It's all in a name Part II

Again, I ask: Would this ever be Justin Timberlake?

Read this: http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/disrespectful_bieber_banned_from_EGTuuAiCXafWFN6vNIoxqJ

Full support for half-staff

On the same day our Gov.'s girlfriend stupidly tried to vacation in the hotel room James Gandolfini just died in, New Jersey’s Chris Christie has decided to put state flags at half-staff in honor of the late actor. After reading the article that detailed Big Chris’s plan, I read the Facebook comments that followed. The consensus: Christie is wrong. Half-staff should be reserved for those who died at war and/or public servants. I say Christie is 100% right.

The commenters railed on about how those at war are the real heroes and Gandolfini was just some actor. People always get so artificially righteous about Vets. That kid you’re calling a hero was the same Vo-Tec kid you gave swirlies to in high school. So don’t think it makes you a better American to pretend you have all this respect for him when he’s killed by a roadside bomb. We both know you don’t care about that guy the same way we know you never missed an episode of THE SOPRANOS.

Maybe if we stopped filling these young recruits with the belief that people will salute them at gas stations and applaud them when they walk into restaurants, maybe less would sign lifetime contracts at eighteen, when they have the world-perception of a garden slug. I know an eighteen year old who signed up for the Army because he broke up with his girlfriend and needed to get away for a while. That’s eighteen-year-old logic. Recruiters toss these kids a free t-shirt and a bunch of lies. Said kid thinks he's gonna get a million dollars from the government. If less signed on maybe the Military would shrink and we wouldn't be able to set up in Afghanistan for thirteen years, doing God knows what. It's supply vs. demand. If the supply keeps coming, we can plant roots around the world, be at war forever.

I’m saddened when any Army kid is killed because I think of the life wasted, same way I was sad when that football player gave up the NFL to fight, then got killed five minutes later by friendly fire. He’s not a hero. He’s a fool. If you can lower the flags for him, you can lower them for Gandolfini.

And before you dismiss Gandolfini as nothing more than Tony Soprano, the most important TV role of all-time (Sorry Archie Bunker), educate yourself on what else he was. He raised and donated millions of dollars and brought national awareness to VFWs. Remember his documentaries on the men and women in uniform? He went to Afghanistan and has used his star power to do more for the Armed Services than you and I ever will. My opinion on the war and those who fight it may be the wrong one, but it’s consistent. We both know you delete the flags-at-half-staff email that comes across your desk a few times a week.

Of course Christie is doing this for PR attention. But I'm OK with this look-at-me move.

Read More: http://www.usatoday.com/story/onpolitics/2013/06/21/gandolfini-christie-new-jersey-flags/2447057/

Brian Huba
6.22.13

Forever Tony

I'm not going to pretend I have anything novel to say about the shocking news out of Italy.

The world lost the greatest TV actor of all times today. But James Gandolfini was so much more than just a great actor. He was a cultural icon, an American legend as Tony Soprano. I feel like I've lost a family member. Who didn't love THE SOPRANOS? The anchor of the greatest show in TV history is gone at 51. Wow! All I can say is what I've been saying for the past ten years: Nothing will EVER touch THE SOPRANOS. And Gandolfini's untimely death will surely launch Tony Soprano's historical spot into the stratosphere. But anyone who ever watched five minutes of the HBO classic already knows where he ranks on the list of TV greats.

Bobby was right when he told Tony, in the end the lights go out, there's nothing.

I'm devastated.

Read More: http://t.entertainment.msn.com/james-gandolfini-sopranos-star-dead-at-51-1

Brian Huba
6/19/13

Sophie's Letter to Shaker Vet

Dear Dr. Patrick:

Thank you for performing the surgery that saved my life. Since your phone call last Friday with the results, the good news means my mommy & daddy can stop crying. I'm back to doing my three favorite things 1)Going on long walks with my sisters, 2)Chasing chipmunks in my yard (but never catching them), and 3)Taking naps in the afternoon in the big bed. When the staples come out and the hair grows back, I'll be ready for summer. My mom & dad don't work over summer, which means going up north to my grandma's house, A LOT! Up there we take all-day boat rides on the lake in grandpa's big boat or take long walks in the Adirondacks with my sisters AND my cousins. At night we all get into bed and watch TV. I sleep between my mom & dad, head on the pillow "human style." Every morning when I wake up, bark to go out and/or eat, I'll take a minute and think of you, and know that this life almost didn't happen for me, and I'll know it did because of you. And when my daddy hears the song that says, "baby, you're a firework" he'll scoop me up and dance with me, and I don't know why he'll do that but he always does, and I'll be happy.

