Monday, April 28, 2008

It Must Be Something In The Water...

...out there in Luzerne County:

"WILKES-BARRE - A man facing charges he allegedly lured a 15-year old boy into his apartment may face additional charges that he threatened a judge.

George Willis Dewey III, 47, appeared for a preliminary hearing in Central Court on Monday in connection to luring the teen into his Jackson Township apartment, telling the teen that he is a porn producer."

Musings on the Client/Attorney Relationship

Happy ONE YEAR anniversary of the Blacks Beach Tapes! And it was on this day, exactly one year ago (April 28, 2007), that we learned the means by which Harlow paid his lawyer BEFORE he was arrested. From Part 24:

JOSEPH KEREKES: Very respectful, I mean very, I mean Barry never had to shut anybody up, and the interview went on for almost three hours, Harlow did really good, made it very entertaining, ya know, and Barry never shut him up. You know Barry's a client right?


GRANT ROY: No.





JOSEPH KEREKES: Yea, he's a five hundred dollar an hour lawyer but he's been our, a client, he hasn't used us in the past year, but, he's been a client for six years.


GRANT ROY: Really?





HARLOW CUADRA: Of mine... and they asked so, how did you find Barry, I said umm, well ya know we shopped around for awhile for a good lawyer and... you could tell Barry was fucking sweating bullets, I was like man, I can't do that to you dude. I won't do that to him.

JOSEPH KEREKES: Ha, ha, ha, ha...





HARLOW CUADRA: That's probably why he ... wanted to defend us, like to the peak ya know?


Yep. Yep yep yep yep yep...

Yeah...that's one way to want to get a lawyer to defend you "to the peak." And beyond that...I don't really have a whole lot of musing on this section of the tapes. This is one of those parts that pretty much muses itself, I think! :-)

I suppose I can add a link to a page with a video of Barry, though.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Musings on the Art of Deception

The next stunning revelation in the BBTs that really captures my attention comes in Part 22:

JOSEPH KEREKES: We didn't go to the GayVN's I hope you know.




GRANT ROY: Oh, you didn't?




JOSEPH KEREKES: No, that was a bunch of hogwash, did you guys go?



GRANT ROY: People said, I thought they wrote...




JOSEPH KEREKES: ... I thought they, I was like everybody was speaking to Harlow...



GRANT ROY: ... they wrote that y'all were there.




JOSEPH KEREKES: Nobody was... we weren't there.




GRANT ROY: They wrote that y'all were there.




HARLOW CUADRA: We weren't there, they just wrote that we were there, I don't know.


A bit of background on this: Back in February of 2007, when we were all starved for info...ANY info...on the murder, Jody Wheeler published on his blog the semi-interview with Brent, Two Pair. In that semi-interview, Brent made the now famous statement that Harlow and Joe were "on the run."

Now, Two Pair was published by Jody on February 14, 2007...just four days after Harlow and Joe's house was ransacked by a SWAT team. They were, indeed, "on the run," hiding out from the law in south Florida at the time. Brent's statement to Jody was 100% accurate and truthful.

Then, in late February, the 2007 GAYVN Awards in San Francisco were held. And in the aftermath of that, came the Harlow and Joe misinformation campaign. And an incredibly successful campaign it was; we were all pretty much fooled by it. It is a great example of how a well placed strategic lie can totally derail the truth.

It began with small yet well placed anonymous comments on key porn blogs on February 25, the day after the GAYVNs; here is a post (from Jason Curious, IIRC) by "sanfransam" who as I've said before was almost certainly Harlow himself:

sanfransam said...
anyone else see harlow @ the gay awards?

i did :)

He looked cute, and did not look like he was too worried about anything. Harlow did have on a sweet pair of nike dunks with his suit. maybe the sneakers where in case he had to make a run for it?

February 25, 8:37 AM
And then there was this comment the next day, over on Gay Porn Blog:

i saw Harlow at "W" crossing the lobby into the elevator moments later Brent Corrigan and some older man crossed the lobby into the elevator as well...did they fuck (Harlow & Brent) because the older man was carrying what looked to be a black Sony Camera case
hummm
i wonder how this movie turned out?
stay tuned lol

Posted by: dan at February 26, 2007 9:20 AM
And that was all it took, really. That, and a "confirmatory" post by mark @ boisrus:

Anonymous said...
Hi this is Mark again from www.boisrus.com here just confirming I sent a studly entorage to san fran (Harlow and Calvin) for gayvn just to mingle and to set alarms silent.
Harlow isnt on the run and actually has been filming in va beach for my new update to boybatter today with he and mason. :-)
Trent & Harlow have been escorting here ever since that night in question and before.
Im sorry I cant respond to any questions regarding investigations, my long time litigation lawyer says NO
but thanks for your warm welcome to this blog..that was suprising as I DO realize porn & escorting are two very different worlds.
Mark

February 25, 2007 9:00 AM
Like fools, we all bought this crap. Shortly thereafter, the story that Harlow was in attendance at the 2007 GAYVNs was widely accepted as gospel fact throughout the Kocisphere (Jason Curious, Elm, etc...); nary a doubt about the story was ever postulated by anyone, until PC made this section of the BBTs public.

