Category Archives: loco

As Tip O’Neill never said, “All politics is loco.”

alBAHquerque

Oh, Joy! More billboards, not fewer

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ABQjournal Metro: City Adding Bus Shelters, By Lloyd Jojola, Journal Staff Writer

Albuquerque will get new bus shelters as part of an agreement with Lamar Transit Advertising.

“We’ve really had a great need for shelters, and funding has always been problematic,” Mayor Martin Chávez said at a Thursday news conference.

The City Council earlier this month approved a bus advertising contract with Lamar. As part of the deal, Lamar will build new bus shelters.

“In return,” Chávez said, “they get to put advertisements on them…”

Of the 2,814 bus stops in the city, 155 have shelters, according to the Transit Department.

About 100 new shelters will be built over the year. They will be lighted at night, using energy collected from the sun. [mjh: making this a *green* thumb in your eye!]

At the very least, the lighting on these eyesores should be restricted to times the buses run, not 24 hours a day. mjh

loco, Uncategorized

Tonguex-tried

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ABQjournal Opinion: Letters to the Editor
Let’s Pronounce ‘Tiguex’ Right

THE SAD passing of my longtime friend Millie Santillanes has brought to mind another sadness, which I would like to see rectified at long last.

In conjunction with Millie’s many civic accomplishments, it has been mentioned that she was connected to Tiguex Park. In stating that, once again news anchors and reporters are afforded the chance to perpetuate an incorrect pronunciation of the park’s name in calling it “Tee-gway!”

To do so dishonors not only Millie, but also the late historian Eleanor Sewell, who named it to celebrate the original people and settlement on the site, and it is offensive the many modern day descendants of that ancient civilization. …

People— including media people— living here should honor the true founders and first settlers of this place. They were the Tiguex (Tee-wesh), that was the name of their settlement here and “Tee-wesh” is the only pronunciation. …

RICK HUFF
Albuquerque

http://www.abqjournal.com/opinion/letters/588943opinion08-25-07.htm

New Mexico is fraught with pronunciation landmines like Madrid and Thoreau (in case you thought it was limited to anglo mangling of Spanish.) I’ve always avoided talking about “that park near the Albuquerque Museum” because it looks like a French word, and French spelling and pronunciation have no connection in my mind. Still, I like the modern sound of “to go.” mjh

PS: I’ve also heard “Jemez” as “Jemesh.”

Tiguex pueblo – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tiguex, also referred to as Coofor or Alcanfor, was the pueblo commandeered by the army of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado for the winters of 1540-41 and 1541-42 on the west bank of the Rio Grande, north of present-day Albuquerque, N.M. The ruins of that pueblo are now known as Santiago, located on the boundary between housing developments of Bernalillo and Rio Rancho, N.M. About 300 yards to the west is the site of the only proven Coronado campsite, discovered in a road-widening project in 1986.

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

media

Local Loco Priorities

Local prioritiesDoes the Media sensationalize, trivialize and infantize? Well, the Journal’s home page reflects the ranking of the paper’s front page today, though the difference in story emphasis is much more dramatic in the print version. There you’ll find the top story above the fold with a font normally reserved for cataclysms. We read that the mayor believes our local golf courses are in peril! Peril, people! Gasp. Farther down the page, below the fold, a smaller headline notes that suicides and accidental deaths are up in New Mexico. No telling what the suicide rate is among Journal readers, but shutting down the golf courses would dramatically reduce the death rate by lightning and skin cancer. Given that there are thousands of golf courses in the desert southwest, I doubt the suicide rate for golfers would rise much.

Many years ago, in response to Saint Pete intoning that all public lands must be available to ranchers, I recommended we graze cattle on the golf courses. Now, as the mayor and the Journal use this threat to galvanize the public into bullying the council on budgetary matters, I take my lead from Newty Gingrich circa 1994: let ’em close! mjh

alBAHquerque

Consent

I’m stunned by the hung jury in the case of the cop accused of raping a then-14-year-old. The issue seems to hinge on consent and deception. As I understand it, a minor cannot legally consent: Sex with a minor is always rape. Should it be regarded as such if the minor lies? If a minor cannot legally consent, I’m not sure she can legally be responsible for a lie of consent. Further — come on! — how incompetent is a cop who believes a lying minor? He must be some poor judge of character. Cops think everyone who talks them is a liar. Unless there’s something in it for him.

