neatimes.com

Wednesday 31 Jul 2024 03:46:18 PM CDT

Saturday 27 July

I blogged about the 1973 album somewhere or other, probably not on this one here. They would release a couple more - steadily improving - before Tommy Shaw joined them for Crystal Ball and things really got good. Judging from its dismal sales I must be one of the few that liked it. I have two vinyl copies - one a high-quality remaster - and a CD and wore about a couple of 8-tracks back in the day. Back then about all the bands that worth seeing would come to Memphis and most would visit Rock 103 and chat with the afternoon crew for a while. I used to tape some of the shows - had a high-dollar rig with a Pioneer CT-F1250. Still have in in fact but it's over forty years old and needs an overhaul. I paid somewhere around $900 for it in 1980 or so, having it reconditioned would cost more than that. Supposedly good condition ones are well over a thousand. If I had the physical and mental energy I'd put together a nice restored 80's setup just for fun, but finding a Sansui G-8000 would be fun. We're talking two to three times what the cassette deck would go for.

I've probably still got the tape around here somewhere - Tommy and one or two, don't remember - of the guys were in the studio and Tommy played a verse of Crystal Ball that was omitted from the final recording. Sadly Styx went kinda awry later. Dennis and Tommy are a couple of really talented guys and produced a lot of great stuff but somehow things didn't work out. OK, enough cultural commentary - how about some news? Lessee what the local media has for us.

The most corrupt president before Joetato finally got around to approving of his replacement in the contest. Most of us weren't wondering why it was taking so long - he was waiting for instructions - but whether the chosen candidate would in fact be what they went with - the dims were looking like a Chinese fire drill. Is a Chicom fire drill better than a pre-Mao one? Anyway some folks were having fun with it - might as well have a laugh before it all goes dark.

Dunno what's going on around Gosnell. School principal gets arrested for D-something-I and now someone goes for a walk and gets assaulted, apparently by a person or persons as yet unknown (at least to the victim and police and news people). I'm just guessing that someone didn't whack him with a Chiroptera specimen. One of those big fruit bats maybe? Gosnell is over in Mississippi county, one of the smaller towns. For those not familiar with the area here's some info:

	Population

Blytheville *	13,406
Gosnell	2,910
Joiner	498
Keiser	751
Leachville	2,039
Luxora	942
Manila	3,682
Osceola *	7,757
Wilson	766

Mississippi County is one of those Arkansas counties that has two county seats - Blytheville and Osceola in this case. Not sure what that's all about, I seem to remember that a long time ago when people had to walk or ride horses to get anywhere it had something to do with convenience. At least that was how I heard it about Craighead county (it has two) so who knows? Anywhere that's where Gosnell is.

Some other stuff, guy got killed by cops, prisoner brought fentanyl into a jail and it killed another prisoner, perverts getting caught perverting, no telling how many aren't. What say we call it a day?

Sunday 28 July

Usual stuff without much detail. Guy from Guatemala resisted an ASP type on I-49 over in the northwest part of the state. Be interesting to know his immigration status but usually we don't see follow-ups on those unless somebody gets killed. Nothing else on the latest shooting over in Misery.

Jonesbororightnow about the only one talking about some wanting outdoor consumption of adult beverages in Jonestown - walking around outside and imbibing that is. I don't believe it's a good idea but I don't frequent that area so... I wonder who figures to make more money if they do it?

The NEA Report thing? I looked at a couple of lawyers with the name in there and found a couple in the Jonestown area, dunno if this one is one of them or if one of them is this one. Didn't look much like the police did anything wrong but you never know how these things will turn out.

Monday 29 July

I see REO is coming to Jonestown. If they were with Styx again I'd go for sure but not a big fan of Loverboy. Both times I saw REO back in the day they always closed with Ridin' the Storm Out, which is about as good as it gets for an REO closer. Got a few full-show videos from recent years and they still do. Not that Back on the Road again in its extended Free-Bird-ish fashion isn't a good one too. They may have used that one for a closer or an encore sometimes.