How did this lie manage spread so effectively? Well, one reason is that most of us out there are naturally trusting. When someone tells us something, in the absense of any clear danger signs, our first instinctive reaction is to believe.

Another was, I think, that there was a FEW people out there, who wanted to believe Harlow's lie because they instinctively wanted to DISbelieve Brent, in EVERYTHING he says. Just like fire spreads rapidly when the kindling is dry and crackly, a lie spreads like wildfire when the people you tell it to have a vested interest in believing it. And there were enough Brent haters out there who were dry brush for this lie to get completely out of control.

And Brent indeed did pay a heavy price for generously giving us bloggers one of the few items of accurate and useful information on the case in those early days. Because the Harlow GAYVN lie got so widely accepted, Brent was torn apart mercilessly by many commenteers for making that "on the run" statement.

And we Kocisphere bloggers? We were sidetracked for close to month due to the success of this lie! We did not find out about the SWAT raid until Barry Taylor (Harlow and Joe's old attorney/client...who's on schedule to be the star of my next Musings, heehee!) went into court to petition to get some of their stuff back. And in doing so, the story became news. And when the SWAT story broke on March 14...well, we here in the Kocisphere pretty much went nutzo. It was as if someone had tossed a hand grenade into a baby shower!

And if you notice Grant's reaction above, when he learns of this...he too is stunned at the magnitude of the deception Harlow and Joe were able to get away with: "People said, I thought they wrote...they wrote that y'all were there...They wrote that y'all were there!" Grant is stuttering and speechless at this...and LOL, who can blame him!?

So yeah, we were all badly fooled by yet another Harlowite lie.

But you know, we can use this experience in a positive way and learn from it. And what we need to learn is that the Harlowites are absolute masters of the art of deception. As you can see, not only do they know how to lie, but they know how to do it well. They will look you in the eye, and then tell you:

1) Harlow was at the GAYVNs;
2) Harlow was current on his debts before the arrest;
3) The coat is chinchilla;
4) Harlow and Joe did not murder Bryan Kocis; etc...

...and they WON'T EVEN BLINK.

So naturally, what we have to do in the future is instinctively disbelieve anything a Harlowite has to say about this case. Wait for anything they say to be verified from a reliable source first, and THEN consider believing it. They've shown such a propensity AND talent for lying, that for us to do otherwise would be reckless.

And not only that...I suspect they are now creating fake anti-Harlowite personas as a means of spreading disinformation. I guess since they realize now we are on to them, they are having to resort to this tactic...as I said, they got the art of deception down pat. As such, I'd be wary of johnnie-come-latelies to the Kocisphere right now, regardless of his purported bias.

Update:

Update 2: Off topic, but Brent has a new photo up on his latest blog post that looks strangely familiar...I wonder where he unearthed it from? :-)

Friday, April 18, 2008

Return of the Musings

I've said this before, and I'll say it again: It is really amazing how completely and totally Harlow and Joe incriminated themselves on these Blacks Beach Tapes. I am now starting to regret taking on the massive project of listing EVERY instance of them talking about things on the beach that day only the murderers would have knowledge of...I'm only halfway through the transcripts, and the already swollen list keeps getting larger.

Obviously, people who think this list could have been known beforehand by "reading the blogs" are living in a fantasyland...for example, just here in Part 18 we have:

HARLOW CUADRA: Yea, he wanted to do ah, he wanted to do a shoot in ah Florida, in basically a house that he had rented, ah with a swimming pool.


GRANT ROY: Probably, probably, probably the, probably in Fort Lauderdale?



HARLOW CUADRA: Yea.




JOSEPH KEREKES: Yea.




...a house in Florida (Ft. Lauderdale) Bryan uses for shoots, and:

HARLOW CUADRA: Ha, ha, ha... little shit. Don't worry, we'll get warmed up in a second. I know, alright, last thing about it, he was in a hurry, he had to go to ah, California. That's why it was all done so quick, he was going to California in the weekend I think...