Barks to You and Yours,
Sophie Cinnamon

See: http://www.shakervet.com/
Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJuMBdaqIw

"They're called boobs, Ed."

Read this: http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/arrest_brockovich_slapped_husband_OkUrdn9PG1eyLJUcJhQpdO

Million-Dollar Baby

The other day I was talking to an 18-year-old who signed up for the Navy. They hooked her by promising to put a million dollars in her bank account after six months of service. This is obviously a complete lie, the first of several falsified, cleverly-worded promises. She bought it, autographed a lifetime contract, which means the Navy owns the last breath she’ll ever breathe and every breath till then. She was hoodwinked and outsmarted and now she’s government property. That’s what these recruiters do. They target the poor and the dumb and prey on them. It’s criminal. Try shooting that routine to Little Calib at North Colonie. His mother would’ve had that recruiter arrested. Calib goes to college. Vo-Tec kid goes to Iraq.

Should we be paying fake-homage to young people who sign on for this? At nationwide high school graduations this month, new recruits in all branches of the Armed Services, will accept their diplomas, donning the same uniform they’ll one day be buried in. Everyone will obligatorily applaud their bravery and make them believe we respect what they’re doing. But every smart parent is actually thinking: Thank God that’s not my kid. If it was socially acceptable to confront these young people with the severity of their decision, less would sign on and sacrifice their lives, because they believe the Government is going to give them a million dollars and people are genuinely clapping their “brave choice.” If we told them the truth: You’re going immediately to war, there is a chance you’re going to be killed at the hands of a total stranger, they might--um--reconsider. Maybe.

I read an article in the TIMES UNION about Albany native Todd Clark, a 40-year-old Lt. Colonel killed in Afghanistan this weekend. Why was he killed? Who knows? But we do know he leaves behind a wife and two young children who will never know their father, but will be able to call his mantle-piece picture hero. Hero or not, he’s dead 40 years too soon, murdered in the desert dirt, then shipped home in a flag-covered box like luggage.

Here’s where I have to say Todd Clark was a hero and he’s the reason I get to enjoy my American Freedoms, and all that other stuff politicians spout to get elected. If Todd was selling cars on Central Ave right now, I’d have the same exact life. But hey, he got a million dollars after six months, right? What? His wife has to work and raise two kids and just squeak by? You mean that million-dollar thing was a recruitment lie.

“Brian, who will protect your American freedoms?” Well, we got about 200,000 able-bodied boys doing push-ups in prison cells, costing the economy millions of dollars a day. They can protect my freedoms and Todd Clark can sell cars. “Don’t be ridiculous, Brian, they’re hardened criminals.” I thought we were rehabbing them for the betterment of society. If they can’t even go to Afghanistan and put bullets in “bad guys,” why are keeping them around?

I love the old they’ll-pay-for-my-college logic. First off, they probably won’t. Second, who cares? You want to give up ages 18-22 to save a few thousand dollars? So instead of bars, and girls, and concerts, and spring breaks, and an enjoyable education, you’re going to Afghanistan so you don’t have to pay back college-loan debt? I’ll take the loans over war. I’ll take Attica over war. I have no interest in leaving America at 18 years old to chase Middle Easterners around their hell-on-earth country. America is the greatest thing in the history of the world. We have HD TV, Disney World, and Tom Coughlin. I’m not going anywhere if I don’t have to. And guess what? We could stay in Afghanistan for 200 years, and radical attacks against America will still happen.

Is this Afghan War STILL about 9/11? Didn’t we kill every single person who had anything to do with that? Why are Americans still being mortar-bombed 13 years later? I’ll tell you why: George W. Bush. Bush II ruined this country. He ruined education, economics, housing, the auto industry, long walks on the beach, and of course the military. He ruined everything. The only silver lining I can see when I read about guys like Todd Clark and talk to people like my 18-year-old friend is that Obama only took four years to plug the toxic spill that was the GW Presidency.

