Although I Forgot Tibbar, Tibbar

rabbit, rabbit

Lazy? Indifferent? List Search Logs

A special shoutout to all those looking for "latin papis." WTF?! I see this line -- Nearly twenty-five years after my initial embarassment on the Cyclone my baby convinced me to ride again. -- from a recent entry.

Other pages found from the above Google search:

1. Qv Magazine
2. Latin Inches
3. the Urban Chino-Latino pages
4. Full Latin Load (porno tape)
5. ...

I'm not going to even talk about the searches for Black male prostitutes in Thailand!

About Damn Time!

Slammin' Maya

One reason for the controversy is simply that the review was in the L.A. Times, and to be seen mainly by whites. Black publications rarely print tough reviews, and those who write them in mainstream publications will hear from everyone involved. But most black publications are sensitive to the fact that black readers are famously thin-skinned, and so they rarely give any occasion to be deluged with e-mail.

While I'm glad that someone put some teeth in to a review of Angelou's "prose/poetry," I'd wish a larger conversation about the sorry state of Black letters and journalism was begun. I'm too lazy to write about the subject(s) though.

On Sacred Ground

Updated the African Burial Grounds post.

The Contact info for the African Burial Ground in New York City:

Dr. Sherrill D. Wilson, Director
The office of Public Education and Interpretation of the African Burial Ground Project.
Telephone: 212-337-2001 -OR- Fax: 212-337-1447 fax

I'm not sure if this is the correct address (it was formerly 6 World Trade Center):

African Burial Ground Site
201 Varick Street, Room 1021
New York, NY 10014

'Improvements' Only a Republican Can Love

[ From Keith Boykin via the Education section of SunSpot.net ] :

Why am I not surprised?

Charter school pupils are anywhere from a half-year to a year behind their public school peers, researchers at the Brookings Institution concluded after reviewing 1999-2000 reading and math achievement test scores from 376 charter schools in 10 states.

The study, the first independent snapshot of charter school performance across the nation, found that 59 percent of pupils at traditional public schools scored better than those at charter schools during the period studied.

Y'all Can Keep It Way in the Back!

Keep it in the Closet?

The CLOSET is the first television series that reflects the stories of unique black men living their lives to the beat of a different drum within the heterosexual world.

What About Michael, Janet?!

[ From the 365 Gay Newscenter ] :

Funniest sentiment centering on Janet Jackson's duet with homophobe Beenie Man: A lesbian fan who said she'd been a fan "from the very beginning" swore she'd never buy another album or attend another concert. She said that if Jackson didn't care about her fans feelings, she should at least avoid working with homophobes for the sake of her brother. "Beenie Man would have him killed," she said.

Other fans declared that Michael Jackson was not gay.

Spike Lee Redux

All thanks to Aaron for this-

My Spike Lee Favorites List (with brief, frivolous comments):

1. Do The Right Thing - A classic that still feels true, raw and to the heart. Bonuses: Robin Harris’s ad-libs; Ernest Dickerson’s shimmering cinematography; and St. Clair Bourne's, The Making of Do The Right Thing.

2. Mo' Better Blues - Denzil as a Jazz man! Funny, quirky and another realistic feeling masterpiece. Spike should have X'ed the happy, cornball ending though.

3. Clockers - The introduction of Mekhi Phifer. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. Still haven't read Richard Price's book of the same title.

4. Get on the Bus - Watching this sometimes makes me regret missing the Million Man March.

5. Summer of Sam - Forgot that Berkowitz last shooting occured on my 10th birthday. Uneven, but great for all the repressed memories it brought back.

6. Crooklyn - Another uneven pic, but enjoyed for the rare girl’s POV movie, esp. from a Black girl’s perspective.

7. Girl 6 - ‘Cuz it reminds me of the freek* in me.
* Think of your own damn link!

8. Malcolm X - Only for Spike’s audacity. There’s no way a single movie could do justice to Malcolm’s life.

Bonus: She's Gotta Have It - I loved this movie when it first came out. It highlighted my beloved Brooklyn, esp. Fort Greene Park which I visited often one summer when I was a summer camp worker. It was also refreshing to see Blacks in a movie that I could relate to and not cringe about in the company of white folk.

I’m not feeling most of the others.