GRANT ROY: He was going I bet to meet with Marina Pacific...




HARLOW CUADRA: Yea.




GRANT ROY: Probably Lee...




HARLOW CUADRA: Yea.




GRANT ROY: ... him, were gonna meet with Marina Pacific, to start taking everything away from us.



HARLOW CUADRA: Yep, and ah, he hurried that fact too, umm, he communicated with me, that ya know we ah, we need to meet, like it's gotta be tonight, cause umm, I've gotta get on a plane for California, it's ah, something that came out of the blue, blah, blah, blah, blah...
...that Bryan was booked on a plane for California that weekend, and:

HARLOW CUADRA: I saw the room you filmed one of the scenes with, in, it had a little dog with a bone in the mouth, like a little caricature type...


SEAN LOCKHART: Oh yea? That was in the hotel though?




GRANT ROY: But you had some of that stuffed.




HARLOW CUADRA: No, the walls were concaved and like coming in, like an attic-type room.



SEAN LOCKHART: Yea, well I might, I don't know.




HARLOW CUADRA: Like a little bed, like a twin size normal.


...Harlow knows certain a stuffed animal was in a certain described bedroom on a certain described bed on the night of the murder. Harlow seems to recall more details about this room than Sean, who actually lived in the house for months!

Hmmm, I can't seem to recall reading about a stuffed animal being found in that room at the fire scene that night...was it on one of the blogs, Elm? Oh, and while you are at it, please let us know where "on the blogs" one can read about the other items on the list below, okay? Because I cannot help but notice that you have not done so as yet...it might be a more useful project for you than making up imaginary evidence from boxes of discovery that you do not have access to, and then discussing the imaginary evidence with imaginary friends of yours:

jim's SHOW ME list
------------------
1. Phone conversation with Lee Bergeron (and others) after 7:50pm;
2. Lee's female attorney;
3. Bryan owned a Blackberry;
4. Bryan planning to buy a San Diego condo;
5. Obscure outtakes from "Schoolboy Crush;"
6. Bryan's missing "BCK" monogrammed Rolex watch;
7. Bryan's Adobe editing software;
8. Location of Bryan's cars at the time of the murder;
9. Bryan's lease (not purchase) of an Aston Martin;
10. Price and description of Bryan's new home entertainment center;
11. Police misinformation re: "Drake" and knife found at scene;
12. Bryan's film house in Florida;
13. Bryan's plane trip to Cali that following weekend;
14. Stuffed animal on "Brent's" bed in "Brent's" room;
15. [to be added, etc...]

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Identity Speculation

I've said this before, but I just want to go ahead and reiterate this: I do not care who you are, behind you're screen name.

While I am sure the anonymous commenteer who just today sent me what appears to be very complete biographical information on a couple of the bloggers in this case meant well, I have to say...thanks but no thanks. Like I said...I simply do not care. I've made a determination early on that this blog will not wallow in the mud of who-is-who, and I am sticking to that principle.

Thank you all for your attention to this matter.

Update: I'm not sure if this is related or not, but Elm today decides to have a conversation with himself; as comments from Elm and fake screen names obviously controlled by Elm follow each other within minutes. I'm not sure exactly what the point of this exercise is, but if I were Elm, I'd worry about more important matters than carrying on a conversation with yourself over barbie dolls.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Huge Ethangate Update

Ethan Reynolds, the ex-boyfriend of porn star Benjamin Bradley and former Ginch Gonch underwear model who I have blogged about here before made a big announcement just recently on his MySpace blog:

Sunday, April 13, 2008

A New Sorta Point of View


Well, gentlemen and ladies, there have been a few changes in life of the Incredible Mr. E. I've recently left the beautifully smoggy citiy of Los Angeles. I had great time and accomplished much. However, I learned that you can't trust everybody, even those that are closest to you, or have known for years. I learned that I and others were being manipulated, controlled and used by someone very close. After that, I simply could not stand for such actions and made the decision to go back to LasVegas, which has always been my home.

Things are not easy though. I left everything behind to start over, yet again. So here I am in. A lost and lonely boy with nothing but confusion for the future. I have a make shift plan of what should do. I'm going to get certified and take a job at the gym. I'm going to work as dancer for awhile, so I can earn money for my class, I'll probably look for an additional job as well, just in case.

I danced last night at KRAVE in Las Vegas. I had a great time and enjoyed the experience. I was scared at first I must admitt. I hadn't danced by myself before. I had always had Ben there with me for support and security, but I learned I have more confidence in myself than I had orginally thought. I met a lot of wonderful people and I can't wait to do it again.

