Happy New Year...

We made it once again..."back to the beginning", as it were...of another year.
We all get to start this crazy ride over again.
And yes, we know how LAST year went, but how will things pan out THIS year?
We'll get into that in a few, but first, our weather.
The Hooiserland will see more COLD temps today, with a predicted high of around just below freezing. And with those winds outside, it WILL feel colder still.
On the up side, we WILL (also) have a good amount of sunshine today...perhaps to chase any residual blues away?
Now, with that behind us for the time being, let's all get a nice warm cup of our beverage of choice, as we set off into this new year and find out what awaits...
*** First our of the confetti pile is the answer to our WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering 'it will be happier.'"
This was spoken by Alfred Lord Tennyson (6 August 1809 - 6 October 1892) and here is his WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred,_Lord_Tennyson
I'm sure many, if not most all of you remember him from Englsih class.
He was Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland during much of Queen Victoria's reign.
He is still considered one of the most popular British poets.
I'll leave it to all of you to bone up on this man, as the article is a bit lengthy.
I will say that Thomas Edison had made voice recording of Tennyson reading his own works, such as Charge Of The Light Brigade.
Some of his many works include Locksley Hall (1842), Ulysses (1833), Charge of the Light Brigade (1854), Idylls of he King (1833-1874), Becket (1884), and Crossing the Bar (1889).
If one could say there was an :"art" to poetry, then Tennyson filled that bill perfectly.
His command of not only the English lanhuage, but the imagery that accompanies his words are what separates him from so many other poets, not only in his time, from ever since.
A pretty good read.
*** Next up, a "look back" at the 16 homicides of last year, courtesy of the Journal Gazette.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/Less-death--no-less-pain-4110512
Interesting to see a DIFFERENT "community" come together (and most likely against black violence). Big Al's seemed to have been run by Middle Eastern ethnicity.

Now, wouldn't it be nice to see a fatwa or jihad against the black gangsta thugs in this city?
Perhaps a beheading (or two) of some of these black gang members would send a message to leave people ALONE?
I know it's pretty damn sad when a 21-year old store owner gets offed JUST for being a store owner who becomes a target for armed robbery on the SE side of this city. And, it's NOT like this hasn't been done before.
Remember LAST year and the killing of Antonio Nino i(Latino) n his store by a BLACK hoodlum?
Such punks will target ANYONE, aside from their own...that's the way they shake.
And yet, we don't hear "boo" from their OWN community over THESE killings.
It's like it's all okay...and yet, it's ALSO the reason that retail has all but vanished down here, save for a couple big boxes and a few stores holding out for a future renaissance of business.
Here's the list of homicides for 2014:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/2014-homicide-victims-4247645
In the Adam Widener interview w/ King Henry, our monarch states that business owners should "take a chance" on the south side of town...are you kidding me?

WTF for?
See yesterday's post for that story link.
NO small business would want to "take a chance" in an area inundated with CRIME, and the few that DO, do so at their OWN peril, as evidenced by the killing of such store owners like Nino and Yassir. C'mon now...get f$cking real.
Under this new police chief (Hamilton) and the new Public Safety director (York) we HAVE seen a decline ion homicides, and with good reason - a few gang members were arrested and taken OFF the streets, thanks to a TASK FORCE comprised of NOT "just" the FWPD, but STATE AND FEDERAL agency intervention...it's gotten that bad that THEY had to chime in here.
That's FACT.

Also, these punk-ass thugs can't shoot to save their lives...that's why the Eby St. shootout took OVER 30 rounds to get the job done...shoot enough bullets and you're BOUND to hit something, and you might even kill who you're shooting at...
These dumbass gangstas operate this way...in NUMBERS, be they bodies or bullets.
They can't handle a one-on-one "honest" confrontation.
PLUS, they have no communicative skills for negotiation.
That's why they NEED a gun (they must all have some pretty small "man-parts" so they have to compensate..typical).
Here's a link that tells more of the story on all the "shootings":
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20141231/NEWS/141219669/1005/LIVING
So, under this new police chief, we have seen a marked RISE in shootings (overall)...said that yesterday.
And the number of incidents of these "rolling gunfights" is ALSO...on the rise.

Two "empty suits"downtown.

Just not seeing anything downtown that is worth the cost of my tax dollars "at work".
I could do better stopping such crime with 2 marksmen, 3 sniper rifles, 500 rounds each, and NO questions asked.
Not much changes down here, and that's the REALLY sad part to this tale.
Moving on..
*** Last night, we DID (again) hear gunfire...so much for those stern warnings issued by the FWPD...laughable, really, and some of it was pretty close to the "fortress", but I didn't see any muzzle flashes.
So, any call into the FWPD would go for naught...like is so often the case, and by other citizens.
I'll wager hardly any, IF any arrests were made at all.

Well, THIS fell on deaf ears down here.

You can easily count the rounds going off and determine mag capacity.
you wait a couple minutes for the jerkoff to reload the magazine MANUALLY, bullet by bullet, so he can shoot off another 7-10+ rounds.
It wasn't near as bad as in years past, but we do have our share of vacant properties that HELP to no small end.
--- On the NICER side of New Years...and yes, there WAS one within OUR four walls

Wifey and I had a beef and cheese plate, some cocktail shrimp, and some Asti Spumante to ring in 2015 (while watching FOX)...not bad at all.
(I watched the Doctor marathon, too)
We both went to bed a shade past 1 AM (I stayed up a tad longer), and the idiots across the street had people coming over well AFTER  midnight...who the hell does THAT crap?
Short answer - MORONS.
And so, we get to put up with those wetback crapheads for another year. Like I say, nothing really changes (and never for the better)
You'd think that people would somehow LEARN to become (and remain) a bit more CIVILIZED, considering the way we, as a species SHOULD be evolving, but I suppose that's not to be in the near future.
*** Last back to the hangover hangout...society needs to stop being driven by whatever entertains them.

Entertainment is (and always was) meant to be a...DIVERSION, an aside if you will, from life - a way to reward yourself, to unwind, have fun, and otherwise "take five" from all the hectic nature of the way we live and work.
It was never meant to BECOME so much a part of our lives that we shove all the important things under the bed to collect dust.
After a hard day, it's nice to relax with a movie, a sporting event, a concert...whatever.
But when we STOP working just to chase after the things I mentioned, and allow THEM to be what drives us from day to day, we can never hope to become better people...we become worse off than we were, with no motivation, no responsibilities, and no accountability.

And the government has made such an excursion into diversions possible.
They all but encourage it, in fact.
This is a brand NEW YEAR, so why not look it as an opportunity to work on becoming a brand new "us"?
Like I say, every DAY is a gift, and with a new YEAR ahead of us, why not use it to our best advantage.
We waste enough time as it is, and we can't hit the rewind button for a do-over.
Why not take a leap of faith and do better...become better, and by doing so, enrich our own lives, as well as the lives of others.
Sounds like a plan to me for the new year.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.