TampaBLAB

A totally stunning story from our friends north of the border.  This is a graphic story...so you might want to keep kiddies away from the screen if you follow this link.

Stuff: Samantha brought over Vantage Point. That was pretty good. I've always liked Dennis Quaid. And it just goes to show,there are 8 sides to every story. Tomorrow I'm getting my hair done. Did you know it's harder to find...

FB B.J. ASKEW (On training camp) “Right now we’re still in the beginning phases of camp so we haven’t quite gotten to those dog days yet. (Coach) Gruden has done a good job taking care of us. So, right now for the most part I think everybody is still feeling pretty good.” (On wanting to carry the ball more) “Really, I won’t get the ball as much as I would ever want to. I’m pretty sure of that. But you’ve got guys like Warrick Dunn, Earnest Graham, Michael Bennett, Ken Darby, I mean, they’re looking fantastic. I just kind of take it as an honor to block for those guys and work together as a team to win a championship.” (On the great moments for a blocker) “I just like to see a linebacker one-on-one in the hole. I know the guys behind me are going to do what they have to do, and I just want them to know they can count on me to handle my side of the job. It’s really just one of those things, I kind of tease them sometimes, ‘Oh man I would have broken that tackle, come on man!’ In the huddle even, I mean, we talk.” (On the stable of running backs) “It’s pretty much one of those things where it will be completely up to the coach. It may be game plan based; whoever he wants to run the ball is going to carry the load. Really, when you have more than one guy who is handling you don’t get all of those injuries. You lose your one main star and you are pretty much starting over. But to have so many guys who can do it, and do it at a level that they have proven that they can do it is a plus for the entire team.” (On working with Jeff Garcia) “First, I have to talk about Jeff’s toughness. You’ve seen him last year. He’s head first. He’s trying to scramble. He’s doing everything he can to get the first down, to make the big play. You can’t ask anything more from Jeff.” (On the backup fullbacks) “I haven’t seen much of Carl (Stewart), but Byron (Storer) is looking very stellar in the hole, very strong. I’m just trying to help him out with a few things as far as putting the finishing touch on a block. I think Byron is ready to play.” S JERMAINE PHILLIPS (On similarities of past camps) “No I don’t really see a difference, the only difference that I see is that in the afternoon we go into our dome and we have our walk through so our legs are a little bit more fresh, but I look at is as this year we really have an experienced team and it’s been exciting because you can move farther along in things that you want to do in terms of communication and things of that nature and things that you want to do on the field.” (On the new tent) “I’m the type of person that I like hard work, I like to be out on the field, and to sweat a little bit more, and get the grind going on but I think it’s definitely beneficial. As we go through plays and do different things, different blitzes and things of that nature. You get to walk through and see exactly where you are going to be. Today we are going to add some noise to it, so it’s going to give us the effect of being at home if you’re defense and away if you’re playing offense, so it’s definitely going to be interesting to see how that plays out today.” (On S Sabby Piscitelli) “He’s ready to go. I see him growing a lot from last year to this year. I mean he really knows what he’s doing. He’s comfortable, he’s confident in what he’s doing. He’s going to give us another safety back there who can step in there and not miss a beat. So I look for us to be fresh back there at all times. He’s going to be a great player in this league.” (On CB Aqib Talib) “He has a lot of talent, he’s just learning. Everybody knows when you come into this system as a rookie it’s a lot to learn, a lot to grasp, and to digest but he’s doing a good job with that and he’s taking it in and making plays here and there.” (On the mindset coming into camp) “The mindset that I take is that I’m a rookie. I look at it like that I come in here that it’s time for me to go in here and fight for a job again and fight for a spot on the roster. I’m in meetings and I take notes just like I did when I was a rookie just to go over things, even if it’s things that I know. Just to keep me in that habit, keep me in that mind frame. You never know it all. I see Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber, they’re doing the same thing, and looking at those guys, I learned from them over the years. So if they’re doing it there must be something right with it.” (On last season) “You know last year was just great. I think in 2006 I think I lost a little bit of confidence in my abilities, I think that was the biggest problem. I doubted myself when everybody else wasn’t. Last year has taught me that you don’t doubt yourself, you’re here for a reason and when you can’t play anymore you’ll know it and until then just go out there and play hard and just go off your instincts.” (On facing other teams) “I have been looking forward to that since we lost to the Giants, I have been looking forward to that for a long time. In training camp I don’t really get to hit anybody, and the mentality in practice and the mentality in the game is totally different, at least for me, in practice these are my teammates. I want these guys to make it through the day, but in a game I know I can hit this dude and he can be out for the game and I can be fine with it. It’s a totally different mentality.” (On S Sergey Ivanov) “Sergey has come into the defensive back room and he has fit right in, he’s one of us. He has a great personality. In a defensive back room there are a lot of different personalities, me included, but he’s a great fit and I think he’s going to provide some spark for us. I’m sure he has some stories, being over there in Russia, traveling to London, and Amsterdam and things of that nature so he’s going to fit in just fine.”