Another issue in coming back home, is more of an issure of unfinished business. Its an issue that saddens me deeply. My boyfriend has all of my things. All things that I have worked so hard for. Things that my money paid for. Its a sickening feeling when all of your earthly pocessions are search through and destroyed, when someone sorts through all your clothes and decides whats nice, whats expensive and keeps them for himself. I now have to deal witht the ackwardness of trying to get my things back, my clothes, my computer, my movies, my books, all of my personal, random stuff. When I try to call he won't answer, I leave message, he doesn't call back, I go to the house he leaves out of town. I have no will towards him. I wish him the best and I want him to be happy. I wish he felt the same. I'm not harrass him, just trying to clean up the mess and move on, and have it be one less thing to worry about.

So ... these are my delimas and where I stand right now. Sometimes I don't know if there is a future, but I know that I will get through this and in end I will be better person for it.

Much Luv,

Ethan
It would appear from the first para of this blog post that Ethan has FINALLY left his abusive con artist manager Rick Altmann. I mean, when he says "...I learned that you can't trust everybody, even those that are closest to you, or have known for years. I learned that I and others were being manipulated, controlled and used by someone very close" who else could he possibly be referring to?

Just to recap for those who are new to the Ethangate saga: Rick Altmann is Ethan's manager, who embezzled Ginch Gonch compensation checks from Ethan and Benjamin Bradley, and who conned former porn star Blair Mason out of thousands of dollars AND sexually abused him. He was also the true author behind Ethan's formerly popular "Brat Boy School" blog, having conned many into thinking it was actually Ethan's thoughts that were portrayed (said deception being parlayed into various money making schemes at the expense of deluded fans).

The massive deception ended when various other parties found out about Rick Altmann's schemes pretty much simultaneously, and exposed them; Blair Mason did so in a video presentation on his now defunct web site; the Brat Boy webmaster turned the entire Brat Boy site (now also defunct) into a massive expose of the fraud; and Benjamin Bradley publically broke up with Ethan after discovering the above, as well as finally wising up to the misappropriation of his Ginch Gonch checks.

And one unconfirmed report (from the Atkol forum) has a further reason for the Ben and Ethan breakup:

"This "manager" is a maggot - best term i have.
What they are not saying and what I know is that this maggot was banging JR "Ethan" Reynolds for 10 years and I am told that Bradley came home and found his fake blond bf bent over the counter and being serviced by the maggot. Thus the breakup."
And there we have it. :-) The only person who stood by Rick Altmann through all this, and never abandoned him, was Ethan. Until now, of course.

The last para of the new blog post is interesting too; apparantly he is having trouble getting possessions back from his boyfriend. The question is...which boyfriend? Altmann, or Benjamin Bradley? I'm GUESSING from the context here he is talking about Bradley...but given his past relationship with Altmann, the question is murky, I think.

It would help if Ethan could clarify this...either on this blog (if he is reading this!) or on his own. Also, I think it would be helpful if he made it explicitly clear the loser he dumped and left in Los Angeles when he moved back to Las Vegas was indeed Rick Altmann. I know it's about 99% certain that's who he is talking about, but if he could actually name him by name and dispel that remaining 1% of doubt that would be nice.

And if he wants bonus extra credit points...post a picture of Rick Altmann! We bloggers covering the Ethangate scandal have been trying to find and post a photo of the camera shy Altmann since this scandal broke...with no success. Ethan, we can really nail this guy's butt to the wall if we can post a pic of him. This will help to ensure that he does not go on to victimize others, under another alias. Given your long standing personal relationship with Rick, if anyone has such a photo, it would be you. So Ethan, if you are reading this...if could post such a photo, that would be peachy!

Friday, April 11, 2008

Angel Skye and Brad Star...

...are apparantly making a triumphant return to porn. Without the guilt-by-association they suffered from in their earlier porn foray, I am sure they will be much more successful this time around.

Congrats to our fellow bloggers "Lies... and the truths behind them" and Mark Adams for getting the scoop on this interesting story!

Update: Still waiting for that "lawyer letter."

Update 2: Salt...not just for margaritas anymore!


photo courtesy of the Dalai Lama

Update 3: Only here: Our far ranging and extremely informative Exclusive interview with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tensin Gyatso...head of state and spiritual leader of Tibet, the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso. Tonight!

Or, um, maybe the next day...or the next...or the next...hey cut me some slack, these EXCLUSIVE interviews don't just write themselves, you know!

Monday, April 7, 2008

Elm Lied

Well folks, it looks like I was wrong.

