Tag Archives: marijuana

A Hurricane Refugee Unpacks ► Unpacking The Writer

September 17, 2017Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Wilma, marijuana, Medical Marijuana, MMJ, Pastor Kenny, Pastoral Letter, Road TripHeadly Westerfield

Apologies to my faithful readers. I know the Not Now Silly Newsroom has been idle lately. To start I’ve needed to Lyft to keep up with my bills. Then along comes Hurricane Irma, which I fled before she ever arrived.

I lived through Hurricane Wilma, which was a Cat 2. Irma was a monster which, at one point, was a Cat 5 and headed straight for the condo. I decided that I didn’t want to see a 5. I had my hurricane fun during Wilma. So I fucked off, in the vernacular.

Drove to the Detroit area, where I have family and friends. Shared driving and expenses with a fellow I’ve known as a facefriend for several years, but we’ve never met before. I packed Marley up, picked Steve up in Boca Raton, and we headed north where we had adventures on the roads. This includes 18 hours trying to get out of Florida in bumper-to-bumper traffic with gas availability troubles. But, we got to Michigan eventually.

This is what they do when Rest Areas have no power. Welcome to the New World Order.

These ROAD TRIP stories go into the pipeline, if I ever get to them.

Click to read about previous Road Trips.

Definitely in the pipeline is a new Pastoral Letter, for those that enjoy that series.

I had been banging away at one in a desultory fashion before I left. However, on this trip to Michigan I took another drive to Ann Arbor. This time I had the honour to watch Pastor Ken Pastorize his flock at Blue Ocean Faith.

That was followed by lunch with several of Ken’s parishioners, one of whom I may have made hate me. That’s a story I will definitely write about. Stay tuned.

Then I convinced Ken to visit the old neighbourhood in Detroit, some of which I posted on the LIVE facebookery. [Trying to figure out how to post those here.] All of this time spent with my oldest friend in the world not only focused my thoughts on the next Pastoral Letter, but has also given me insight on many of the other topics the Not Now Silly Newsroom tends to commission from me. So, look for some of that sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, here’s Pastor Ken Wilson giving me a Shout Out and then going on to talk about his struggle in finding his place within Jesus Christ. I’ve probably described it wrong, but I found it fascinating. Your mileage may vary.

10 Sep 2017—Blue Ocean Faith Ann Arbor Celebration
from Blue Ocean Faith Ann Arbor on Vimeo.

ALSO: I think I’ve figured out a way to go back to writing about Miami politics. Therefore, consider my recusal a partial recusal. I just have to find the exact right wording. So, you can also look for that.

Taking Marley on a Road Trip was an experience. I’ve never traveled with a cat before and Marley has never spent much time in a car before. I hope The Traveling Cat is a post I can eventually get around to. Suffice to say for now: Marley did wonderfully in the car for all those hours. She got to the point where she wandered around the car at will, including on my lap and under my feet, while I was driving. Ahem.

A shameless plug for my other traveling companion:

Steve Dibert is a Mortgage Fraud Investigator.

Altho’ we’ve been facefriends for several years, we had never met. After almost 50 hours together in a car, we’re tight now and he knows enough to blackmail me. He tolerated Marley, even tho’ he’s allergic. He tolerated all my stupid stories. He tolerated all of my tunes without complaint, including — and especially — the hours and hours of Frank Zappa. [No exaggeration. Not only did we hear nearly 8 hours of Frank Zappa, but I explained everything I knew about every one of the songs.] And, after all of that, he didn’t kill me.

If you need some mortgage fraud investigation, give MFI Miami a try.

I went to a great Drum Circle at this place [pic to the right]. It’s the 2nd time I’ve been there over the years, and I will write a little bit about it eventually. I want to compare it to Drum Circles I know.

While in Michigan (as I always do) I talked to marijuana enthusiasts and learned more about the Michigan MMJ laws. This will eventually be published as a long-form article, but I’ve been adding to my knowledge and connections for years.

As well, I made a business connection on this trip which could put me on ground floor of a start-up [tangentially] in that field. You’ll be the first to know when I can announce that. However, I don’t want to be on the ground floor. I want to be on the elevator to the penthouse. Rub your lucky rabbit foot.

There’s more in the pipeline, but here’s the bottom line, literally: 10 days away from my Lyfting — and the gas money and other associated expenses of running away — has really put a hurt on my bank account. I’ll try to post a few quick one-offs in the coming week, but I’m really going to have to hunker down behind the wheel of the Grey Ghost and grind out the Lyfts. If I can drive to Michigan and back, this should be a cinch.

See you on the flip flop.