Two years ago on Rays Index we were very critical of the local newspapers for the way in which they handled a few quotes from BJ Upton, Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes in a national publication.

The Irresponsible Reporting Of The Tampa Tribune And The St. Pete Times [Rays Index]

The NAACP is hosting a dedate between Pinellas County comission candidates Renee Flowers and Darden Rice.

Date: Monday, August 4, 2008
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: NAACP - St. Pete office
Street: 1501 16th Street S
City/Town: Saint Petersburg, FL

Mayor Pam believes it's a go for rail in Tampa, and now is the time to make it a front line effort. Here we go, Tampa!

Barack Obama is coming to St. Petersburg. The Democratic nominee will be addressing voters on the economy. The event will be held at Gibbs High School.

Doors open at 8:30 a.m. Friday for the event at Gibbs High School, 850 34th St. S. Admission is free and open to the public, but tickets are required.

Tickets will be available first-come, first-served from 5 to 7 p.m. today at the St. Petersburg campaign office, 2321 Central Ave. Adults will be allotted a maximum of two tickets each and children younger than 16 will be allotted one.

Update: St. Petersburg officials want to give Obama a key to the city.

David Price once almost quit baseball in college to go work at a McDonalds. Seriously...You can't make this shit up. That is just part of the story in the upcoming issue of Sports Illustrated about Price and being a black baseball player in this day and age.

IN JANUARY 2005, during his freshman year at Vanderbilt, David Price decided to drop out of school, quit baseball and work at McDonald's. He picked his preferred location, near his home in Murfreesboro, Tenn. He told his father, Bonnie, about his plan. Then he informed Vandy coach Tim Corbin of his intention in a tearful meeting in the Commodores' locker room. Sure, Price was a 6'6" lefthanded pitcher who could throw upward of 90 miles per hour and seven months earlier had been drafted in the 19th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. But he had also just been shelled in a preseason intrasquad game, clearly a call to the Golden Arches. "It was definitely kind of out there," Corbin recalls, "but I couldn't laugh because he was so serious."

The issue about so few African-Americans in baseball always seems very foreign to us. For one, the Rays are one of the top teams when it comes to African-Americans on the roster. And for us personally, we were a childhood friend of Bruce Thompson, whom some of you may be familiar. Bruce was the most talented high school player we ever saw. He was the Carl Crawford of Florida high school baseball.

Damn it! We really got our hopes up about Jason Bay...Arrgggggg.

Young, Gifted And Black [SI.com]

Today was the last day that trades could occur in the 2008 MLB baseball season, and there's been a blockbuster deal.  The rather moody Manny Ramirez, who was trying to goad the Boston Red Sox into trading him...well, he has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.  Mr. Ramirez is now a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Meanwhile, Jason Bay, rumored to be moving to the Tampa Bay Rays, will instead move over to Fenway Park and play with Boston.  This means the Rays didn't make any trades, as many expected them to.

Reading the local blogs, many fans are pooh-poohing the lack of movement.  Personally, no move may have been the BEST move for Tampa Bay.  The Red Sox, Yankees, and Dodgers...they have unlimited resources to throw at these players.  The teams in the smaller markets cannot.  Unlike the other major sports in America, MLB has no salary cap, just a luxury tax...meaning the bigger teams can dish out the big bucks and cry tomorrow.

The Rays, quite correctly in my view, are not just playing to win in 2008, but in the long term as well.  They might not survive the three way race they're in now this season, but because they're not spending their resources on quick fixes, the odds are better that they make headup and build up their talent pool.