Jammin'

On Fertile Ground

[ Thanks to Lynne for the heads-up on her blog, A day in the life, Wednesday ] :

I implore you to check out the music of Fertile Ground. Heard their stuff this weekend at a friend’s BBQ and I was in awe and very sorry I missed their show with Julie Dexter here.

The group reminds me of several from the late 80s/early 90s. But they have their own unique sound. Already downloaded the four clips on the Washington Post's MP3 subsite and will check out the complete album, Seasons Change, Thursday or Friday night. I’m actually excited by the discovery of new music!

PS: Their site should be live at Blackout Studios soon.

Typical Brooklyn

Quote of the night/morning:

"I'm from Brooklyn, crude ain't in my dictionary!"

Revisit?! It Never Left My Mind

[ From the New York Times (finally!) ] :

Revisiting the Central Park Jogger Case:

More than a decade after the beating and rape of a woman who was jogging in Central Park and the conviction of five teenagers in the attack, a defense lawyer is asking a judge to throw out the guilty verdicts based on a convicted murderer's confession and newly emerged genetic evidence.

Definitely more on this later in the week.

Hey Li'l Brother

[ From the New York Times Book Review section a few weeks ago ] :

Barbara Joosse and the illustrator R. Gregory Christie focus on the family turmoil wrought by gang life in Stars in the Darkness (Chronicle, $14.95; ages 4 to 8), telling a deceptively simple but unusually moving story of a young boy's older brother who is drawn into the orbit of street-corner gangbangers. We are never shown the gang life of Richard, the brother, just the telling details as described by the young narrator: the new basketball bought with unexplained funds, the red bandanna, the lies about nights spent away from home, a bloody, bandaged arm. Richard's increasingly cold demeanor is all the more disturbing because of his closeness to the narrator at the beginning.

Christie's most moving illustration, reproduced on the cover, shows Richard hugging his younger brother to shield him from late-night sounds of fighting on the streets. The narrator and his mother, who at first feel helpless in the face of Richard's growing gang ties, finally take action by organizing their neighbors to form ''Peace Walks.'' Theirs is the kind of real-life small victory that plays out in many poor neighborhoods, places abandoned and ignored by local government and the wider society. Most important, though, the narrator realizes something about the gangs through his brother's experience: ''Richard's a banger, but he's still good inside. He's good to us,'' he tells his mother. ''So maybe the other bangers are like that too.''

Greg is a friend and former co-worker whose work has exploded onto the book illustration scene (I'm confident that that community has a "scene," indulge me here). My favorites amongst his work is The Palm of My Heart which won a Coretta Scott King Honor Award and a title that focused on the life and work of Sojourner Truth, Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth. I believe I researched and forwarded to him images that inspired the artwork.

I am hoping to have a profile of Greg some time in the future.

BONUS LINKS: Lee & Low Books, publishers of multicultural children's books. For kids just learning to read, check out Bebop Books.

Pay The Bruvahs If You're Gonna Use Them

SLATE trolls for hits

Boxer Rebellion - The underwear ad that's causing a stir

Sometimes, in advertising, it's the simplest ideas that get attention. A case in point: the current Kmart/Joe Boxer commercial in which a man dances happily in his underwear. [ ... ] The commercial and its star have made an impressive splash--but why?

It's bad enough that the article is weeks late. There's also no there there -- in six short paragraphs no one is quoted, the writer simply offers up links to more substantial discussions by George, Jason, and j. -- he also gets Vaughn's last name wrong: it's Lowery, not Lawry!

The Case Against Linda Fairstein

Reality V. (Linda) Fairstein

Even the NY Post is jumping aboard the Steamship Justice regarding The Central Park 5: ASK 'CYBERSEX OLLIE' ABOUT LINDA FAIRSTEIN'S 'FICTION'

In the case of the Central Park jogger, if the real suspect had been picked up at her direction, women's dignity and one woman's life would have been saved.

I did 20 months in maximum-security prison for something I didn't do, got my throat cut by some wacko, and Linda Fairstein made millions of dollars on books where she used her position in the district attorney's office to write and sell these books.

They were pulp fiction, like the case against me. But how was she allowed to do this? How was she allowed to conduct this abortive investigation into the Central Park jogger case?

She knew all along that the DNA didn't match any of the kids in the Central Park jogger case and the confessions were questionable, but left a man free to rape and kill again.