I recently accused Elm of being overly gullible, with one of the prime examples being him being misled as to Harlow and Joe's pre-arrest debt (non)payments.

You see, the way I figured it, the folks at Harlow Headquarters fed him a lie, and Elm uncritically accepted it...and then foolishly repeated it as a fact. BUT, like I said, I was wrong. Elm was NOT being gullible. Elm KNEW this was a lie. Elm was a full and knowing participant in spreading this lie. Elm was a liar, just as Jakester, Renee, Angel of "Truth" have all been liars, intentionally spreading bald-faced lies about this case.

And here's the proof: This recently revealed IM chat between PC and Elm, which occured on July 20, 2007:

12:17 AM me: The last I looked there were over 7 accounts that where past-due... and this was last month.
12:18 AM eloise: wll that would be understandable dur to the circumstances
me: Some accounts actually showed a past-due balance before the arrest. ( off the record naturally )
12:19 AM eloise: well I can say this I pay bills when I have the money you probalbly do as well so what is so strange about that
And there you have it. Elm KNOWS Harlow was missing payments before the arrest; PC tells him flat out at 12:18 Harlow was behind before the arrest; at 12:19, Elm even ACKNOWEDGES reciept of the info via a confirmatory statement.

So, Elm knew that Harlow was missing multiple debt payments before the arrest on July 20.

Now, fast forward to this Elm statement which was made on December 6, 2007:

"Hey Jim I find it quite funny that PC's blog shows Joe and Harlow insolvent when infact they were not behind in any of their payments and the main source of their debt was their home and the cars.

So I find that statement of yours ludicrous. Joe and Harlow did not have any financial problems until they were thrown in jail and Virginia Seized all of their assets."
As you can all see...Elm was not "mislead." Elm did not fail to "dig deep enough" in finances he "looked up on [his] own." Elm was not "mistaken." No. Elm lied. Flat out lied. He looked right into our eyes, and unhesitatingly, unflinchingly lied. A full-on, rabbit coat is chinchilla sort of lie. With forethought and premeditation.

And the thing is, this is not the first time this sort of thing has happened on Elm blog. Now, I don't know if he's going to attempt some sort of bullshit rationalization for his lying, as he did back then, but frankly, I could care less. As far as I'm concerned, it's two strikes, you're out.

Elm is now a prooven serial liar, just like Jakester, Renee, Sassy and the Angel of Bullshit. At this point, no fact he asserts on his blog is reliable. His credibility is now zero.

Now, one might argue that Elm blog makes interesting reading for getting Elm's opinion on the case, but when those opinions may very well be supported by lies, what is the value of such an opinion? Very little, in my opinion.

And that highlights the difference between Elm and me. Sometimes one of my beliefs or theories may turn out to be wrong. For example, my theory that Elm was simply gullible...a perfect example of a belief I once held, which I now know to be wrong. When that happens, I will admit my error, and make a correction, ie: Elm is not just gullible, he is a full participating spreader of lies for the Harlow Camp.

But one thing I will NEVER do is intentionally lie to you. I will NOT knowingly misstate a fact (ie, lie), as Elm and other Harlowites have done (repeatedly). That simply will not happen here on this blog. Period.


Update: Elm responds to the charges. He now says "Why would I believe what PC told me..." but as you can see from the IM logs quoted above, he certainly appears to believe it; like I said, at 12:19 AM he acknowedges the information PC has given him; far from disputing it, he attempts to rationalize it. In fact, here are the next two lines in that IM conversation; as you can see, Elm expresses no disbelief or doubt in the fact he was just told; instead he suggests further inquiries be made:

12:20 AM me: There's nothing really strange about it... I'm simply stating what was found.
12:21 AM eloise: If you want to base your reason on why they did this based on their credit report you might want to check the credit reports of a few other people as well
Elm's makes further defensive assertions, but since it is impossible to judge the honesty of them (see above) I really do not see any point in addressing them.


Update 2: "The Jakester" comes to the defense of "Elmysterio," by taking me to task for blogging anonymously.

He also makes some derogatory comments about the undignified practice of online underwear sales as well. Or perhaps he was only talking about those who sell their own used underwear online? In any case, it is unfortunate he did not somehow manage to accuse me of hypocrisy as well, as that would have been amusing on just SO many levels!


Update 3: Off topic, but too cool not to mention...we are a top referrer!


