the speakers' podium. We figure Sean Penn, Michael Moore and Barbra Streisand - by themselves - can produce enough windpower to light up Burbank for a week.
Al: Gee, that's great.
George: And that's not all, Al. We are going to make you the announcer with your own special energy efficient windmill at the side of the stage.
Al: Gosh, I'm honored.
George: Are you kidding? The Greater LA Utility Grid insisted on it. They figure they could save 500,000 barrels of imported oil alone just from your speaking.
Al: You know, George, I think this is a great idea. We should set up these windmills on the floor of the Senate and The House. I'm sure I can get Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi to do their part for wind power.
George: That's a great idea, Al.
Al: Gosh, the Academy Awards are gonna be the greatest night that wind power ever had.

[SundialMan]

Tim, mimo, I used to write up into high school. I haven't had anything published since then until one day in 2004 I saw Matt May's article conservative political article linked to from Lucianne.com. It was about voters in "Jesusland" or a similar title. I emailed Matt, who posts at both the American Thinker and his own blogsite, complimenting him and writing a few paragraph comment. Matt said he liked my writing and suggested I submit an article to his editor, Mr. Lifson, at American Thinker, saying that he recommended me. I was flattered and pulled my thoughts together, spilling out ideas that were in me for years. Mr. Lifson was very supportive but suggested I needed an introductory paragraph. I resubmitted the article with an intro - and he published it at his website. That was this one: Denial on the Hudson, an article about 9/11 in New York.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2004/11/denial_on_the_hudson_liberals.html

Another few articles followed in succession. I got "in" at a good time, while the website was growing and developing. After a while, there were so many good authors with much better professional and educational formal qualifications, that my work was put in the blog section which is often (not always) short articles, often a page or less in length. My unique life experiences and viewpoint, mentioned in "Denial on the Hudson," are what got my pieces published. They are an immigrant's view (came here at age 2) of everyone's life in America. I kept writing and submitting pieces, getting a number of them (obviously not all) published.

Jack

[SundialMan]

Tim, to further answer you, I have been writing on AOL, then Yahoo stock boards since 1994. That's where I first encountered MR. MARKET on the Iomega boards in 1995-6, when that was a very exciting stock with a very excited community of posters and readers. After IOM crashed from 55 down to 1.50, it obviously made many posters leave for greener pastures.

Jack

[SundialMan]

The World Trade Center Memorial politicized

This is an "older" story I got published at American Thinker almost 2 years ago, but since a) the World Trade Center memorial STILL hasn't been built and since b) I have met at least one liberal Democrat who opposes the politicalization of this 9/11 site out of respect for the families of those who lost loved ones, I still think the subject is as relevant today as the day I wrote it.

Jack

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2005/09/one_proposal_begets_another.html

American Thinker short blog article
June, 2005

One proposal begets another

Since the New York Times has editorialized in favor of a museum at the World Trade Center site which would allow all kinds of diverse political opinions, including those finding fault with America going back to the days of slavery and wars with the native population, I thought I'd call their bluff and propose their attitude be carried further to another memorial.

I propose that the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, DC also include a model internment camp for Japanese-Americans as existed in many places in California during World War II, complete with historical interpreters (the name for actors who work in a museum setting). The FDR Memorial could also display the Coast Guard cutter that blocked the Jewish refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe from entering Miami's port, as portrayed in the book and movie "Ship of Fools." And, for good measure, it could show the famous photos of FDR with his cigarette holder in profile as being the cause of untold numbers of people throughout the world starting to smoke and dieing a horrible death and/or undergoing disfiguring operations because of the cancers they contracted. Perhaps we could also have a group of Native Americans petitioning for the return of land at FDR's Hyde Park mansion. Heck, how about a display advocating for the return of Manhattan Island?

I'm sure both the Roosevelt family and all those with fond memories of President Roosevelt will gladly welcome the dialogue and diverse opinions - equally as much as the families of those who died in the World Trade Center would welcome displays concerning a dialogue and discussion of America's faults at Ground Zero.

Jack Kemp (not the politician) 6 26 05

[ParkTwain]

on being "disgraced" in American politics

When a financial newsletter sent me word of an ethanol startup co. hiring disgraced fomer Clinton Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy to its Board, I found myself staring at ...

Gee, Elliott Abrams used to be a "disgraced" member of the Reagan Administration and look where he is today. When the next DLC (Bill Clinton's movement with the Democratic Party) president is elected, maybe Espy will become just as rehabilitated as Abrams is today. Oh yeah, maybe I forgot: "During the Iran-Contra Affair, the special prosecutor handling the case indicted Abrams for giving false testimony about his role in the illicit money-raising schemes. Abrams entered into a plea agreement for a conviction without imprisonment on two lesser offenses, both misdemeanors, of withholding information from Congress. President George H. W. Bush pardoned Abrams along with a number of other Iran-Contra defendants shortly before leaving office in 1992."