-- Oliver Jovanovic, wrongfully convicted in the "Cyberfiend Case"

Happy Anniversary, Kinda

snippets from a conversation: 09.10.2001

Owen: so where is CT's office?
ronn: @** st, betw ave's # & #
Owen: that's right. you told me.
Owen: that's near J.'s shop
Owen: say hi, if you go near there
ronn: prob not
ronn: :-)
Owen: why not?
ronn: he's prob still waiting for US to return
Owen: i'm not following you
ronn: LOL
ronn: you said we would stop back at the shop
ronn: did you forget?
Owen: very cute
Owen: no
ronn: ;-)
Owen: i'm gonna kick your ASSSS BIG ASSS

[ ... ]

ronn: put your pic on your profile
ronn: you're soooo cute
Owen: why
Owen: who asked you to put my pic up?
ronn: you and what army?
ronn: baby, if i gave you instructions
ronn: you still couldn't kick my ass
ronn: where?
ronn: oh, no one did!

[ ... ]

Owen: who were u chatting with?
ronn: it's just that you're so cute and i like the pic W took
ronn: i was talking to pt, then R
ronn: but stopped a couple minutes before you came online
Owen: oh, pt with the ASSS!
Owen: how is he?

[ ... ]

I never imagined hours later that our world's would be turned (slightly) upside down. The big freelance job I was suppose to begin that Tuesday -- I hate, hate, hate working on Mondays -- would be postponed and really destroyed. My confidence still hasn't recovered and I am only now beginning to feel confident and capable of constructive work.

I had so much that I wanted to write about regarding 9/11, but feel that it's best if I not continue. We're all going to be inudated with the images and horror stories and of course, the jingoism as Dubya et al push for an invasion of Iraq.

Wish I would have taken photos of the Peace Rally in Washington Square Park earlier today. While I wasn't too impressed with the tired speeches and the numerous handouts from communists, anarchists and peaceniks, the atmosphere was filled generous sharing and positive energy.

Let's hope it continues.

And since it's now Sept. 11th: Happy 2nd Anniversary, Baby!

Welcome Back, J-Love

Jonno returns and speaks the truth that so many of us can't or won't:

Maybe I shouldn't have worried so much about expressing any inappropriate feelings I might've been having that day - and still have, like thinking that network television has become a type of manipulative pornography in its market-driven attempts to help us "remember" and "understand" what happened. As if any of us will ever be able to forget.

For once, Laura Bush is right. It's like picking at a wound and then wondering why it won't heal.

And I'm officially jealous of his use of orange (my fav) with black for his blog colors.

My Broken Lands; or, (Five Reasons) Why I Love Planet Brooklyn...

[ From Brooklyn Online, A Short History of Brooklyn ] :

In 1646, the Village of Breuckelen was authorized by the Dutch West India Company and became the first municipality in what is now New York State (the predecessors of the Cities of Albany and New York were numbers two and three, respectively).

Five Random Brooklyn Links:

1. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden - I love this spot! Last year me and W-C would spend a couple hours there to get away from the rest of the world. Just sitting on the Cherry Esplanade and listening to music was a tremendous release from the pressures of the world.

2. The Brooklyn Public Library - can't compete with the New York Public Library in terms of collections (in terms of size and breadth), but it's a great get away and an essential resource if you're poor like me.

3. Fort Greene Park - often stopped there with the kiddies when I worked at the nearby Fort Greene Youth Patrol the summer preceding my senior year of high school.

4. Brooklyn Cyclones - Haven't watched a single game, but I did pass by the stadium when I visited Coney Island with Owen not too ago.

5. Prospect Park - A great place to do just about anything -- boating, the zoo, nature walks, etc. Including cruising (if that's your thang! ;-) *ahem* not like I ever did that!

Deny, Deny, Deny...

In Re: Central Park 5 -- Introducting Mike Sheehan

Mike Sheehan, now a TV correspondent for Fox Channel 5, defended the original probe yesterday despite DNA evidence that links the rape to another man not among those charged with the crime 13 years ago.

Sheehan also denied that the youths' confessions were coerced or obtained by trickery.

They confessed "to a lady prosecutor ... on videotape in detail" in front of their parents and guardians, he said.

"Where's the coercion?"

