Tag: crime

Stamford gets it

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

This I like: Stamford, Connecticut proposing law that would fine individuals who haphazardly walk and text at the same time

Seldom does a day go by where a dickface on their phone manages to inconvenience me.  Whether it’s while driving or while on foot, at least once a day, it’s inevitable that I will get stuck behind someone not paying attention, because their face is buried in their fucking phone.  Short of making it law and penalizing those who violate said law, this is something that will never have any chance at improving; and even if there is a law in place, that’s still not going to deter every jackhole who thinks they’re better than the law and completely incapable of getting busted by it.

Regardless, I have to give kudos to Stamford (along with Honolulu) for at least trying to curb stupid behavior by proposing to make it illegal to walk and text at the same time.  As long as there are police willing to enforce this kind of behavior, I could see it actually having a degree of effectiveness at deterring people from doing so, or at least adopting better etiquette and learning how to get out of the way if they have a dire and essential text message to send immediately.

$30 for a first-time offense isn’t a back-breaker, but it is inconvenient.  If I I’m out with mythical gf and we’re on our way to the movies, and I get busted texting and walking and get a $30 fine; that’s basically admission for two right there, that I have to throw away due to my own idiocy, instead of getting movie tickets.  $30 lost basically means no drinks, popcorn or snacks, because I’m responsible with my money and $30 lost in one place will essentially mean $30 not used in another, expendable way.

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Draconian Punishments: driving with cell phones

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been driven to my wit’s end because of people constantly driving around while distracted by their cell phones.  It doesn’t seem to matter that such behavior is classified as illegal and ticketable by a police officer, but the reality is that there simply aren’t enough cops out there monitoring for this shitty behavior, and they’d most likely be disinterested in ticketing people for cell phone use when there’s speeders and even more reckless drivers on the road to keep vigil for.

At least once a day for the last few weeks, I’ve identified situations where I’ve nearly been merged into, witnessed someone absent-mindedly drive into a potentially harmful situation, or simply not gone on a light-turned green, if not multiple of the above.  My favorite (read: the shit that infuriates me the most) are the people whom you can see their heads dipped down, as the foot comes off the gas when their eyes leave the road, and they slow to dangerously slow speeds while they check something on their phones, and then resume driving like a retard when they realize they need to pay attention to the fucking road again.

Needless to say, I have laid down on my horn on nearly a daily basis, and I’m absolutely sick and tired of people on the roads who can’t seem to get the fuck off their cell phones.  Such doesn’t change much on people outside of their cars, but at least the repercussions of their idiocy aren’t necessarily potentially lethal (as much).

Regardless, the only way that this behavior is ever going to improve is to integrate draconian punishments for those caught violating the rules.  Fear of tickets and fines aren’t good enough, as it feels like 80% of drivers are still content to drive around with their eyes anywhere but the essential view ahead of them, so I think we the world, need to change things up.

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Good intentions, predictable outcome

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Didn’t see that coming: grassroots movement declaring a ceasefire in Baltimore, challenging the city to ‘nobody kill anybody’ over a 72-hour period, results in two men dead from gunshots

I hate to (I really don’t) goof on what’s ultimately very good intentioned, but come on – this is Baltimore we’re talking about.  This is a city in America where the life expectancy is something that sounds like medieval times, when the bubonic plague was ravaging the realm, that’s how much violence is a problem there.  It may sound like a cliché to some, but there is a shred of reality in the notion of surviving each day, because violence in Baltimore isn’t just commonplace, it’s a way of life.

I’m not (entirely) saying all this because I love to take potshots at Baltimore; I’ve seen the looming threat and constant presence of violence in that god-forsaken city.  I remember when my mom wanted to be alone for a weekend, she’d jettison my sister and I off to Baltimore to stay with an aunt and cousin who lived in the deepest, darkest part of Baltimore, and I remember hearing the nightly routine of dirtbikes and ATVs that buzzed down Monroe Street that were speculated to be MS-13 drug trails.  I’ve seen fights on the streets, and I knew a friend of an acquaintance who was jumped and hospitalized in ICU during an Otakon, in a very populated area near the Harbor.

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Not a day goes by

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

I’m still subscribed to my former home’s community on NextDoor.  Partially, because it slipped through the cracks and I neglected to address it after I had moved out, but also in part because it’s turned into this inadvertent source of amusement, fascination and a constant reminder of how glad I am to not live in the community anymore. 

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the shit out of my old house.  The house itself was great, and if it were remotely possible to uproot homes, and plop them down onto other places like Sim City, I totally would.  It’s just that it just happened to exist in a community that went in completely the wrong direction from where I had hoped it would.

Needless to say, based on shit I read on NextDoor on nearly a daily basis, the neighborhood has progressively been getting worse since I moved out.  And after every single I read about disgruntled residents of my old community, and all the neighboring communities dealing with some unfortunate issues on too often of a basis, all I can do is shake my head and take a huge sigh of relief.

