Every year you hear fireworks horror stories. They’re still coming in, but I doubt any will top this one:
Residents at the party began shooting off fireworks in the street — which is illegal — when someone accidentally knocked over an explosive that was supposed to shoot skyward.
Instead of going up, the explosive launched sideways into a party-goer’s 2005 Ford Escape with the hatchback open and right into an arsenal of fireworks in the trunk estimated to be worth between $2,000 and $3,000, according to police.
That set off all of the fireworks inside of the vehicle, setting the car on fire, and shot a large mortar at the house across the street, crashing through the front window.
This is the fruit of a relaxed fireworks law that passed a few years back. Although I must admit, it might have been fun to see that.
So the week is underway — hot weather, storms on the way, followed by storms and cooler. The narrative of the summer. Spent the first day of the week in Ann Arbor, the office mostly deserted, the chickadees singing in the trees. Not a bad Monday.
Some bloggage:
Nighty-night, Bill Cosby. These quaaludes will help you sleep. Deadpan is digging up the documents, and it’s every bit as squicky as you’d expect:
(The alleged victim, the plaintiff) didn’t ask for any money—only an apology—but Cosby still offered her money, according to his testimony, for her “education.” He also offered money to another woman. From the same plaintiff’s motion (emphasis added is mine):
Defendant testified that even though both Plaintiff and her mother told him that all they wanted was an apology, he called Plaintiff’s home and spoke to her mother to offer money for Plaintiff’s “education.” The following occurred during questioning about that event:
Q. So, are you saying that Andrea would have to prove to you that she got a 3.0 average wherever she went in order for you to pay for her education?
A. She would have to prove to me that while she was at said university that she was maintaining a 3.0.
Now there’s a conscience laundry, eh?
“True Detective” fans might enjoy this take on the obvious model for fictional Vinci, California — Vernon, California. A bad place.
I wish I had more, but alas. Let’s try for better tomorrow.
Hattie said on July 7, 2015 at 1:35 am
Hoo hoo! Any photos of the fireworks debacle?
45 chars
Sherri said on July 7, 2015 at 2:27 am
I’m hoping for some cooler weather soon. I was in the steamy South, back home for a couple of warmer than usual days, and now I’m in Ashland, OR, where the temp has been up around 100 every day. But it’s not much cooler at home, where the temps have been in the 90s, and at least here I’m in an air-conditioned hotel room! Fortunately, it looks like the heat wave will break about the time we head back home.
We’re here for our annual trip to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. This year is pretty good, but not quite as good as the last couple of years, at least not in the plays I’ve seen so far. Our favorites so far are a world premiere of Fingersmith, based on the book of the same name, the musical Guys and Dolls, and a nicely done Much Ado About Nothing.
763 chars
Dexter said on July 7, 2015 at 3:06 am
Galena, Illinois, was used as the town near the farm in “Field of Dreams”. My sister-in-law loves the place so much she just bought a house there. She and my brother will soon be moving in, leaving their Chicago exurb.
A church and neighborhood in Cleveland were used as a Pennsylvania steel town scene venue in “The Deer Hunter”.
335 chars
Brandon said on July 7, 2015 at 3:49 am
Although I must admit, it might have been fun to see that.
No thanks.
79 chars
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on July 7, 2015 at 6:52 am
Dexter — and that “Deer Hunter” neighborhood in Cleveland is just a few blocks north of the street and house used to film “A Christmas Story” (and its under-appreciated cousin “A Summer Story”).
195 chars
beb said on July 7, 2015 at 8:21 am
A feedback note to JC. That fix you made to yesterday’s comments seemed to have done the trick. I wanted to wait till I was back using the same browser before reporting.
Blowing up $2000 worth of fireworks and a SUV is quite an accomplishment but when it comes to terrible news the deaths of men in Michigan and Maine by trying to launch fireworks from off their heads — that is terrible news.
A 19 year old boy meets a girl on-line who says she’s legal (17) but turns out was only 14 when they had sex. Even though the girl lied to him and he has cooperated with the police every step of the way he’s going to put on Florida’s Sexual predator list in order to send a message to others*…. Meanwhile, Bill Cosby has, apparently, all but confessed that he drugged and raped dozens of woman and what’s going to happen to him? Nothing apparently.
Oh, and Jill Duggar, one of the victims of Josh Duggars serial fondling, has suddenly left the country with her husband and new-born baby to do “missionary work” in some undisclosed location. This right after that one non-Duggar to be sexually assaulted by Josh announced she was planning to sue….
* Justice is supposed to fair, equitable and blind. When when a judge says I’m throwing the book at so-and-so to send a message it seems like justice is being terrible vindictive. I feel that every time a judge says his sentencing is intended to send a message his sentence should be reviewed and adjusted.
1476 chars
Peter said on July 7, 2015 at 8:57 am
Well as Billy Sol Hurok would say on SCTV’s Farm Film Report: That fireworks blowed up real good!
98 chars
Dorothy said on July 7, 2015 at 9:42 am
Speaking of school reunions (one of yesterday’s topics) and judges, did anyone else see this last week?
http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Miami-Dade-Judge-Former-Middle-School-Classmate-Burglary-Suspect-Have-Emotional-Court-Reunion-311465501.html
252 chars
Icarus said on July 7, 2015 at 10:36 am
@beb, that particular judge has a reputation for overreaching. He apparently placed a woman in jail over christmas because she swore while paying a fine.