Sheehan is the first cop or prosecutor connected with the original investigation to speak out since Matias Reyes, a jailed killer and convicted rapist, stunned authorities by admitting he raped the jogger.

The retired homicide detective vented outside Manhattan Supreme Court in a clash with defense lawyers who faulted the first probe and accused prosecutors of stalling efforts to exonerate the youths, now all adults.

Not mentioned in the article: Sheehan was in on the arrest of Reyes weeks after he and others coerced "confessions" from the CP5. This is a clear case of protecting your ass in the face of credible evidence of police/prosecutorial misconduct. That or complete incompetence that allowed Reyes to rape and kill while seemingly innocent citizens were jailed.

Expect a big update some time next week. Don't hold me to early in the week, though.

New Harlem, Old Problems

[ From Newsday - Things Are Looking Uptown ] :

New housing, new stores and office buildings are replacing abandoned land -- vacant lots where buildings were torn down 30 years ago in the name of urban renewal -- and burned-out, boarded-up buildings that had become eyesores. Even the venerable Apollo Theater is being updated and plans to expand.

But along with the improvements have come complaints from community activists, politicians and small- business owners that some businesses and low-income residents are being forced out by skyrocketing rents.

But all is not well in the New Harlem:

"We have seen flight from below 96th Street. People are taking refuge above 125th Street because of 9/11," community activist Nellie Hester Bailey said. One result of all this, said Bailey, executive director of the Harlem Tenants Council, has been rents that no longer are affordable for long-time residents.

State Sen. David A. Paterson, a Democrat whose district includes Harlem, agreed. "I am going to be the first elected official to leave office because I can't afford to live in my own district," he said. "That's how high the rents have skyrocketed in Harlem."

Open Ya Ears

[ From the Rap Dictionary ] :

wilding

(adj) To act without rational thought. Wilding was a term not used until the Central park jogger attack in 1989. The victim in this case was raped, and, upon being questioned, kids in the neighborhood of the attackers had said that they had done the "Wild Thing" (after the Tone Loc release). Misinterpreted by reporters not accustomed to the slurred speech of the attackers, the term wilding was born out of the NYC media's lust for a catch phrase. (Info from: "Black Studies, Rap and the Academy" by Houston Baker Jr.) "Across the street you was wilding" -- Nas (?? [1996])

{Ed.: emphasis mine}

Happy Birthday Jessye Norman

[ Thanks to Jonno for the reminder ] :

Jessye Norman was born in Augusta, Georgia on September 15th in 1945. She grew up in the kind of family that encourages children to go to college. Her father Silas was an insurance broker and died in 1979. Her mother, Janie King Norman, worked as a secretary for the Democratic Party and also as auditor for the church. Jessye Norman and her four siblings lived in a happy and financially secure family, which gave her support. She describes her parents as "looking after all of us and working as hard as they could to make certain all of us got an education" . They gave that motivation further to their children who were expected to do well at their work. Music was an intergral part of their lives, as Jessye Norman says, it was "as natural as breathing" . She started singing at the young age of two. At four she started singing in churches and actually had a whole repertoire then. Her earliest inspiration was Marian Anderson, a great contralto, singing Brahms "Alto Rhapsody" on the radio. Role models for her adult career were Leontyne Price and Joan Sutherland.

My Uncle Ernest is a big fan of Jessye. He loves her almost as much as he worships Marian Anderson. I was fortunate enough to catch her during a benefit performance for Balm In Gilead (the "official" link is busted as of this writing) back in 1996.

I'm lazy, so I won't hack a list of Jessye links.

Another Case of Democratic Indifference

[ From Keith Boykin, USAToday.com | Black, Hispanic Duo a Test for U.S. Politics ] :

Supporters hail Kirk and Sanchez as "the dream team." The candidates -- both affluent, well-connected to the conservative Texas business establishment, and trying to appeal to a broad spectrum of voters -- deliberately eschew the label. "I'm not running as a Hispanic," Sanchez tells a reporter. "The fact that I'm African-American is irrelevant," insists Kirk.

Maybe it is to Texas voters, maybe not. But in terms of national politics, Sanchez and Kirk represent something unprecedented. Since 1879, there have been 1,864 members of the U.S. Senate; only 15 have been minorities. Of 2,200 governors, nine have been minorities. Most minority politicians who want to run for top statewide jobs have been discouraged by party leaders who fear they will hurt the ticket. Now Texas Democrats are turning conventional political wisdom on its head.