The Air Force is gonna land a C-130 on a highway somewhere near BONO, practicing for disasters - supposedly a New Madrid event that rearranges the terrain again. Pretty cool if you've never seen one close up. I saw plenty when I was in the Air Force, seems almost every base I was at had some kind of unit that flew them. ARRS usually, had some weather guys a Keesler, flew them into hurricanes. Sometimes some of us young guys and gals was out near the end of a runway they used, at night, and they would be pretty low when they came over. What do you mean what were we doing there?

They can operate about anywhere, even on aircraft carriers but that's just something they did to see if they could. I seem to remember that one or the other of Clay and Buck has a granddad that was an aviator and he was the one that did it, but I may be misremembering.

A lot of malefactors in the NEA area (and further afield into the Natural State) are from Memphis or have been active there. Since gang types (I feel like calling them gangsters is an insult to organized crime) aren't tied to a particular geographical area it gets around. Mobility is easier than ever, just steal a car. Fayette and Hareman counties are the two to the east of Shelby (Memphis) and a little too close for comfort. This bunch is connected with Chicago, and there's always been a lot of cross-pollination between Memphis and Chicago, as with Memphis and Detroit. Looks like some relatives in this bunch, and somehow I want to make a Sherlock Holmes-related joke.

Tuesday 30 July

This is one of those 'just WOW' stories. Two of them actually. Senath is a tiny little town - OK, it's over a thousand population so it's a little town but not tiny - over in Misery. It's big enough to have a bank and back in the day I knew a chick who worked there. I'll just leave it at that. I was in a business had me in a lot of banks and was in a bunch of little ones in Misery and Arkansas and the area around there. Other places too. Anyhow it seems there's also a nursing home there.

Now a guy beating someone with a toilet tank lid is pretty weird any way you look at it, and picking one of those things up is a bit of work and swinging it at somebody is more. Now this dude may be pretty big - kind of hard to tell from a headshot - and maybe it was't as taxing for him. But he looks young and most nursing home residents are a few decades older. The stories say he was accused of seriously and violently assaulting another resident as if the perp was a resident. He certainly wasn't physically disabled. Mentally maybe. Probably. Maybe some clarification will follow.

Crittenden County is a target-rich environment for this. They could do it every week with similar results. I wonder if these people are recent arrivals from California where you can steal all you can carry with no consequences.

Wednesday 31 July

Last day for this installment. Going to Jonestown and Paragould tomorrow and will probably be late when I get back. I never patronized the likker store that got hit and generally didn't go to any Paragould likker stores when I lived there. Funny thing - as I remember Paragould - it's that fairly new (or remodeled, don't remember which) down towards Ironhorse. Criminals have maximum mobility these days. As Leto II asked "Have you not considered how much easier it is to control a walking population?" I don't know if the movie-makers have gotten around to desecrating that one yet. Frank's Dune books are worth reading even if you're not into SF as they offer a penetating exploration of sociology and human behavior.

See ya in a few days.