Sadly, another public servant — this one a fireman — is accused of the same jaw-droppingly dim judgment. Or, simply, raping and lying about it.

And now, a 24-year-old frat “boy” serially rapes under-aged girls and videotapes it for the added pleasure. Drunkenness negates consent, if there was any and if any of his victims was old enough to legally consent sober. His parents must be proud, if the news has reached their cellblocks.

Ours is a sick society unable to restrain its own evil. You fear terrorists? There are three — just the smallest sampling. mjh

media

A Tale of Two Tales

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A few months ago, I sat down with Andrew Webb, a reporter for the Albuquerque Journal, to talk about my book and the writing thereof. We met at Flying Star on Menaul and I had a great time. Who wouldn’t enjoy being the center of attention? At that time, I hoped I’d get a third of Webb’s weekly column. Instead, it became a cover story with BIG, colorful photos.

A couple of months later, I met in the same spot — at the same table — with Johanna King, of the Journal, to talk about my major passtime (which, to me, should be the correct spelling): blogging. This was also a lively and entertaining discussion. (I imagine the Journal takes the talents of people like Webb and King for granted, as countless Journalism majors wait in the wings. Writing is hard work — engaging writing is better than gold.)

Now, I’m not complaining. I know, that’s how complainers begin, but I’m NOT. What I’m getting to is the perverse power of expectations. No doubt, the first article raised my expectations about the second (The daily blog). Not about the writing, which was great in both cases, but about the impact of the writing. And the impact of the photos. (Believe me, I understand if you’re thinking, “this guy was in two articles in the paper and has any gripes.” But, I’m not griping.)

Just yesterday, I met someone for the first time with whom I had corresponded by email a bit. He said, “you’re much better-looking than your picture.” To which, today, I say, “please, god, I hope so.”

In the same article, another blogger comes out to the world. Coco’s is one of the few blogs I ready with regularity and I do like her style and view. But here, she pulls off her mask to reveal the real person behind it. Ta-da! Ironically, I end up being the guy with too much time on his hands. (Well, that’s true, though time is all we have and until it runs out we all have the same amount.) Any press is good press, right?

While much of the blogosphere is ready to bury the MSM (mainstream media), I do appreciate that any new readers today come to me thanks to that very same MSM. Far more people read Webb and King than Hinton — I’m cool with that (sniff — stifled sob). On the other hand, it is likely that still more people saw Benson Hendrix’s piece on the UNM homepage. Yes, three articles in three months. (Is this the Universe’s nice way of saying goodbye?) If it looks like I’m great with PR, I’m not. Just lucky (some might say, blessed). I’m a terrible marketer. But, I’m worse at billing, so it’s good I never found more work. mjh

PS: If you want to blog, do it. Go to www.wordpress.com or www.blogger.com (or www.flickr.com for photos) and create a free account. You’ll be blogging in minutes. Don’t forget to link to me.

PPS: In thinking about time, I had an epiphany: each of us has just one possession, albeit temporary: our presence. It is at once our gift to and from the world. Connect with others, including everything around you. Blogging is just a part of that.

weBlog, do you?
photo by mrudd

See also mjh’s blog — Other Blogs and New readers.

alBAHquerque

Your Ad Here

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I appreciate the Albuquerque Journal’s eulogy for Lady Bird Johnson. She tried very hard to get America to clean up its act and to recognize that beauty should be commonplace and vistas should not be ruined by billboards.

I understand a eulogy is not the best place for the truth, but an editorial is, and so I’m disappointed that the Journal’s ignores the truth: Lady Bird lost, as did we all. Start at the Big I and drive in any direction. You’ll see countless hideous billboards within yards of starting, each blocking the magnificent vista of the Rio Grande valley. You’ll see hundreds before you leave the city or reach the stateline. The winners are corporations like Clear Channel, which invoke sacred personal property rights as a shield for personal profit. Everywhere you look, someone sticks a thumb in your eye and deposits another dollar in his pocket.