Update 4: Elm's philosophy on financial privacy:

Elm on 7/20/07:

"12:21 AM eloise: If you want to base your reason on why they did this based on their credit report you might want to check the credit reports of a few other people as well"

Elm on 4/9/08:

"I did not feel it my business to delve into the finances like some of you did."
So, in other words, it is OK to delve into the finances of suspects in this case, as long as their names are not Harlow and/or Joe.


Update 5: LOL!

Sunday, April 6, 2008

The Elm-PC Kerfuffle

[This is a reponse to comment over on Elm's blog. Normally I'd post it there, but after seeing those horrific IM exchanges he had with PC, I think I'd rather post my thoughts here...]

Elm: "As to the "Threat" of having him arrested I did not make that threat I relayed it to him from the other party on the phone."
So, you did not act alone. You cooperated in delivering these threats with an accomplice:

RENEE VINCENT
2435 LAURENS RD
GREENVILLE, SC 29607

...who was on the other end of the phone at the time.

And lets see if I got the rest of this down correctly:

The police never did show up at PC's door; PC was never arrested or sued. Hence, you and Renee's threats were complete and total bullshit. Exactly as PC was telling you. Your bluff was called. You and Renee lost.

And on top of that, your hollow threats were for nothing. PC's post in no way interfered with the judge transferring a siezed worthless house back from Virginia.

AND ON TOP OF THAT the house was indeed worthless, as PC said. And you and Renee were wrong, again...there was NO equity in that house. It has been lowered in price several times, and is now selling upside down for less than the value of the mortgages.

AND I BELIEVE this sums up the whole incident...have I missed anything? I don't think so...

Oh yeah, Elm finishes by issuing another not-so-veiled threat:

"There are other conversations that I had with PC as well and in them he reveals his source for all of the information that he got about the case. Maybe he will post that one too."
However, given you and Renee's track record for threats, I'm not sure that is going to turn out to be either an effective or wise move on your parts at this juncture.


Update: It just occured to me it might be helpful to post a link to the original PC blog post which was the subject of those IMs. Here it is:

http://handjtrial.blogspot.com/2007/07/new-info-no-blessing-in-sight.html

This is the blog post, back on July 25, 2007, that caused Elm and Renee's heads to spin 360 degrees, projectile vomiting in all directions...


Update 2: You know, it's interesting; I ran across an article the other day, about the nationwide trend of lenders refusing to foreclose on houses that are in arrears on their mortgages:

"Consider this troubling question: Do mortgage lenders have any obligation to take over a property that has defaulted on its mortgage?

The short answer, it appears, is no..."
The reason this question is troubling (to defaulting homeowners, that is) is because by keeping the property in a state of limbo and NOT foreclosing, the lender saddles the defaulters with property taxes and maintenence costs while the real estate market remains in a long-lasting state of free fall (which is precisely the case today).

And it occurs to me, Stratum Court may be a TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE of the phenominon this article is describing! Despite months of default, the lender has made no effort to forclose; it's really THAT much of a white elephant at this point.

In fact, if Stratum Court is indeed on it's way to becoming part of a "new universe of abandoned suburban slums" as per this article, the irony of it all is particularly ticklish...the property taxes will continue to be assesed, and eventually, Virginia could conceivably re-sieze the property from Harlow and Joe...this time for unpaid taxes!

If this was Renee's idea of a "blessing" I'd hate to see what a curse looks like...LOL!


Update 3: We all may end up dying from exhaustion as a result of all this.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

April Fool! The Purpose of Pranks

Here is an article from the New York Times from two days ago, that I think a few people out there may find useful and reassuring today:

Mind
April Fool! The Purpose of Pranks
By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: April 1, 2008

Keep it above the belt, stop short of total humiliation and, if possible, mix in some irony, some drama, maybe even a bogus call from the person’s old flame or new boss. A good prank, of course, involves good stagecraft. But it also requires emotional intuition.

“You want to play on people’s weaknesses or dislikes, but not go too hard,” said Tommy Doran, a fireman and paramedic in Skokie, Ill., who as a rookie in Montgomery County, Md., was lured into the station’s kitchen and blasted with multiple cream pies. “For me it’s just the sort of dark humor we use to cope with the job and each other. Nothing dangerous or illegal.”

Psychologists have studied pranks for years, often in the context of harassment, bullying and all manner of malicious exclusion and prejudice.

Yet practical jokes are far more commonly an effort to bring a person into a group, anthropologists have found — an integral part of rituals around the world intended to temper success with humility. And recent research suggests that the experience of being duped can stir self-reflection in a way few other experiences can, functioning as a check on arrogance or obliviousness.