“Berrien County District Court Judge Dennis Wiley (who once jailed a woman for 10 days over Christmas because she cursed while paying a traffic ticket in the county clerk’s office)”
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/12/07/when-judges-need-disciplining/20053455/
439 chars
alex said on July 7, 2015 at 11:35 am
Cosby I couldn’t give a wet rip about, but I’d be majorly bummed to find out anything bad about Jared the Subway guy.
280 chars
Suzanne said on July 7, 2015 at 1:25 pm
I am trying to withhold judgement on Jared, but I do recall a conversation years ago with someone who knew someone who worked at the Subway where he ate lunch at every day. (You know the story). What I was told is that he ate there every day because he was enamored with one of the workers and she wouldn’t go out with him but he came in everyday in order to keep trying. He apparently lived several miles away and had no car, so he walked, and this is what led to his weight loss more than the sandwiches. The weight loss by stalking diet.
540 chars
Dexter said on July 7, 2015 at 1:59 pm
Oh my. I had heard Jared’s home was raided but no particulars. Whatever plays out, I am sure he’s already hiring a legal team.
I read a strange story about 20 years ago in The Blade. A forty-ish man from some little town south of Toledo was busted by the FBI and sent to prison for a while.
His crime was illustrating “comic books” which portrayed horrid child porn scenes. Also he free-lanced on his own, drawing and selling what were described as sickening scenes involving children, all from his own sick mind. His defense was simply that his work was simply art, free speech…that line. But…the case went before a jury and the man went to Orient prison or Lima prison.
Just before I retired, at work were advertised Dell computers for sale…I guess they never claimed they were brand new… this was in the days of unavoidable unwanted constant pop-ups. As soon as I got online, my screen was layered with porn pop-ups. These featured adults, and it took me a long time to finally scrub all that shit off the drive.
No harm there but during the same time period in a town not far from me the local yokel cops raided a guy’s house on a tip and confiscated his computer and found child porn on it…the man pleaded that it came from unwanted pop-us, but then again,he had become a regular viewer of that criminal content. That guy got two years in the state slammer.
Jared? Nobody knows what will come from this, but who wants to bet he skates away, not one day behind bars?
1504 chars
Brandon said on July 7, 2015 at 3:13 pm
Comedian Faizon Love, for more on Cosby:
https://twitter.com/faizonlove
74 chars
LAMary said on July 7, 2015 at 3:14 pm
I first read it hours ago but I’m still disgusted by Bill Cosby’s GPA requirement for his rape victim payoff.
109 chars
Judybusy said on July 7, 2015 at 4:43 pm
Power and control, Mary–which I know you know. Just an extra level of asshole. And Suzanne’s story about Jarend: eeew.
119 chars
brian stouder said on July 7, 2015 at 5:00 pm
And the kicker is – Bill Cosby is (was) a STAR! It’s not like he’d have any trouble finding a person who wanted to hook up, and then forever be able to say she knew Bill Cosby…or at the very least, the guy could afford to hire the highest-end (so to speak) professional sex-worker.
But apparently there exists within him an insuperable maliciousness, which required that he seize control and victimize a person, for it to work for him.
The question arises – what the hell happened to that guy in his life, for this to be how he operates?
In hindsight, his funny stories on his comedy albums (we had the vinyl, back in the day) had a consistent undertone of dread. The funny line in one is where he says his dad yelled “I brought you into this world, and I can take you out of it”.
This is definitely fouled up
831 chars
beb said on July 7, 2015 at 5:27 pm
One note about Jared is that he has a charity for fighting childhood obesity. A couple months ago he fired someone there who was later convicted of child pornography. So there exists the possibility that this might be revenge (false accusation) from that former employee.
271 chars
Deborah said on July 7, 2015 at 5:49 pm
What can be exciting about having sex with an inert being, like a woman who’s been knocked out by quaaludes? I don’t get that part at all. Why would anyone want to have sex with an unconscious person? That is seriously sick. Of course having sex with someone against their will is completely sick, sick, sick, but really what is the turn-on? I probably don’t want an answer to this question without getting into all manner of disgusting depravity. Never mind.
459 chars
Deborah said on July 7, 2015 at 6:53 pm
One of the things about fireworks that has always baffled me is how people can afford them. They are extremely expensive, at least in NM they are. They’re also extremely dangerous to shoot off in the desert. Our neighbors in Santa Fe, shot them off until sometime after midnight and I kept thinking that one of the neighbor’s houses was going to go up in flames. If I read Nancy’s post correctly, the car that was hit by the stray explosive had $2,000-3,000 worth of fireworks in it. I mean seriously, who spends that much on fireworks?
536 chars
Andrea said on July 7, 2015 at 8:01 pm
Cosby is gross and I’m glad that it is now unequivocal. However, I do not understand how his wife continues to stand by him.
http://www.salon.com/2015/07/07/how_long_can_camille_cosby_keep_defending_bill/
205 chars
jcburns said on July 7, 2015 at 10:40 pm
My friend (and fellow WTBS alum) Mary Brennan wrote a wonderful essay on ‘My Own Southern Heritage’ and I commend it to you.
221 chars
Wim said on July 8, 2015 at 8:38 am
I liked Mary Brennan’s thoughts on her own Southern heritage. I wish she were widely emulated in the choices Southerners make.
Now, Jared. Oh where have all the heroes gone?
180 chars
Jessica said on July 8, 2015 at 4:06 pm
For Jared we really have to wait and see – we know nothing about what was discovered and nothing about the reason, though there may well be a revenge accusation involved.
It’s a big leap from a rumor of possibly stalker-y crush on a Subway employee to likelihood of child porn.
281 chars