And I thought the G.O.P. was the "law and order" party!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliott_Abrams

[ParkTwain]

you write mostly about politics

You want a thread about "writing in general," but you write mostly about politics (kinda like "fair and balanced" actually means right-wing, how clever!), so I'm sure you won't mind if I reply once in a while by discussing the ideas behind what seems to be your political point of view -- Conservatism.


"It's not so hard to make a lot of money, if all you want to do is make a lot of money." --Mr. Bernstein, in the movie "Citizen Kane"

[SundialMan]

No, I don't mind your replies, ParkTwain.

[SundialMan]

The child rape scene movie update

I submitted this today to American Thinker. I post it here, removing my partisan remark in a last paragraph in an attempt to make this more social commentary than political one. And it is related to a penny Pink Sheet stock which would be impossible to short, I would think.

Jack

"Hound Dog" spends more time in the roaster

There is an update to the Toronto Film Festival movie "Hound Dog," with the child rape scene of 12 year old actress Dakota Fanning, reported in AT on Feb. 4.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/02/the_progressive_ethics_of_impr.html

Logging on the Internet today, I got a spam email urging me to invest in The Motion Picture Group, the company that made "Hound Dog" because this movie has been shown at the Santa Barbara Film Festival as well, and the current share price, 19 cents, will soon supposedly rise. This lead me to look up the company's stock on Yahoo's financial boards. It trades on the Pink Sheets, the lowest level of accountability of any type of stock. http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=MPRG.PK

Yahoo says the fifty two week low price is listed at 20 cents (day old data, I presume) and the 52 week high was 8 dollars. But I had to go to Stockhouse.com to find the graph. And Stockhouse says The Motion Picture Group's high price for the last 52 weeks was $1.75. This is the type of problems one gets with a Pink Sheet stock, i.e., no one cares to report the figures accurately, in part, because accurate data is hard to come by.

What more interesting reading was the press release shown on Yahoo, particularly two quotes:

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070206/20070206006290.html?.v=1

'Scott Franklin, Executive Producer of the film and CEO of The Motion Picture Group, stated: "It was great to have the opportunity to screen "Hounddog" at the SBIFF. With much of the unwarranted controversy gone, the audience really had a chance to enjoy the film with an open mind." '

It was recently said on AT that you shouldn't be so open minded that your brains fall out. That was the first thought I had when reading this.
And the second quote:

'Franklin continued: "Although we have aggressive interest from numerous distribution outlets, we think it is best to give Deborah the opportunity to complete her vision and finish her film without the duress caused from the looming deadlines of festival submissions. With many offers on the table, a partnership with a distributor is imminent, however given the sensitivity of the material and the potential for exploitation, it is imperative that we structure the perfect strategic alliance to protect the integrity of the film, the filmmaker's story and message, and ultimately the Fanning family. Our focus for the next few months will be the completion of this project as originally envisioned by Deborah, after which we look forward to showcasing the finished product to all interested distributors." '

END OF QUOTE

In other words, although numerous distributors want to buy this film, the owners decided to show it for free in Santa Barbara instead. Yes, and as the bumper sticker says, your other car is a Rolls Royce. There is also a line in the story about Elvis ripping off black people for their music. Frankly, if I were a lawyer for Elvis Presley Enterprises, I'd consider suing.

[SundialMan]

When Giuliani dragged me to court

When Rudy Giuliani was mayor of New York, he once had a crackdown on jaywalkers, resulting in a slew of tickets being issued. I, being a New Yorker, had lived with the belief that you were required to jaywalk once a day or you would lose your rent controlled or rent stabilized apartment in the City borders. I found out this was not so when a policeman issued me a ticket - a ticket that had to be paid in person at a (my) court appearance.

Going to court was a really unique experience. In a group of defendants present, there was one who arrived in handcuffs, led in by a police officer. And there was one, an older man arrested for urinating in the street between cars, who brought a lady lawyer, his younger relative, to defend him. When cross examining the arresting policeman, she asked if he had actually seen her client commit the act. The policeman said that he "saw it and smelled it." This brought howls of laughter from the crowd in court, myself included, and the judge banged his gavel to restore order to the proceedings.

Finally a court officer called my name and the judge asked me how I pleaded. I, humbled, stood and replied, "I plead guilty, Your Honor." The judge, noting this was a first offense (or - more accurately - the first time I was caught jaywalking), lowered my fine significantly and told me to pay the court at the window outside the courtroom.

And that's how I found out that Mayor Giuliani's rule stretched beyond squeegee men menacing drivers to clean their windows for a "tip" to cover everyone, myself included.