Paul McCartney Deported From Japan ► Monday Musical Appreciation

January 25, 2016Japan, marijuana, Monday Music, Monday Musical Appreciation, Paul McCartney, Sir Paul McCartney, The Beatles, Unplugged, WingsHeadly Westerfield

It was 36 years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to — OOPS! On this day in 1980, Paul McCartney was kicked out of Japan for trying to smuggle almost half a pound of marijuana into the country.

Sir Paul, his wife Linda, and his band Wings were about to embark on what would have been a lucrative tour of Japan. McCartney had not been to Japan since The Beatles tour of 1966, where they were greeted by enthusiastic audiences.

However, this Wings tour would end before it began when Japanese customs officials at Narita airport discovered close to eight ounces of marijuana right on the very top of his suitcase. The cute Beatle was promptly marched off to jail, where he spent the next 9 days behind bars.

This was not McCartney’s first bust for dope. In fact, he had been nabbed more than once, receiving little more than a slap on the wrist. According to the Performing Songwriter web site:

Prior to his arrest in Tokyo, Macca had been busted three times. In 1972, he paid a $2,000 fine for smuggling hashish into Sweden. The same year, he was fined for pot possession in Scotland, and in 1973, he was fined again for growing cannabis on his Scottish highlands farm. The story goes that before the Japanese tour, Paul was made to sign an affidavit stating that he no longer smoked dope, as a condition for receiving his visa. When the pot was found, Japanese authorities felt that they’d “lost face” and had no choice but to arrest him.

While 8 ounces of pot is not an extreme amount, it would have been enough to garner a smuggling charge, which could have kept McCartney locked up for the next 7 years.

As McCartney explained in the Wingspan documentary:

According to the History web site:

The question that troubled the minds of observers at the time was, “What was Paul thinking?” Half a pound of marijuana was a prodigious amount for one man to carry around for personal use—particularly a man who had had reason to expect especially close examination of his person and his baggage by Japanese customs officials. After all, Paul had been denied a Japanese entry visa just five years earlier due to his numerous earlier drug arrests in Europe.

Twenty years after his 1980 arrest, Paul would opine that his psychological motivation may have been to find an excuse to disband Wings, which he in fact did immediately following his return to England. In another interview, however, Sir Paul offered an explanation that may be the more compelling for its simplicity: “We were about to fly to Japan and I knew I wouldn’t be able to get anything to smoke over there,” McCartney said in 2004. “This stuff was too good to flush down the toilet, so I thought I’d take it with me.”

His former writing partner, John Lennon, is said to have opined:

“If he really needs weed, surely there’s enough people who can carry it
for him. You’re a Beatle, boy, a Beatle. Your face is in every damn
corner of the planet. How could you have been so stupid?”

Smartening up, McCartney decided to toe the line while in jail. Ultimate Classic Rock picks up the story:

As Inmate No. 22, he decided to become a model prisoner. As he said
in the ‘Wingspan’ documentary, “I started to realize, “Right, I’m going
to get up when the light goes on, I’m going to be the first up, I’m
going to be the first with his room cleaned, I’m going to roll up my
bed, I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that.’”

After nine days in the pokey, Japan kicked McCartney out of the country.
He returned to Japan in 1990 and subsequently toured there several
times.

Also on this day in McCartney history: In 1991 Paul appeared on MTV’s Unplugged, a performance and CD which revitalized his career.

Headlines Du Jour ► Tuesday, September 16, 2014

September 16, 2014420, B.B. King, Daniele Watts, Fox News, Free the Weed, Headlines, Headlines Du Jour, Howard Kurtz, Lost Civilizations, marijuana, Outer Space, Racism, ReligionHeadly Westerfield

Howdy, Headliners. Today’s birthday belongs to Riley B. King, better known as Blues guitarist B.B. King. He’s seen more than a few Headlines Du Jour of yesteryear:

1620 – Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony) set sail on the Mayflower.

1812 – The Fire of Moscow begins shortly after midnight and destroys three quarters of the city days later.

1880 – The Cornell Daily Sun prints its first issue in Ithaca, New York. The Sun is the nation’s oldest, continuously-independent college daily.

1893 – Settlers make a land run for prime land in the Cherokee Strip in Oklahoma.

1908 – The General Motors Corporation is founded.

1919 – The American Legion is incorporated.

1941 – World War II: Concerned that Reza Shah Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, is about to ally his petroleum-rich empire with Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union invade Iran in late August and force the Shah to abdicate in favor of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

1959 – The first successful photocopier, the Xerox 914, is introduced in a demonstration on live television from New York City.

1971 – Typhoon Nancy, with possibly the strongest winds ever measured in a tropical cyclone, makes landfall in Osaka, Japan, killing 173 people.

1992 – The trial of the deposed Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega ends in the United States with a 40 year sentence for drug trafficking and money laundering.

1992 – Black Wednesday: the pound sterling is forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism by currency speculators and is forced to devalue against the German mark.