The 1960s activist and prankster Abbie Hoffman reportedly divided practical jokes into three categories. The bad ones involve vindictive skewering, or the sort of head-shaving, shivering-in-boxers fraternity hazing that the sociologist Erving Goffman described as “degradation ceremonies.” Neutral tricks are more akin to physical punch lines, like wrapping the toilet bowl in cellophane, depositing a massive pumpkin on top of the student union building, or pulling some electronic high jinks on a co-worker’s keyboard (though on deadline this falls quickly into the “bad” category).

What Hoffman called the good prank, which humorously satirizes human fears or failings, is found in a wide variety of initiation rites and coming-of-age rituals. The Daribi of New Guinea, for example, have children make a small box and bury it in the ground, telling them that after a while a treasure will appear inside but they must not peek, according to Edie Turner, a professor of anthropology at the University of Virginia.

Invariably the youngsters succumb to curiosity — only to find a sample of human feces.

The Ndembu of Zambia have an adult in a monstrous mask sneak and scare the wits out of boys camping outside the village as part of a coming-of-age ritual in which they are showing their bravery.

“These kind of tricks are very common,” Dr. Turner said, “and they are really a way to put a person down before raising them up. You’re being reminded of your failings even as you’re being honored.”

Jonathan Wynn, a cultural sociologist at Smith College, said pranks served to maintain social boundaries in groups as various as police departments and sororities. “And you gain status by being picked on in some ways,” he said. “It can be a kind of flattery, if you’re being brought in.”

In a paper published last year, three psychologists argued that the sensation of being duped — anger, self-blame, bitterness — was such a singular cocktail that it forced an uncomfortable kind of self-awareness. How much of a dupe am I? Where are my blind spots?

“As humans, we develop this notion of fairness as a part of our self-concept, and of course it’s extremely important in exchange relationships,” said Kathleen D. Vohs, a consumer psychologist at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Vohs and her co-authors, Roy F. Baumeister of Florida State University and Jason Chin of the University of British Columbia, propose that the fear of being had is a trait that varies from near-obliviousness in some people to hypervigilance in others.

The researchers had 55 men and women play a computerized cooperation game and demonstrated that participants who felt they had been burned would go over the experience in their heads, playing out alternative versions of how they might have behaved.

“Being duped holds up this mirror to people,” Dr. Vohs said, “and may in fact show them where they are on the scale” — too trusting or too vigilant. Paranoia, too, has its costs, and it can sour relationships.

Running back the tape mentally, in this case meditating on how an embarrassing event might have turned out otherwise, is known to psychologists as counterfactual thinking. “The feeling of ‘I should have known better’ is the sort of counterfactual that serves to highlight your own shortcomings,” said Neal Roese, a psychologist at the University of Illinois. “A good deal of research has shown that these counterfactual insights can kick-start new behaviors, new self-exploration and, ultimately, self-improvement.”

Those observations may not leap to mind if you just showed up in go-go boots and an Elizabeth Taylor wig to a bogus 1970s cross-dressing party. Or if you fell for the e-mail message announcing you had won an award and should forward a draft of your acceptance speech to a supervisor.

But a good prank is, in the end, a simulation of a crisis and not the real thing. And it serves as a valuable reminder that not every precious box contains precisely the treasure you might expect.

Update: Aaaaand here we have it! Honestly, I think Brent is being too apologetic...is it his fault his fans are fanatic to a fault?

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

A Little Bit of History Repeating...

From today's Times Leader:

Felony sex charges withdrawn
Girl, 14, will not testify against Plymouth man, who gets misdemeanor charge.
EDWARD LEWIS elewis@timesleader.com

WILKES-BARRE – A Luzerne County prosecutor was forced Tuesday to withdraw felony sex-related charges against a Plymouth man because a 14-year-old girl refused to testify against him.

The girl’s refusal to cooperate with authorities benefited 22-year-old Donald Lewis Wallace, Assistant District Attorney Jenny Roberts said.

Roberts said the felony sex charges would have required a Megan’s Law evaluation by the state’s Sexual Offenders Assessment Board to determine if Wallace is a sexual offender.

“Because it was a consensual relationship and the girl refused to cooperate and testify, we had to withdraw those charges,” Roberts said.

State police at Wyoming charged Wallace with five counts each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault in January.

Police encountered Wallace and the girl in a Plymouth Township cemetery in July. An investigation revealed the sexual relationship between Wallace and the girl, according to arrest papers.

When Wallace appeared for a preliminary hearing in Central Court, the girl refused to testify, forcing Roberts to withdraw the felony charges against him.