This is Texas. So they both have a snowball's chance in hell of winning. Whites will publically vow to vote for them, but once they're behind the curtain...

Reminds me of David Dinkins' two races for NYC mayor years and years ago.

Ain't Got Ish to Do With Puffy

[ From Mother Jones Online | thediddlyawards ] :

Nominees for The September 11 Demagoguery Award

Rep. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) suggested that a good strategy to combat terrorism would be to "arrest every Muslim that crosses the state line."

Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) told NBC that Chelsea almost died in the World Trade Center collapse. Chelsea, meanwhile, was writing a piece explaining how she was in Manhattan but nowhere near the towers.

Rep. John Cooksey (R-La.) told a radio audience, right after 9/11, "If I see someone come in that's got a diaper on his head and a fan belt wrapped around the diaper on his head, that guy needs to be pulled over."

Freshman Rep. Brian Kerns (R-Ind.) told his hometown paper that he'd witnessed the disaster at the Pentagon: "I'm in shock. I thought it was strange that they were letting airplanes still fly after the World Trade Center. Then it was so low, and it just banked into the building. I still can't believe it."

and the winner is...

A Surprise (To No One Paying Close Attention)

SURPRISE, SURPRISE (Only if you're a racist or warblogger... same difference)

"It's conclusive that Mr. Butt did not run that toll plaza," Kubiliun told Reuters. "This is just further evidence that the young men have been telling the truth all along."

I'm not surprised. What would surprise me is if the warbloggers were to offer apologies and/or write significant posts about the racist shit that started all of this mess.

I'm not holding my breath though.

Who's in Charge Here?!

Get on the streets and watch them. Up, down, pick up after dog, walk to the trash can, everywhere you look, up, down, up, down, walk four yards, stop, walk, stop, people reduced to the level of swine doing whatever this grubby meaningless germ-laden dog wants.

There is a blind arrogance to somebody walking a dog until the dog has a spot right in front of you to urinate or otherwise. Then the arrogance suddenly becomes outright groveling: the stooping to clean up after an animal.

These people feel that their dogs have the same right to the sidewalks of the city that a human being does.

Hardly. The dogs have no rights and no souls. They interfere with the rights of others.

I feel sorry for most dogs, having to be closed up in an apartment all day. That is the measure of class of the owner. They have the dog in jail all day.

At the same time, I despise having the dog on the same sidewalk with me.

I should read Jimmy Breslin on a regular basis. So should you.

Time Up Motherflower!

[ From the Amsterdam News Online | Time's Up For the DA ] :

The DA's office, which has been aware of Matias Reyes' confession since January that he raped the jogger back in 1989, was given a court date of Oct. 21 to determine what it would do in light of the lawyers’ motion that all the verdicts be set aside against the five youths.

''Even at that date in October, they could ask for more time,'' Warren said. ''They are scrambling – trying to cover their behinds.''

Reyes' confession is the source of the DA's consternation. It is a confession bolstered by DNA evidence at the crime scene that matches Reyes' DNA. A portion of Reyes's confession follows:

''I was drawn by her appearance and I just had to have her. As she proceeded to jog, not knowing that I was behind her [she had on earphones] ... I keep zig-zagging. At one point, I picked up a tree branch with both hands. As she made a slight left turn, I continued to follow her. A short distance later, I hit her over the head with the tree branch. She fell down, and I dragged her into the bushy area. She was talking to me and holding her head. I took off her clothing [and raped her]. ... At one point she got loose and ran a short distance, more into the area. I grabbed her again and brought her down, covered her face and continued to beat her with a rock.''

This confession was obtained by an investigator on the case and was notarized in August. The victim was beaten so severely that she remained in a coma for 12 days, after losing three-quarters of her blood. She had no memory of the event during the trial.

OK, I lied. I probably won't get around to a big, I mean BIG update on the Central Park 5 till mid-week next week at the earliest. I'm sure you five regular visitors have already read updated posts/stories online.

Still hoping to track down copies of the City Sun from that time because its coverage was by far the best at highlighting the irregularities and racism surrounding the case. That this is a frameup is obvious. We'll see if the guys will have their names cleared sometime next month.