1994 – The British government lifts the broadcasting ban imposed against members of Sinn Féin and Irish paramilitary groups in 1988.

2007 – Mercenaries working for Blackwater Worldwide allegedly shoot and kill 17 Iraqis in Nisour Square, Baghdad; all criminal charges against them are later dismissed, sparking outrage in the Arab world.

Let’s get to today’s Headlines Du Jour:

Science says the universe could be
a hologram, a computer program, a
black hole or a bubble—and there
are ways to check

“Hot Jupiters” provoke their own host suns to wobble

Rosetta mission control announces comet landing site

Boeing said to win NASA space taxi contract

VIDEO DU JOUR:

Headlines Du Jour is a leisure-time activity of Not Now Silly, home of the
Steam-Powered Word-0-Matic, and your rest stop on the Information
Highway. Use our valuable bandwidth to post your news comments in
today’s open thread.

Headlines Du Jour ► Monday, March 31, 2014

March 31, 2014420, Bill O'Reilly, Detroit, DNA, Fox News, Free the Weed, GOP, Headlines, Headlines Du Jour, Income Inequality, LGBT, Loofah Lad, marijuana, Racism, Religion, TaxesHeadly Westerfield

Hello Headliners! Today’s birthday boy is Herb Albert, who was not only the leader of the Tijuana Brass, but also the “A” in A&M Records. It’s no secret: This guy’s in love with the Headlines Du Jour of yesteryear.

1492 – Queen Isabella of Castille issues the Alhambra decree, ordering her 150,000 Jewish and Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity or face expulsion.
1774 – American Revolutionary War: The Kingdom of Great Britain orders the port of Boston, Massachusetts closed pursuant to the Boston Port Act.
1889 – The Eiffel Tower is officially opened.
1909 – Construction of the ill fated RMS Titanic begins.
1917 – The United States takes possession of the Danish West Indies after paying $25 million to Denmark, and renames the territory the United States Virgin Islands.
1918 – Daylight saving time goes into effect in the United States for the first time.
1930 – The Motion Pictures Production Code is instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film, in the U.S., for the next thirty eight years.
1949 – The Dominion of Newfoundland joins the Canadian Confederation and becomes the 10th Province of Canada.
1951 – Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau.
1994 – The journal Nature reports the finding in Ethiopia of the first complete Australopithecus afarensis skull.
1995 – Selena, an American singer, was murdered by her friend and employee of her boutiques Yolanda Saldívar who was embezzling money from the establishments. The event was named “Black Friday” by Hispanics.

Today’s Headlines Du Jour, step this way:

IN LGBT NEWS:

Mozilla Finally Declares
Support for Marriage Equality

Banned for life: Why gay
men still can’t donate blood

Man Who Raised Money For
Organ Donation Dies, Is Rejected
As Donor Because He Was Gay

THE “O” IN GOP STANDS FOR OBFUSCATE:

Newest ‘Obamacare Victim’ Is Actually An Anti-Healthcare GOP Operative (Video)

Students Walk out on Dick Cheney,
Calling Him ‘War Criminal’ (VIDEO)

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK:

Boeing Got $7,250 In Tax Breaks
For Every $1 It Spent Lobbying

TODAY IN INCOME INEQUALITY:

Plutocracy without end:
Why the 1 percent always
defeats the middle class

SO GLAD WE’RE LIVING IN A POST-RACIAL SOCIETY:

New Jersey Student Causes Controversy
After Hanging Confederate ‘Redneck’ Flag

WHEN CONDOMS ARE OUTLAWED, ONLY OUTLAWS WILL WEAR CONDOMS:

What Do Chase Bank, Condoms, The Tea
Party, And Petty Fraud Have In Common?

FREE THE WEED!!!

Marijuana goes mainstream
A business conference in Eugene focuses on a changing industry

Expect serious problems
with medical marijuana

Colorado man sues Idaho police over “license-plate profiling” in marijuana case

Study: No Link Between Marijuana
Legalization And Rise In Crime

TODAY IN RELIGION:

Fundamentalists Are Pretty Sure
Jesus Would Not Bake a Wedding
Cake for a Gay Couple

DISPATCHES FROM DETROIT, ‘MERKA’S FIRST THROWAWAY CITY:

Detroit: bankrupt city readies for divisive $450m Red Wings arena

A few minutes with … those who
would build a barn in Detroit

NATURE IS COMPLICATED:

Dolphins use sponges as nose
guards and it’s changing their genes

THE “NEWS” IN THE NEWS AGAIN:

Rumor, gossip, nonsense: How
the news became a nightmare

The Tee Vee Newsroom Race to the Bottom

FOX “NEWS” IN THE NEWS AGAIN:

As ACA Signups Skyrocket Towards 7 Million Fox News Claims Obama Is Cooking the Books