Barack Obama tells an audience that John McCain has only run attack ads because the Maverick has no vision for how to run America. Obama sums up the Republican message as 'We suck, but Obama is too risky.' A truly inspiring message.

Obama: So nobody really thinks that Bush or McCain have a real answer for the challenges we face, so what they're going to try to do is make you scared of me. You know, he's not patriotic enough. He's got a funny name. You know, he doesn't look like all those other Presidents on those dollar bills, you know. He's risky. That's essentially the argument they're making."

The McCain campaign hysterical responded by claiming Obama is playing the race card.

Things have been ratcheted up to a whole new level today. McCain campaign manager Rick Davis just released a statement saying, "Barack Obama has played the race card, and he played it from the bottom of the deck. It's divisive, negative, shameful and wrong."

Obama is absolutely correct. "They're going to try to do is make you scared." Republicans are running a campaign of fear and racial hatred. Let's replay Fox News's greatest hits.

The Fist Bump





Obama Muslim Smear





Joking About Killing Obama



Baby Mama

Apparently, I missed this little update on the Feedly blog: “feedly + google search experiment.” It read:

One of the first pieces of feedback we received when we launched beta 1 was to extend feedly’s search capabilities. Paul was the first to raise this issue but many more requested a similar feature. We chewed on the idea for a few weeks, experimenting will multiple approaches. We will over the next two weeks push out some of the proof of concepts and listen to what people think.

The first proof of concept is integration with Google Search. Here is an example: when you go on Google and search for iphone 3G, you have the option to see the feedly search results for iphone 3G:

 

This approach tries to add a pinch of personalization and social filtering to the search experience.

I’ve been googling for awhile since that blog post about the update, so I don’t know how I didn’t see this in action until now, but it’s…well frankly, it’s incredible. Check it out:

Hmmm, I think I have to go blog this for RWW now. It’s just too good.

I’m back!! Whaddya mean you didn’t notice that I was gone? Hmph.

The surgery went fine and I’m mostly back to normal. I will have to have radioactive iodine therapy in September, where I will literally be radioactive and in isolation for a few days. (Isolation thankfully means staying at home (reading books and magazines!) because I won’t be getting a large enough dosage to require me to stay in the hospital.) I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll develop some really cool superpowers from the radioactivity. For those of you keeping score at home, the score is: Me–1, Cancer–0.

THANK YOU for the supportive and encouraging blog comments and emails. I truly appreciated and needed them all.

Now, down to business. Apparently the world doesn’t stop spinning when I’m not around, so I have tons to catch up on. I’ve skimmed my email but haven’t responded or read anything in detail, plus I have lots of updating to do on other pages of this site. It’ll take me a while to catch up, so please be patient. (This time I have a really, really good excuse for being behind!)

It’s good to be back. There’s no place like home.

PhotoHelp 101 is a labor of love for Robert La Follette and John Jacobsen. Web 2.0 has been very good to both Robert and John and they decided to give back to the community in the form of something they are both very good at - teaching photography fundamentals.

As a result of their instructing experience at the Perfect Picture School of Photography, Robert and John both have the unique ability to connect with students and relay even the most complex photography subjects in terms that are easily understandable. After doing some research, they quickly found that there are very few online resources available to photographers. Realizing the need, Robert and John set to work creating PhotoHelp 101.

We also will be launching our new "Fundamentals Of Composition" website this week where we teach an amazing online course on composition. With other famous photographers such as Bryan Peterson, Chris Hurtt, Charlie Borland, David Nightingale, Bobbi Lane and many others, the Perfect Picture School of Photography is "the" place to learn photography.

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Check Out The New PhotoHelp 101 Website

Check Out The New Fundamentals Of Composition Website
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Whether you are a seasoned pro or have just purchased your first camera, we're confident that you will find something that can help you learn how to take better pictures at PhotoHelp 101 and at PPSOP.

WMNF has a story and audio post of the Hillsborough County Circuit Court forum. I had one problem with the story.

After the moderated session, the audience asked questions. Dr. Bruce Miles, president of the Hillsborough County Black Democratic Caucus, questioned the candidates on the inordinately high rate of incarceration of African Americans.