The Makings of An Obsession

[ from Victoria Ward, Artistic Director of Stage Forward ] :

September 15, 2002

Buried in the 9/11 hoopla was a fictitious report posted by MSNBC of an alleged rape of four Westchester, New York, girls by seven black men. This is reminiscent ot the contrived journalism of the Central Park Jogger rape case that is being revisited for recent revelations. Fortunately, this time, there was no repeat of the mass racist hysteria prompted as before as the claims of these delinquent females were easily disproved: reporting that two of them were raped by a single black man in a car while the others checked into a Times Square hotel after a long night of drinking and barhopping. None of these girls recalled where these supposed attacks occurred, nor did any witnesses, video tape surveillance, or credit card track become evident. This time, there were no arrests of innocent black men for the sake of these teenagers that apparently had to make up elaborate excuses for not contacting their families in a timely fashion after attending the MTV Video Music Awards and offering themselves sexually, by their own admission, to meet a rap artist, to no avail. MSNBC, through their News12 Westchester affiliate, was beguiled into reporting the fabrication, but as no other medium picked up the lead (as the report was baseless), the story soon died. With that only exception, overall, this is a greater demonstration of responsible news reporting and police investigation than of the prior slanted, hysterical journalism and corrupt prosecution that are finally being revealed. For example, in an interview by Amy Goodman of Pacifica Radio's Democracy NOW!, New York City Councilman Bill Perkins and defense attorneys Michael Warren and Roger Wareham discuss the previously surpressed confession by Matias Reyes and report of his DNA matching against the Central Park victim, and the recent attempts by certain members of the NYPD and the prosecution to cover up the wrongful arrests and convictions. However belatedly, with continued objective and honest scrutiny, it is likely that the victims of these crimes will be somewhat satistfied and those reporters and prosecutors that willfully paticipated in setting up these undeserved convictions, while allowing the true fatal danger to continue, will be held accountable in a court of law, at the very least in consequence to their own reputations and careers.

All of that is to say I have a new obsession.

Justice Gets Beaten Down, Again

Another Racist Cops Gets Off Easy; Does this suprise anyone?

Under a last-minute agreement that gave prosecutors and defense lawyers the ability to avoid the uncertainties of a fourth trial of Mr. Schwarz, which had been scheduled to begin tomorrow, the government dropped an additional charge of perjury and two charges of violating Mr. Louima's civil rights. Prosecutors also said they would ask prison officials to recommend a reduction of the sentence to just under four years if Mr. Schwarz abides by the terms of the agreement.

One central condition of the deal essentially prohibits Mr. Schwarz from stating publicly that he is innocent of the civil rights violations, that he held Mr. Louima down while another officer, Justin A. Volpe, sodomized Mr. Louima with a broken broomstick.

In a half-empty courtroom just before 9 p.m., Judge Reena Raggi ended one of the longest and most wrenching legal battles in the city's recent history by formally sentencing Mr. Schwarz to five years.

This despite the fact that judicial rulings days before the trial was suppose to begin made Schwarz's laughable defense almost impossible to prevail.

Does it even make sense to mention that his ass was saved when a single biased juror forced a mistrial on the most serious charges at his last trial?

Blythe House Blast

From writer and editor Aldo Alvarez:

Blithe House Quarterly : a site for gay short fiction invites you to browse its Fall 2002 edition featuring

Shannon Cain, Clint Catalyst, Elizabeth Crowell, Shelley Ettinger, Jenny Hall, A. C. Koch, Manuel Munoz, Emmet Caravello Quinn, Rebecca Walker, and, Duane Williams

Edited by Tisa Bryant and Barry Matthews
Illustrations and design by Steve MacIsaac
Series Editor: Aldo Alvarez

Reading Is Fundamental: Central Park 5 Edition

Central Park Jogger case book list:

Two important books to pick up and read Re: Central Park 5 -- reading them will give some insight in the case and illustrate how the frameup came about.

And the Blood Cried Out by former Manhattan Assistant DA Harlan Levy. A few years ago he stated "We lied," about evidence used to convict the boys.

Unequal Verdicts: The Central Park Jogger Trials by Timothy Sullivan, current VP for Court-TV daytime.

Currently trying to obtain both to post on the subsite later this week (hopefully,) and early next month.