Like, the first few weeks of life after the move, I was admittedly in a state of unease at the general change in life.  But as the transition eased, and the NextDoor notifications continued to trickle in, with stories of break-ins, shared security cam recordings of suspicious activity, and oh yeah a shooting incident, all melancholy feelings were gone and completely replaced with pure, unadulterated relief.

Residents airing out their grievances, passively-aggressively shaming behaviors they don’t agree with, and my favorite, the rant featured above, are daily occurrences on NextDoor now, and it’s like a trainwreck that I can enjoy even more, now that I’m but a mere bystander, and not a fellow resident.

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Unfortunate demise of a cultural icon

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

I remember telling any of my friends from out of town whoever came to visit Atlanta that we would have to go to Gladys Knight’s Chicken & Waffles.  Seldom did anyone disagree, because regardless of how they felt about fried chicken or waffles separately, nobody could deny that there was some bit of intrigue about having them put on the same plate and served simultaneously.  It didn’t hurt that the food itself was decent, and the location was pretty central to the city, making it easier to do anything else afterward.

Throughout more recent years however, myself along with many other kind of stopped going to Gladys Knight’s.  Maybe it was too touristy, maybe being featured on Man v. Food and other travel shows made the place too mainstream and too avoidable for hipsters like me.  Not to mention the idea of chicken and waffles has been borrowed by so many other restaurants throughout the city, many of which have found ways to make it better than the originals.

Regardless, it’s still to hear about a culinary trailblazer like Gladys Knight’s restaurant getting shuttered and basically condemned now.  Especially, in the manner in which all this transpired, which is long story short, Gladys Knight’s shithead son using the family restaurant as a drug front, getting busted several times and murdering the business in a slow agonizing death.

Seriously, it’s bad enough that Atlanta lost an iconic restaurant that, but it’s sadder to hear that it basically ruined a family relationship between mother and son because the son is greedy, selfish and an asshole, and mom just wanting to distance herself away from his bullshit.

No, Gladys Knight’s wasn’t the best chicken and waffles in town, but they were amongst the first to bring the cult-like combination to the city in the first place.  Furthermore, they were in a location often times mired in political strife and kind of a key point of contention for the future of the city.  Had the Peachtree/Pine area ever gotten back on their feet and improved, Gladys Knight’s was basically at the center of it, but instead, they’re not just another boarded up storefront in an area that’s already plagued with ghetto and failure, and not even the Empress of Soul herself could withstand the hood.

OH GOOD WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

In case the passing of Campus Carry didn’t make it clear enough, the AJC wants people to know that guns will be allowed at tailgating events in Georgia.

Look at the picture above: after July, a tailgate in Athens will still look like that, except that concealed behind strategically placed articles of clothing will be shitloads of guns.  What could possibly go wrong when oceans of alcohol are introduced, and when audacious opposing fans on the premises trigger instant animosity?

I can’t shake my head enough at the stupidity of Campus Carry.  It is something I can’t get over, and I feel extremely fortunate and safe that I am not in college anymore, much less in Georgia, and that I do not really know anyone who is still in college anymore these days.

This is not a matter of if, as I’ve probably already said before.  It is most certainly a query of when, the first shooting incident and/or fatality is recorded because guns are allowed on campuses throughout the state of Georgia.  Provided there is no gun-related incidents prior to the start of the college football season, I’m looking at two dates in particular as high-risk for shootings: October 28, when Florida rolls into Athens and November 25, at the annual Georgia vs. Georgia Tech game, which will be played at Tech, in Downtown Atlanta.  I will not be the least bit surprised if an incident(s) of gun violence breaks out at one or both of these events.

The outcomes are fixed, but the moves are still real

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

And highly dangerous in the hands of untrained Missouri rednecks.  There’s an amount of jokes I’d want to say in light of the context of this story, but considering a two-year old little girl was killed because a man was a stupid piece of shit, I will try to be a little selective with my choice of words.

I’d be lying if I didn’t demonstrate my adult strength over a child before, but the difference is that I’m not actually throwing my nephew or the kids of my friends in any manner that can cause anything other than delirious laughter and want for repeat performances.  But that’s the difference between adults with brains, and those without.

Considering the perpetrator in question here was actively abusing his teenaged girlfriend’s kid to begin with, it’s almost another level of sadism that he was performing wrestling moves with the likely intent that wrestlers portray on television, but with no training from either party, resulted in actual pain and damage.

I’m actually surprised that the article actually names any specific moves, citing that among the numerous physical traumas inflicted on the kid, one of them was a Batista Bomb, which those in the know, know is a sit-down power bomb.  Honestly, I’m actually perplexed on how this actually worked considering the difference in sizes between a 24-year old idiot and a 2-year old toddler; like dropping into a sitting position would physically make it impossible for the kid to hit simultaneously, but why am I even bothering pondering this, when the lack of training probably made things worse, in a lethal way.

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