There is no question that poor and uneducated people get a bad rap in the legal system. These people are less likely to properly defend their legal rights. Many people in the black community have been shafted by the legal system. America has a shameful history, in how she treated the African American community. I'm all for correcting that wrong. However, when I hear black leaders talk about the incarceration rate;

I wonder where are the African American civic leaders when black teens are selling drugs at 2:00 AM. What black community leaders fail to do is go into their communities and clean up the crack cocaine problem. Young black males will continue to get incarcerated as long as they sell and distribute crack. 15th Street in Suitcase City used to look like an episode of The Wire. Drug dealing went on constantly. Police have cracked down on in the area. But the problem will never be solved until African Americans stop the sale of crack in their neighborhoods.

The police and judical system will never be able to stop crack cocaine distribution. The government can't make parents keep their children from selling drugs. This was the point Barack Obama made in Beaumont, Texas.

"It's not good enough for you to say to your child, 'Do good in school.' And then your child comes home, you've got the TV set on, you've got the radio on, you don't check their homework, there's not a book in the house, you've got the video game playing."

The crowd cheered. Women started dancing at their seats, fists waving.

"So, turn off the TV set, put the video game away, buy a little desk," Obama continued. "Watch them do their homework. If they don't know how to do it, give them help. If you don't know how to do it, call the teacher. Make them go to bed at a reasonable time. Give them some breakfast."

I have seen bad parenting from people of all nationalities. That does not explain why so many young black people turn to selling crack. (I doubt anyone knows why.) The drug is the unspeakable truth about the black community. Black leaders will speak of worthy civil right causes, such as Jena, Louisiana. Obama discussed easing sentences on posession of crack cocaine. I can't find a quote from Obama about how crack cocaine is destroying African American communities. The subject is taboo amongst black leaders.

Dr. Bruce Miles question on sentencing is fair and important. I hope he knocking on doors and asking parents why their children are out in the streets at night.

Here are the judical candidates running in Hillsborough county.

Caroline Tesche - Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 1
Jason D. Montes - Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 1
Samantha Ward - Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 2
Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 2 Miriam Velez
Kevin Carey - Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 7
Catherine M. Catlin - Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 7
Lisa Campbell - Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 21
Linda Courtney Clark - Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 21
Martha Cook - Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 30
Constance Daniels - Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 30

I’m back!! Whaddya mean you didn’t notice that I was gone? Hmph.

The surgery went fine and I’m mostly back to normal. I will have to have radioactive iodine therapy in September, where I will literally be radioactive and in isolation for a few days. (Isolation thankfully means staying at home (watching TV and movies!) because I won’t be getting a large enough dosage to require me to stay in the hospital.) I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll develop some really cool superpowers from the radioactivity. For those of you keeping score at home, the score is: Me–1, Cancer–0.

THANK YOU for the supportive and encouraging blog comments and emails. I truly appreciated and needed them all.

Now, down to business. Apparently the world doesn’t stop spinning when I’m not around, so I have tons to catch up on. I’ve skimmed my email but haven’t responded or read anything in detail, plus I have lots of updating to do on other pages of this site. It’ll take me a while to catch up, so please be patient. (This time I have a really, really good excuse for being behind!)

It’s good to be back. There’s no place like home.

District 10 congressional candidate Bob Hackworth voices his disapproval of Rep Bill C. W. Young's vote againt the housing relief bill.

(Dunedin, FL)—After threats of a veto to the nation’s most substantial housing bill in decades, President Bush signed the Foreclosure Prevention Act today. This bill provides relief to more than 400,000 homeowners in danger of foreclosure and helps reassure financial markets of the health of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae who control 42% of the nations mortgages. One provision of this Act calls for $300 billion in mortgage relief for troubled homeowners, this will allow these homeowners to transform their high-interest mortgages into government-backed, thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages. The Act also sets a cap of $625,000 on loans made by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which the FHA can insure and allow both institutions to buy back mortgages up to 15% above the median home price. Another provision of the bill gives $3.9 billon to help communities fix-up foreclosed properties.

“With 1.4 million foreclosures, and rising, nationally, and with one home out of 200 in Florida in foreclosure, it is outrageous that Rep Bill C. W. Young, would not support this bill. I find it deplorable that Rep. Young voted against this bill, especially with Florida having such a high mortgage default rate. As our Congressman, he should be trying to help, not hurt during this crisis,” said Mayor Hackworth.