Current read: Let the Dead Bury Their Dead and Other Stories by Randall Kenan. So far, a great read. From the bodacious opening story, to the quite enjoyable middle portion, Tim Creek (Kenan's fictional burg reminiscent of Faulkner's work) will fascinate and intrigue. Folk on the subway must think I'm a madman because I've laughed out loud often while reading this book.

Wahchit Now!

I keep tellin' Lynne she's gonna hurt somebody! ;-)

(see the entry entitled for the love of art and money for the story behind the comment)

Tuning In to the Truth

Last Post Till October (?)

A reminder from TalkLeft:

The infamous Central Park Jogger case, thought long solved, will go to court again in October even though five teens who confessed already served their sentences. Now, a convicted rapist-murderer says he committed the brutal 1989 rape and beating of a New York City woman. In an interview to air on ABCNEWS' Primetime on Thursday, [ as part of its coverage of Confused Confessions ] the man, Matias Reyes, says no one else was involved: "I was alone that night.

I'll be tuning in on Thursday night and can't wait to see what conservabloggers will come up with next.

And it appears that that big Central Park Jogger update I promised earlier this month will happen some time early next month. In the process of a temporary apartment move, getting busy with a business idea and attempting to find some decent time off (although that'll probably mean a long weekend of researching and writing for familial projects).

Words of a Monster

Calling himself "a monster," the killer whose surprise confession reopened the Central Park jogger case has told in graphic detail for the first time his account of the horrifying crime. "I guess she was conscious and scared, whatever," Matias Reyes told ABC's "Primetime Thursday" in a chilling interview to be aired tonight about the 1989 attack on a young investment banker.

'Lead Detective' My Ass! More Like Misleading...

A detective who investigated the rape and near-fatal beating of a female jogger in Central Park 13 years ago says he doubts that an imprisoned rapist-murderer who has confessed to the attack did it alone.

Detective Burt Arroyo told ABC News' ``Primetime Thursday'' that while DNA tests show that the convict, Matias Reyes, left semen at the scene, no witnesses or informants mentioned him among 30-odd names they gave to police.
[ ... ]

Arroyo said he does not believe Reyes. He said he thinks Reyes stumbled upon the woman and raped her again after she had already been raped, bludgeoned and left for dead by the group.

``He wasn't described by anyone in the group and he doesn't know anyone in the group,'' the detective said. ``I do believe he was at the scene. He admits to it. There's DNA that links him to it. But he wasn't with them at the time, when they were all there.''

While I'm sure Arroyo's subsequent conviction (for misappropriating cocaine from a dead suspect) will be mentioned, I'm curious as to how quick it'll be mentioned and then forgotten.

Reyes is a Psychopath: One-Time Attorney

A one-time attorney for the convicted murderer whose DNA has been linked to the 1989 rape of a Central Park jogger said yesterday that his client could have committed the brutal crime - but that he also could have made up parts of his story.

"Matias Reyes is a classic psychopath," defense attorney Richard Siracusa said in a phone interview. "He's fully capable of doing what he's confessed to. I don't think it's made up, but you never know: Guys like that - they can't separate fact from fancy."

Siracusa represented Reyes, now 31, after the delicatessen clerk was arrested in August 1989 and charged with four rapes - and the murder of one of his victims - in apartments on the Upper East Side. He took over for another court-appointed attorney, who was relieved after Reyes tried to attack him.
[ ... ]

Retired detective Mike Sheehan, now a reporter for Channel 5, who investigated both the jogger and the Reyes cases in 1989, has said Reyes could have been part of a larger group that attacked the woman, "or he came after them." Retired detective Burt Arroyo, who also investigated the case, does not believe Reyes was part of the original group, according to an interview with ABC-TV's "Prime Time Thursday" that is to air tonight.

Stallin' Ain't Denyin'

''They feel that by stalling the case it will lose its impact and go away,'' said attorney Roger Wareham, who, along with attorney Michael Warren, is representing three of the convicted youths in the case ? Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray and Raymond Santana. All but Santana have been released after serving 5- to 15-year terms. Santana remains behind bars on a separate charge.

The DA's office, which has been aware of Matias Reyes' confession since January that he raped the jogger back in 1989, was given a court date of Oct. 21 to determine what it would do in light of the lawyers? motion that all the verdicts be set aside against the five youths.

Just Ugh!

Ugh!

Posts, rants and obsessions to resume shortly.