Instead, Roberts charged Wallace with a misdemeanor count of corruption of minors, which does not fall under Megan’s Law.

Wallace was ordered by District Judge Joseph Zola of Hazleton not to have any contact with the girl or with any minor without adult supervision. Wallace remains free on $25,000 bail.

According to arrest papers:

Trooper James Knott encountered Wallace and the girl inside a parked car in the Edgehill Cemetery on July 17.

Knott detected an odor of marijuana, marijuana seeds and a partially smoked marijuana cigarette inside the car, and a cigar outside the car.

Wallace told Knott that he was hanging out with the girl and playing a portable video game.

While Knott was waiting for a tow truck, he inquired about Wallace’s relationship with the girl.

Wallace initially claimed he was friends with the girl, but admitted to having a two-month sexual relationship with her, the criminal complaint says.

The girl told police she met Wallace at a friend’s house in Sheatown and told him that she was 18 years old.

After Roberts withdrew the felony sex charges, Wallace waived charges of corruption of minors, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia to Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas.

He is scheduled to be formally arraigned on April 29.
Wow what an interesting news story! Victim minor lies about age, sex with minor, victim refuses to cooperate, felony charges dropped, guilty plea to non-felony corruption of minors, and Megan's Law registration avoided, in compliance with PA law.

Mmmmmmph! I feel as if I have heard the facts of this case before...but I just cannot place where...mmmmmph! I am RACKING my brain right now, trying to place why this news story seems so FAMILIAR to me! Mmmmmmmph! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmph!!!!!

Ah, gosh darn diddly darned it...I CAN'T quite place the reason for the deja vu here. Ah, rats...shoulda took my ginko last week.

Well, one thing for certain...since the facts of the case are SO extraordinary AND unprecedented...with Mr. Wallace getting a light sentence like this...well, obviously, A SECRET FBI INVESTIGATION MUST BE TO BLAME!

Yes, indeedy...the unprecedented nature of this case FORCES us to conclude, that Mr. Wallace is a secret FBI informant, in a super secret FBI investigation into CHILD SEX!

Oh and no doubt Mr. Wallace was in the same college fraternity with ALL the highest officials in the Luzerne County government and judiciary! HOW ELSE could something totally unique like this happen otherwise?

Yes, a massive government conspiracy exposed...right here on Silence of the Chinchillas! [applause] Ah, thank you all, thank you...!

Update: Hmmm, no indication of security measures being taken by Mr. Wallace; this is unfortunate, as he is clearly a man who knows too much! Well, if something happens to him, we'll certainly know the TRUE reasons why!

A Statement From Bud Foxx

"Yesterday, as many of you are probably aware of by now, my blog was deleted from the blogger infrastructure. It was deleted due to the fact that there was a major system upgrade switch over, to make blogger better. But then a subsequent failure of that new system, which unexpectedly affected blogs such as mine, "three column blogs" which were originally designed by Blogger as two column blogs came into play, and the rest as they say is history.

I, like many others, took the time to learn the html and then to understand the placement of that html throughout and within the blog template, so as to expand the blog width and size to provide a better viewing and content experience to my readers. This terrible screw up by blogger has cost many their blogs in part, and in whole. Particularly, in the Midwest and upper Northeast regions of the country. As of this writing, Blogger has little hope of recovering our works, but have put a hold on our url's in the event that somehow they can restore us back to whole and allow us begin publishing again.

Needless to say, I am devastated over this. Everything is gone. Much time and energy was put into this blog to make it what it was, and to have it simply snatched away due to some unexpected system error is a hard pill to swallow.

And since my blog was so poorly organized in many ways, it would seem, there wasn't a backup of it to simply throw into another template and continue on. For all you new bloggers out there, back up everything on an external drive away from blogger. It has been, and continues to be, a very unreliable and unstable platform to exist upon at times.

Yes, the real Kent Barclay. Matt Rush was right, he sure is frumpy looking!Now, as you might expect, there are the laughable, incredible and fabricated stories out there being suggested by nonaccredited writers, that this was actually done by and of the hand of a Mr. Paul Barresi. Nothing could be further from the truth or from reality. When you understand the credibility of the authors making those statements, only then can you begin to understand and see the zero truth and worth of those statements.

See you all around the blogisphere!

Bud Foxx."

And an additional observation by me, Chinchilla Jim...my basic two column blog is still here, as you all notice; obviously unaffected by the "laughable, incredible and fabricated" cause referred to above.

Come to think of it, I still have not gotten that "lawyer letter," either. :-)

Dexx Jones' site is purrin' like a kitten as well...zero problems from nonexistant pressure.