WMNF interviews Hackworth about how he can beat Young. Hackworth tells Arielle Stevenson the election is about change. Hackworth cites his record as Mayor of Dunedin is an asset with voters.

Hackworth is against offshore drilling. He tells WMNF that there will be a negative impact on Florida's beaches. The candidate says he will support a Democratic administration's efforts to end the war in Iraq.

Two branches of government against one. Bush loses his hocus pocus theory of executive privilege, a theory originally cooked up by Cheney to defend his boss Nixon’s criminality, no mention of “executive privilege” or “unitary executive” in the Constitution (while we’re at it no mention of “torture” or “spying on Americans” either). But Bush will [...]

From July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008, the Tampa Bay area lost over 23,000 jobs. As a percentage, the Bay area’s job losses are second-worst nationally:

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater lost 1.8 percent of its jobs over the year ending in June

That’s second worst for major metros (population of 1,000,000+). Smaller areas such as Fort Myers (down 5.1 percent), Naples (down 4.2 percent) and Bradenton-Sarasota (down 3.6 percent) had bigger percentage losses.

Texas cities Houston, Dallas, and Austin all had job gains.

Check out the US Dept. of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics report for June.

"They handle really well in the sandtraps, so they should be ideal for The Surge. They've also got a little compartment in the back where you can stow a small cooler full of cool, refreshing Anheuser Bush Beer."

Another Surge Sighting. They're spacing them a couple of hours apart.You just can't keep a good Surge down! Even in Texas...In other news, one of John McCain's New Trollops, Paris Hilton, eyes an Electric Car sharing plan.


political, cartoons,political cartoons, parody, satire, Republicans, GOP, Iraq, War, Theocracy, Bush, Cheney, comics, comic strips, McCain,

Zencomix

The "John McCain: Apocalypse Now Redux" T-Shirt can be purchased at The Zencomix Online Market. Call before midnight tonite! While supplies last! This offer void where prohibited! Buy one now before they ARE prohibited! Act Now!

Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber did a phone interview with sports radio host Jim Rome this afternoon, and after the amiable Q&A about training camp and the obligatory Brett Favre question, it was time for the plug. Ronde and Romey commiserated for a few minutes on the “Beat the Heat” campaign, which aims to educate coaches and parents about the importance of hydration at football practice.  The co-sponsors: NFL teams … and Gatorade. 

“There are better ways to hydrate than water,” Ronde said at one point.

Um, like what? Lemme see … oh yeah, Gatorade.

 So let me get this straight: Gatorade is joining with NFL teams and players to promote and educate athletes about better hydration — and the best way to do so is to drink … Gatorade? 

Ain’t it nice to see that pure altruism is alive and well?

    

V.S.O.P, Bob Cesca


The "John McCain: Apocalypse Now Redux" T-Shirt can be purchased at The Zencomix Online Market. Call before midnight tonite! While supplies last! This offer void where prohibited! Buy one now before they ARE prohibited! Act Now!

political, cartoons,political cartoons, parody, satire, Republicans, GOP, Iraq, War, Theocracy, Bush, Cheney, comics, comic strips, McCain,

Zencomix

Queen of Grunge: Just close your eyes and try to imagine Chris Cornell singing “Fat-Bottomed Girls.”

Venomous: As if Spider-Man 3 weren’t bad enough.

Does this mean the next Austin Powers won’t be shag-a-delic?

Mighty shield, yeah, sure: But who will wear that ridiculous costume?

The votes are in: Dark Knight is the greatest movie ever!

More to meet the eye: Superbabe Megan Fox ordered to gain weight for Transformers sequel.

Remember this? It happened again today during a follow-up visit. I particularly don't care for the body position of the cat on the left....

CLICK to see our full eNewsletter.Heights HeightlightslUCky dogs - Dog-friendly Urban CorridorNew Heights takes you on a tour of the UC's shade covered sidewalks, its dog-loving restaurants and retail shops, and its dogparks to prove the UC area may be Tampa's dog-friendliest.Plus: Photos & Results of our UC's Cutest Dog/Owner Contest!---------------------------------------------------Food &