Sunday, February 28, 2016

Uber/Lyft and Scams Galore

Recently, I came across a tweet from Inc that said: Uber may soon owe you money". Heh. Yeah, I could see that. Everywhere you turn there are offers to use Uber, and Lyft too for that matter. The problem is, it rarely goes the way you expect. Oh, those promos seem so good, don't they? Almost too good to be true... The thing about these promo codes is that they're meant to trap you. Here's how it works: you download the Uber app, psyched about your free ride. Oh wait! Before you tap that app, here comes the yes, but clause: you have a free ride? Yes, but it can only be used within five seconds of downloading the app. What's that? You want to use your free ride immediately? Yes, but the free ride is not valid on the first day of the month. Or the 19th. Or any day when the sun is shining. And, in order to use it on any other day you must first authorize Uber to put a hold on your credit card for $500. Yes, the ride is free, the hold is just to mess with you. We're hoping you get so frustrated with us you have a stroke and we get to keep your money without providing any actual service. Oh, you don't like our terms? Go ahead, switch to Lyft, see how well that works out for you. Lyft give you a free $50 ride! Only they don't. What they actually do is advertise a $50 credit while giving you five $10 rides and laughing hysterically when you figure this out. Oh yeah, they also send you a survey: are you happy with our service? Nope.

Art Imitating Life

Conceal it. Don't feel it. Don't let it show. Ever since I heard those words, advice given by the king of Arendalle to his scared, confused daughter, they resonated deep inside of me. I've lived by the motto conceal, don't feel, don't let it show my entire life, I just didn't have a catchy phrase to go with it. This may come as a surprise to a lot of people who know me; most people see me as loud, outspoken, and fearless, which I find extremely funny because nothing could be further from the truth (except for the 'loud' part, that's pretty much dead on). Perhaps it's because I walk around dressed like a 12 year old Disney Princess...Or maybe it's because, for whatever reason, that's just how people want to see me. There's a reason the phrase 'art imitating life' was coined, nowhere is the comparison more obvious than with movies. For one thing, we are on camera all the time. Security, Instagram, Facebook, our entire lives are on display for all the world to see at all times do is it any wonder we see ourselves in movie characters? We're always saying "you can't make this stuff up" when something out of the ordinary happens. Perhaps this is why Dick Wolf is always 'ripping from the headlines, we tend to see ourselves in television shows and movies, the characters are us and we are them.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Can I Just Say Something Crazy?

I was watching the news last night when I heard about efforts to allow undocumented immigrants to vote. Aparantly, this is not a new concept; according to The Center for Immigration Studdies A concerted effort has been gathering force to allow immigrants to vote without becoming citizens. And why not? This country was founded on immigration. That is a fact. A beautiful fact! People call this country the greatest country in the world. If that's true it's because we have taken the best of every other country and woven it into our fabric. "We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams." This oft quoted line from artist Arthur O'Shaughnessy reads like the tag line of America, so, really, it should come as no surprise that we became the world's melting pot. Or, more accurately, a salad bowl, seeing as we're all here together but we retain elements of our origins. And that's what's truly wonderful about our country; it's been said that America has no culture; actually, we have all of them. When it comes to inclusion, we are the grand masters, so of course we're on a quest to include undocumented immigrants in our democratic process, I mean, why wouldn't we want to do that?...Okay, I'm going to be that person and point out that chucking the rules, even if it's supposedly for a good cause, may not always be the right thing to do. Do we want immigrants to come to this country? Of course! (yes, I know there are some people who don't want them here but those people are what's known as closed minded morons and, therefore, their opinions don't count). But what is so wrong with insisting that new arrivals sign the guestbook on the way in? If you want to move to any other country, there is a process to becoming a citizen so why is it so wrong that we require the same thing? It makes no sense that we would have such a process but then say 'oh never mind, the rules don't apply to you, here's complete access to everything we have." Again, to be clear, I AM ALL FOR PEOPLE IMMIGRATING TO THIS COUNTRY. And I understand that everything isn't black and white. Millions of children are brought here by their parents when they are far too young to have a vote. They were raised here, they are as American as you and I, should they be allowed to stay? Of course! Should there be a program for them to become naturalized citizens without being penalized? Yup. (The Dream Act is spot on!). All I'm saying is, rather than allowing people to circumvent our laws, wouldn't our efforts be better spent on finding ways for them to legally join the party?