Beauty is blocked by blight. Greed won. Lady Bird is already spinning in her grave. mjh

ABQjournal Opinion: Lady Bird’s Legacy
Friday, July 13, 2007
Remember Lady Bird Johnson as a reason more wildflowers bloom along highways lined by fewer junkyards and billboards.
Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson, the widow of President Lyndon B. Johnson, died Wednesday at 94.
Known as the Environmental First Lady of America, she did more than plant bluebonnets. She translated concerns about pollution, urban decay, recreation, mental health, public transportation and the crime rate into national policy.
The Beautification Act of 1965 called for control of outdoor advertising, including removal of certain types of signs along the nation’s interstate highways. It also required junkyards along primary highways to be relocated or screened.
Her vision is distilled to perfection at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, with its woodlands, sweeping meadows and public gardens filled with native flowers and plants.
But the seeds of her advocacy for beautification scattered far beyond Texas. Her legacy can be seen perennially flowering on roadsides across America.

http://www.abqjournal.com/opinion/editorials/578102opinion07-13-07.htm

A Thumb in Your Eye

I’ve written about this before and will again (talk about Sisyphus). See http://www.edgewiseblog.com/mjh/category/loco/albahquerque/ (scroll down for more stories and photos).

Update: Thanks to Coco on Dukecityfix for the link and taking the discussion to more of Albuquerque.

loco

Criminally Stupid

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Lucky Jason Daskalos has been exonerated of charges of drunken and reckless driving. When cops and rich people fight, I’m inclined to cheer them both on from the sidelines.

I recognize that a jury hears more than I do as a casual newspaper reader and, further, has a duty to deal with the charges at hand, so I don’t second guess them. Still, let us now imagine how the evening Lucky Daskalos was arrested would have gone if the cops hadn’t nabbed him. By his own testimony, Daskalos, a self-professed wanna-be racecar driver, may have sped ‘a little’ and rolled through a stop sign in his powerful Porsche to a friend’s house to play poker. Upon arriving, he admits in his own defense that he chugged two vodkas in 20 minutes, having had wine earlier that evening. Now, let’s dream that he would have stopped right there and had not another drop (ha!). In the real world, he was legally drunk hours later. In this dream world, what would have happened? Would he have jumped into his Porsche and driven home legally drunk? Oh, I know! His good friend, who got him drunk, would have called a cab for him. Yeah, right.

Mind you, jurors should not convict people for alternate scenarios. However, Daskalos was a drunk with a killing machine that night. After the trial, I’m sure he celebrated “justice” with at least one vodka. He’ll be in the news again. I hope he’s the only one he kills. mjh

ABQjournal: Daskalos Cleared of DWI Charge By Lloyd Jojola And Jeff Proctor, Journal Staff Writers

“I feel great,” Daskalos said after a round of exuberant hugs with family members in the courtroom. “I feel wonderful. I never had any doubt. … I feel like the truth came out today.”

Daskalos took the stand in his defense Friday …

He wasn’t traveling at the high speed the officer said he was, Daskalos said. He wasn’t chased through the neighborhood, he said, and he didn’t speed through a stop sign.

“I did roll the stop sign,” he admitted.

Daskalos told jurors he had a glass of wine with dinner three or more hours before, but no other alcoholic drinks until having two vodka and cranberry drinks after arriving at an acquaintance’s Vista del Norte home for poker night. …

Assistant District Attorney Allison Michael pointed out that Daskalos told two officers that he had not been drinking, even though that was not the case even by his own testimony. He was, as she charged, trying to stick with that story at that point.

She got him to admit that he could have been exceeding the speed limit in the subdivision.

The day included testimony from Jason P. Gross, the resident of the home where Daskalos was arrested. He, among other things, said Daskalos had two drinks at his house before the alarm to his car sounded, and Daskalos was confronted by police.

http://www.abqjournal.com/news/metro/571443metro06-16-07.htm

mjh’s blog — Idiot on Board

“In the past 18 years, Daskalos, who also is an amateur race car driver, has been issued 36 other traffic citations, 20 of which were dismissed.”

Idiot on Board