The other day I watched Channel 10 News, with my boy John Gray as anchor, and the Around the Nation Stories were as follows: Unemployment down, market up, housing back, education on the mend. Obama’s next four years are going to be golden, a miracle after Bush. And when he puts America back on total track, maybe more people will decide to take on college and/or the work force instead of falling for the fear-driven lies sold to children by the Armed Services. But probably not.

Read More: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Albany-native-killed-in-Afghanistan-4589967.php

Brian Huba
6.9.13

Alive at Five Time Machine

This Thursday night is the first Alive at Five. I used to love Alive at Five. There was a magic in the air on Albany Thursdays. I would tingle with excitement as we left the Riverfront, walked up Maiden Lane, heading for the big white McGeary’s tent. My friend John would come up. We’d meet up with our friend Justin. We'd laugh, drink RBV’s, talk to girls. What a life.

Then one day it stopped being fun, and I never went back, probably never will. Sometimes that familiar tingle hits me, and I imagine what it would be like to round up the boys and do a Thursday night like old times. When summer’s coming and school’s about to break, I always think maybe we’ll do one for the heck of it, but I know we won't. John’s married. Justin’s talking kids. I couldn’t handle two beers without puking. Those Downtown Thursdays are done for me. So I’ve decided to go back to A @ 5 the only way I can: In my mind. Set time machine for July 2005, when 50 Cent sang “Just a lil bit,” and the Spurs won the NBA Championship. Let’s go back . . .

There I am: Sunglasses, pattern shorts, t-shirt, white sneakers, no socks. John’s mom just dropped us off. We prepay at McGeary’s, hit the ATM, cross the bridge and head for the hill by the river, watch the C-list musical act that Jennings booked. There’s boats parked at the shore. The place is a mob scene, 10,000 people, maybe more. It’s hot. We see John’s cousin. Justin’s friends from EG. My uncle Jack. Everyone is there. Albany is the center of the universe on Thursday nights.

After an hour, we head to the Barge. There’s usually an older crowd there. We see Lady in Red. She’s a late-twenties brunette who wears red every single time we see her, but denies it. She gets a kick out of us. She likes us. There’s a nice vibe at the Barge. Right on the river, good live band, cheap drinks. I’m sufficiently buzzed by now: 7.30PM. It’s gonna be a good night.

We roll back as the actual A @ 5 show is ending, cross the bridge to Maiden, up to Pearl, where we pass the string of bars with people sitting outside them. There’s Mark AKA Gorilla outside Mad River, and his friend who doesn’t drink. Join forces. We’re now a five-man machine as we cut the McGeary’s line with our prepaid bracelets. The Refrigerators are sound checking, so we head inside, where our friend Gary is tending bar. “Four RBV’s, one water, Gary McGeary.” He pours, I pay with a twenty. He changes me with a ten, five, four ones. The sun is about to set. The music is booming in the tent, which is filling. This is about the time when that Pearl Street tingle is ready to rupture. We look out on this sea of humanity, and John whispers, “Someday we’ll be too old for this.” I agree but I don’t believe him.

Things get blurry after that. We see the General, a small Chinese man who always talks to us. The fun usually ends at that pizza place on Pearl. I wonder if they still charge six dollars a slice. Before this night is over, we start thinking about the next Downtown adventure. Seems like we’ll have a lifetime of these before we’re done. Finished with the “food,” we head outside to say goodbye. Mark leaves with his friend who doesn’t drink. Justin takes a cab Uptown. Me and John catch a cab back to Averill Park.

Right before the driver turns right onto I-90 at the Clinton Ave. exit, I look back at Pearl Street through the rear window at 12:45AM. It’s dying. There are only a few scatterings of people where packs once were. Half the bars have closed, their neon signs dark. It looks sad, when a short time ago it was magic. The traffic light turns green. The cab hits the highway. Downtown is out of sight. We’re gone.

Read More: http://www.albany.com/news/alive-at-five.cfm

Brian Huba
6.2.13