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Deep Nerd February....introverts

https://deepnerdmagazine.com/introverts-and-dating/

The Best Thing I Ever Ate

When I moved back to NY two years ago there was this restaurant that I couldn't wait to get back to; Pommes Frites. Oh Pommes Frites, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...Standing in (an outdoor) line in miserable New York weather, waiting for those piping hot, crispy, crunchy deliciousness, with visions of Rosemary/garlic sauce dancing in my head. Oh that Rosemary/garlic sauce! Pommes Frites actually offers 28 sauces but after you've had the Rosemary/garlic there's no reason to try the rest. Trust me. It's that good. About a year ago, the unthinkable happened; Pomme Friets burned down, leaving a raw, smoking, agonizing hole in our city...and our lives. But, after long last, it's back. Let the heavens rejoice! At a different location (now located at 128 MacDougal St) but back. Honestly, it wouldn't matter if their new location were on Mars, where they lead, I will follow. Long live Pommes Frites. And their Rosemary/garlic sauce...

Sunday, February 7, 2016

There must be something in the water....

This week I finally got around to starting Making A Murderer, the documentary about Steven Avery, and I can unequivocally say that Manitowoc County is officially on my list of places to never, ever visit. Ever. That entire county seems to be infected with severe arrogance and profound stupidity and I'd be terrified that it would be contagious if I went within a county mile of that place. Team Avery claims he's being framed. Alright, let's start there: does it make sense that several counties, besides the one he lives in, conspired to frame him? No. However; a lot of the evidence the special prosecutor or whomever, relyed on was given to them by the Manitowoc County Sherrif's department, which is like forming your opinion of minorities based on Fox News reports. Also, while it is indisputable that Teresa Halbach's car and parts of her body were found on his property, THERE IS NO PROOF THAT HE PUT THEM THERE. We're not talking about a small, enclosed backyard in the suburbs, this is a huge car lot that anyone could have had access to. If you had committed a murder and wanted to get away with it, wouldn't an auto lot owned by the most hated man in the county make an ideal spot to dispose of a body? Just sayin. And who the hell is this Glaydis Kravitz wannabe who found her car? Do you go wandering around other people's property (search party or not) without their permission? I don't. Especially some one as shady (yes, I can think Steven Avery is shady and still be critical of what's happening to him) as Avery. And, when she found the car, this woman practically begs to be allowed to search inside, because, she's apparently Olivia Benson all of a sudden. If this woman thought she could get away with it, I wouldn't have put it past her to deputize herself then and there and arrest Avery on the spot. Nothing like using tragedy to grab your 15 minutes. But, what about all of the other evidence? The hard evidence, the "good" stuff. Like the blood in and on Teresa Halbach's car. Yeah, about that...was Teresa's blood planted? Doubt it. It's her car and it's reasonable to assume that whoever attacked her (Avery or anyone else) attacked her at her car. Was Avery's blood planted? That's where things get interesting; aside from the blood there's the not so small issue of the key that was found in Avery's bedroom. Teresa's car key that had Avery's DNA on it but not hers...that was found by Manitowoc law enforcement. After six searches. Also, the bullet. There was a fired round also found in Avery's garage (by everyone's favorite sherriff's department) with Teresa's DNA that has been linked to one of Avery's guns(I'm under the impression that he has more than a few). This would be more damming if they had also found blood in the garage. Or anywhere besides the car. Unless, we're expected to believe that Steven Avery is a nit wit that leaves enough evidence to, oh I don't know, conclusiveely link him to a sensational crime and answer the prayers of the Manitowoc County Sherriff's Department, except for when it comes to cleaning a crime scene, in which case he becomes Dexter fucking Morgan. Which brings us to Teresa Halbach's remains, found burned in a barrel on the Avery compound. Again, human remains are extremely difficult to fabricate. However, there is no evidence that Steven put her there (To be fair, there's also no evidence that he didn't). Oh, and then there's the matter of the restraints found in Steven Avery's home. Let's just say if owning things like this was a crime a lot more of us would be in prison ;). It's also worth noting that the Manitowoc County Sherriff's department was only supposed to provide resources to the actual investigators, not revive their role as world's angriest police department by doing any actual investigating. Makes you wonder exactly what "resources" they provided... So, was Anery's blood planted in Teresa Halbach's car? How surprised would you be if it was? And then there is the "confession" of Brendan Dassey. ...... I am actually at a loss for words here. It is not possible to watch the interrogation of Brendan Dassey without needing a scalding shower and intense counciling. If brains were gasoline, Dassey wouldn't have enough to power an ant's motorcycle around the outside of a penny. (Actually, I'm starting to think this describes Manitowoc County as a whole). And the interviewers! O.M.G. They did everything but write the kid a script. Hey, if you ask me to draw a picture of a woman tied up, I'll do just as good a job as he did. Doesn't mean I'm guilty of rape and murder. I'm guessing it wouldn't be that difficult to get Brendan Dassey to confess to 9-11. And the fact that 12 people saw the tape of the "confession" and believed it leads me to believe that the average IQ of Manitowoc County is somewhere around 75. Or perhaps there's something in the water. I guess I'll never know, like I said, I don't plan on going anywhere near Manitowoc County, on the off chance stupidity and arrogance are contagious.