Roman Edirisinghe

A Jimmy John’s driver got robbed, shot and killed as he attempted to make a delivery in the neighborhood of Humboldt and Burleigh, in Milwaukee’s Riverwest. Not far from my home, my friends. Very frightening.

This took place about 3 blocks away from the Art Bar, where owner Don Krause was shot in the chest by a 14 year old kid. Thankfully, he lived, but the problems remain: somehow, idiots having no regard for human life are obtaining guns and wreaking havok on innocent people.

Sounds like the war in Iraq.

How can a nation whose history is steeped in warfare have any hope of raising children that shun violence?

The problem is compounded by those who think purchasing a gun solves the problem.

This gun violence must stop.

A general question to any who may have some experience in this matter:

Regarding those guys (haven’t seen a woman… yet) who hold up “job needed” posters at highway exits…

Does it work? Does anyone actually hire them? If so, for what purpose?
Every time I see one of those men, I wonder about these things.

My mother told me that when I was born, the nurse brought me back into the room (this was Communist-era Russia, where they whisked off the baby immediately after delivery for some ridiculous reason) and said, “Now you know why they call them ‘black ass’,” before handing me to my mom. Evidently the nurse never saw the other side of me, because she would have likely fainted, as my cock is the blackest part of me (other than my dark, twisted personality, or course).

My mom never told me until relatively recently and it made me realize that I was the recipient of racism at birth.

It’s like a scar, you know? A fucking stain on the face of humanity.

Last night, we went to see Sufjan Stevens at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee. Interesting show in a lovely theater. Acoustics and sound reinforcement were excellent. The show itself was quite visual. He had something like 20 musicians on stage, all dressed up in butterfly costumes with wings. I’m still trying to figure out how to feel about the show. Part of my feelings have to do less with the music and more with my fellow audience.
I was irked by the lack of courtesy of the patrons. Many flash bulbs were going off in my vicinity, and it was not even remotely pleasant in a dark theater. As if taking a flash picture from the back of the theater has any hopes of illuminating the distant performers! Some people turned off their flash bulbs but kept their camera LCD screens on, which was even more distracting. The idiot sitting next to me was drinking bad wine (the mere smell was putting me to sleep), and was text messaging someone on his giant cellphone (equipped with full keyboard and sizable LCD). Why the fuck would you go to a concert if you’re going to spend even part of the time text messaging? At one point, after several flash bulbs annoyed me to all hell, I leaned over to him and said, “Sorry to bother you, but that’s bothering me.” He apologized and put it away. At least he wasn’t a prick about it. And for the rest of the show, no one took any flash pictures, at least no one around me.

People are so caught up in their fricking gadgets that they have no sense of courtesy. Or maybe people are just stupid assholes.

On a similar note, Wired News has a great article on the drawbacks of cell phone use.

When I visited Future Green today, I found out Bootz had slept for 1.5 hours at some point the previous evening, and he was looking better rested. Again, there were many people present, some of whom had known him his whole life, and it was a festive event. As usual, we took great pains to make sure he was not only paying attention to the task at hand, but not getting bored or tired.

The video below is of me balancing a Tibetan singing bowl on Bootz’s head, and what transpired thereafter:

And, in case anyone is interested in watching other videos of this event, I’ve got a playlist set up at YouTube.

Bootz briefly read from some Dr. Seuss today. We were all quite amused, and I think it helped break up the monotony for him.

Also, check out more pictures of this event on Flickr.

I just got back from being a time witness for my friend Bootz’s attempt at breaking the world record held for the longest time spent speaking. He is very slowly and methodically reciting Burmese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi‘s literature, and it has been quite an adventure for all of us. Those four hours went by quicker than I thought they would!

Bootz still needs health witnesses for Monday-Wednesday of next week. Please contact me and leave me your phone number if you’re interested & available.

Here is a great one of Bootz reading while visiting the bathroom:

More pictures can be viewed at this event’s Flickr gallery

Those who have watched the cult film, The Princess Bride, may remember the following quote:

Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father: prepare to die.

Is is odd that it came to mind as I was reading a BBC article on a Somali execution?

I saw a moving flick last night, entitled Born Into Brothels. It was about the children of sex workers in Calcutta’s red light district. I cried.

You have got to see this. I’m simply too tired right now to post anything concrete.

More info via IMDb.com

Find out more about these children at the Kids With Cameras Web site

Check out reviews and responses here | here | here | here

Yesterday, I heard about the shooting in Brookfield. This is what happens when people take religion a bit too far. Is there actually any benefit to these paranoiac fundamentalists wandering around spreading their distorted views of the Gospel? What would Jesus say?

My opinion (which is based on experience) is that religious fundamentalists are essentially insane, or specifically obsessive-compulsive. They focus on their religious icons to the point where they are no longer aware of reality. Furthermore, they impose their views on everyone else, and create laws to enforce those views. Take our president, for example. The Brookfield gunman, Terry Ratzmann, had apparently been suffering from depression for years. What better way than Jesus to treat a clinical disorder?

via TheMilwaukeeChannel | more | more
via DailyTimes
via Reuters
via FoxNews