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DePloraBelle 32 minutes ago NEA 7 REPORT Does this make any sense? ® What difference, at this point, does it make? Reply 4Gl-) Chemical Youth 21 minutes ago The way I read it this is coming from the text of the suit, a lot of stuff about who is white and who is black. Some people are like Slinkies -- not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs. Reply +1(4+]-) 9 Jessica Atreides Marshall 10 minutes ago Some people. Wonder what lawyer took that case. Is the plaintiff able to pay him by the hour for his work? Even if the county just up and settles to make him go away... I guess a third of 250K for some lawyers is good. We have entered the time when all will turn against us and seek our lives. Reply 0G ]-)
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Mack Bolan 45 minutes ago Ovomit finally did the deed. Wonder why it took his masters so long to tell him to do it. Was he hoping they would let Moochelle run? For every action there is a reaction, for every good an evil, for every strength a weakness, and for every injustice there is somewhere a final justice. Reply 104+ [-) Jessica Atreides Marshall 31 minutes ago It would seem so. I mean, when you think about it, there is great significance to the passage of time in terms of whether or not Cackles will be allowed to run. And the significance to the passage of time in this case is that a lot of time passed while Ovomit's bosses decided what to do. After that passage of time became noticeable someone made a decision and told him to do it. @ We have entered the time when all will turn against us and seek our lives. Reply +5(+]-) Belushi Speedball 22 minutes ago Perhaps someone in the cabal was still burdened by what had been and wasn't ready to make the plunge to what can be. Well, now they're burdened by Cackles. 3 Those who are inclined to suffer fools gladly should plan to spend a lot of time suffering. Reply 1Gl-) Mandroid 12 minutes ago I can believe that Ovomit was holding out to have Moochelle put in. It looks like the committee or however they make those decisions decided this was the path of least resistance. Electric eye, in the sky, Feel my stare, always there, There's nothing you can do about it, Develop and expose, I feed upon your every thought, And so my power grows. Reply +1(4+]-) 9 Twisted Mentat 33 minutes ago Big Mike might have been reluctant. Neither of the Ovomits is very smart but much as she would want it there would always be that nagging fear in her little mind - that she could lose. That she could not live with. And if the dims do win it will be surprising. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of Sapho that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. Reply 42(+]-) 9 Remo Williams 18 minutes ago It will be - whatever the dims call miracles. It looks like Cackles is being sacrificed. There's always the chance something could happen that turns it their way. That's the biz sweetheart. Reply oGl[-) DePloraBelle 10 minutes ago That staged phone call wouldn't have gotten a C- in a high school drama class. These people are so f***g stupid and believe the majority of the population is. Sadly they may be right. What difference, at this point, does it make? Reply 0G ]-)
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Tomarcus “TC” Baskerville, 35, was sentenced to 960 months to be followed by life imprisonment Courtland “Hotbox” Springfield, 32, was sentenced to 480 months to be followed by life imprisonment Montaveen “CGE Tay” Taylor, 26, was sentenced to 420 months Martivus “Tavis” Baskerville, 30, 324 months Deandra “Dre” Rivers, 28, 262 months Thomas “TJ” Smith, 25, 255 months Trevin “Scooter” Hullom, 31, 216 months Bianca Jackson, 23, 188 months Curtis “CB” Baskerville, 38, 180 months Mardarius McNeal, 26, 135 months Christopher “Lil Chris” Peeler, 32, 120 months Davalus “Mighty Shun” Worrles, 31, 66 months Deonte “Tez” Walker, 32, 41 months Torrance “Phat” Fitzpatrick, 29, 31 months
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KaliforniaDreamin 49 minutes ago HALT The pics tell you all you need to know. I remember a time when that sort of thing didn't happen in Paragould. If they catch them it'll be interesting to see if they're locals. Not that there aren't plenty of local candidates. Life is a lemon and I want my money back. ~ Meat Loaf Reply +6(+]|-) Sinanju Master 33 minutes ago Yeah, Paragould went downhill fast. It began over ten years ago but the past few have been bad. I would say that if they don't get a handle on it... what am I - stupid? You know it's only going to get worse. Before you can learn anything, you must know what you are studying Reply +2G[-) Jessica Atreides Marshall 25 minutes ago Who was that mayor they had for so long? Not that the one they have now is any better. Anyway he was all about bringing in people from Memphis. We have entered the time when all will turn against us and seek our lives. Reply +2G[-) 9 DePloraBelle 12 minutes ago The one they have now got those Tesla police cars. Did they ever get them running again? B What difference, at this point, does it make? Reply +1(4+]-) Twisted Mentat 18 minutes ago Locals? The way those people get around how do you know where they're from. A lot of them don't have a driver's license - not that it stops them from driving. Can they trace them through the EBT or Medicaid card? It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of Sapho that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. Reply +1(+]-) Phantasm Lord of the Dead 9 minutes ago Iread somewhere that the Dodge Charger is being discontinued. What will they drive? You play a good game, boy, but the game is finished. Now you die. Reply 0G ]-)
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