[eliaskane]

One, Two, Three starring James Cagney (his last movie), Paula Prentis, Horst Bucholtz. This is a major studio Billy Wilder comedy from 1961 that was released to DVD just a few years ago. Cagney is the philandering, wheeler-dealer head of Coca-Cola's operations in West Berlin.

Hmmm. When real life took me away from this forum last fall, it was almost entirely momentum stock selections. Now look at the place!

One, Two, Three was not Cagney's best or last movie. 20 years later, Cagney appeared in Ragtime, a much better performance despite him being on camera only a few minutes.

Given the drift of this thread, I'm surprised no Whit Stillman movies made the list.

[SundialMan]

some jokes

I've been busy and haven't had that much time to write. But I have a joke and another in the form of a little story.

Last night the snow started to fall in New York, and I found myself in a Starbucks ordering a hot tea and sandwich. Now I'm a guy old enough to remember when "Free Razr" had something to do with the World Series special offer from Gillette and the Friday Night Fights. So when the barrista - I think that's what they call them - asked me if I wanted "a Grande" or some other name I don't remember, I replied, "I don't speak Yuppie. I only know small, medium and large. I want a medium, one step up from your smallest size." The translation worked and I got what I wanted.

On a totally different subject, I invented my very own Jeff Foxworthy style "You might be a redneck joke." Here it goes:

You might be a redneck if, on a job application - where they ask for personal references - you put down the Greeter at Wal-Mart.

[SundialMan]

Eliaskane, we can argue this point for hours, but let me say that Cagney was on screen for most scenes of One, Two, Three's running time. It was a tour de force star vehicle for him. You think a few minutes in Ragtime (when he was very old) was a better performance, you are entitled to your opinion. And I to mine. But I have to agree I was in error calling One, Two, Three his last performance in films.

[billyjoe]

Sundial, elias,
Either of you old enough to remember Cagney's sister and what she was known for? She was on tv Monday - Friday.

--------------billyjoe

[SundialMan]

When History Came to Princeton U.

I see MR. MARKET, Ernie, is from Princeton, NJ, so I want to post a copy of this local Princeton history story I had published about "the army being on campus at Princeton." The thing is, it wasn't about the ROTC, but the real thing: Gen. George Washington vs. The British army on campus, complete with Captain Alexander Hamilton firing cannon into Nassau Hall. If someone's kids want to look up the references for a book report, they can either read the story or see the original published piece online at

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2006/07/when_history_literally_came_to.html

for the internet hyperlinks. This was also published at National Review Online's PhiBetaCons blog board.

Here it is:

When History literally came to an Ivy League Campus

After George Washington crossed the Delaware and won a victory at Trenton on Dec. 26, 1776, he did not rest on his laurels. Using Patton-like tactics to press the battle, he then marched his troops to attack the British at Princeton, NJ on January 3, 1777.

Washington himself participated in the attack on Princeton, along with a young artillery captain named Alexander Hamilton. Yes, this is the same person who would later become a co-author of the Federalist Papers, Secretary of the Treasury, and whose image appears on US ten dollar bills today. According to the biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow (p. 84-85), Capt. Hamilton arrived in Princeton to find that British Soldiers had occupied Princeton University, which consisted then of Nassau Hall and perhaps some few additional smaller buildings, such as their chapel. He laid siege to the university with his cannons and the British surrendered. If that wasn't bad enough, Hamilton was a King's College (now Columbia University) man. The online Britannica Concise Encyclopedia states

"Nassau Hall (1756), the principal structure of the college, changed hands three times during the American Revolution's Battle of Princeton, and the engagement ended within its walls."

One can only imagine how modern day professors who protest ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corp) on campus, would have reacted to both the British and American armies being on their campus and exchanging fire. Their theoretical world met the real world. At that time the professors got to see first hand how they owe their academic freedom to criticize The Crown - and the American Revolutionary government and army - to that battle. Perhaps the final stages of The Battle of Princeton should be reinacted each year on campus to remind the professors where their academic freedom comes from.

The New York Times started publishing in the later ninteeth century, so they were not available to protest the American attack on the Princeton campus “ while, of course, ignoring the British Army's invasion of the school grounds and town of Princeton. If Pinch Sulzberger and the NY Times were around then, he would probably have published a pre-Christmas 1776 headline, "Washington's Army Plans to Secretly Cross the Delaware and Surprise Hessian forces at Trenton As they Enjoy Their Winter Solstice Feast." But then again, getting such information was difficult at that time. Even Benedict Arnold was a loyal American until 1780. And General Washington might have dealt rather harshly with such wartime press revelations.

Jack Kemp (not the politician) 7 28 06