Strange days my friends, strange days. Tried to check in on our friend Starbury (and I am ordering a set of those low budget shoes he makes, maybe three, one for me, one for The Boy and one for The baby.... that is still under $45) and things are afoot.
Went to the website he has been hosting from, and saw this:
So, Marbury must be good for business, "no dickering".
Then check out his Tweets (I feel dirty just writing that, Tweet).:
From -- @starburymarbury:
A lot of people where asking for a hot line number. Well here it is. Call me anytime. Love is love. I love you more then you know 9179237775
How would you like to see a movie on starburyTV staring your favorite actor. Man that would be a vision to see wouldn't it..
ESPN did not show up but TMZ did. They can't capture the moment because the tell lies I'm going to show you the clip where they do. Trust.
So, I'm calling Starbury today. He claims that is his real phone number and all. I'm just wondering what to ask him....
EDITED TO ADD: Everyone seems to think that he is descending into madness. I don't, I think he has a bizarre sense of hunour, and he makes me laugh. Starbury is not hurting anyone, let him randomly endorse Ritz crackers, can't hurt.
In that box is NBA player Stephon Marbury AKA Starbury. According to Wikipedia, he " was an NBA All-Star in 2001 and 2003 and was voted into the All-NBA Third Team in 2000 and 2003."
That my friends, is less than a third of the story.
In 1999, he demanded a trade out of Minnesota.
He played for the only American Olympic team to lose a gold medal, but he did set a team record scoring 31 individual points.
After getting kicked off the Knicks for being a bad teammate, he was called the most reviled figure in New York Sports. He also got in a fist fight with the team's coach, and threatened to blackmail that coach. That coach was eventually forced to settle a $5 million case with a former employee over sexual harassment.
He was banned from New York Knicks things, so he bought himself a halfcourt ticket for a Knicks game in LA, and texted through the entire thing.
He also put out an affordable line of shoes for poor kids. The shoes cost $14.98, a hell of a lot cheaper than Air Jordans.
Now to the box of Starbury himself up there. He is broadcasting his life online now... according to the New York Times he has:
¶On leaving the Knicks: “My job wasn’t taken. It was given to Chris Duhon. Don’t get it twisted. And that’s no disrespect to Duhon either.”
¶On philanthropy: “I’m going to set up a foundation for the world. I’m going to take the money and start building cities all over the world. I’m a comet. My man told me I’m a comet. I said, ‘I’m a comet?’ ”
¶On Jeanie Buss, a Los Angeles Lakers executive: “Jeanie Buss, I love her with all my heart. I’d take my heart out and give it to her. That’s how ill she is. I love that lady.”
¶On the best player in the N.B.A.: “No, I’m not the best player in the N.B.A. Kobe Bryant is the best player. I don’t care about the N.B.A. Those days are over with.”
He also ate Vaseline and took a shot at LeBron James.
Point being, I can't stop watching... it is disturbing, hyopnotic and strangely calming.... and compelling TV.
EDITED TO ADD: EVEN MORE STARBURY MADNESS:
"No, I'm not the best player in the NBA. Kobe Bryant is the best player. I don't care about the NBA Those days are over with."
"I'm going to set up a foundation for the world. I'm going to take the money and start building cities all over the world. I'm a comet. My man told me I'm a comet. I said, 'I’m a comet?'"
"My kids are like: Daddy, why are you on the bench? Why ain't daddy in the game?"
"I had to overconversate."
"Where would I want my jersey retired? Boston."
"Chris Paul, he got power and he slither, he slither...he move real silky like a snake."
"I'll be a bum for seven dollars and a blowjob? Hahahahaaha. They tryin to put me in a box! Its impossible!"
"Jeanie Buss, I love her with all my heart. I’d take my heart out and give it to her. That’s how ill she is. I love that lady."
"I love Canada. Ohhhh Can-a-da.... I love that song. I love your anthem. I love hearing it. Its fresh."
"You've gotta thank 'em for a bowel movement. You've gotta thank 'em for a bowel movement."
"Am I jealous of Tracy McGrady and Jason Kidd? Jealous of what?"
"Marbury you suck and won't win a championship? Ok, you still talking about basketball and I'm talking about LIFE."
EDITED TO ADD: Look at the photo, what could have set the cop off? Must have been that beard, never trust a guy with a goatee.
Recognize the dude in the photo? I do. Before reading the story I was at a loss for his name, but I recognized him.... from things like this:
I might not have known his buddies call him Skip, but I would have remembered him interviewing Spike Lee, being on CNN, I would have just thought, "Hey, it is that intellectual I always see talking about race."
I sure wouldn't have thought "My God, he is breaking into that nice house".
Second best line of the story: "Being a black man is often Kafkaesque"
Best line is a Malcolm X quote, you find that one yourself.
The story basically goes like this. Terrifying black man (read: almost 60, nationally known Harvard academic carrying a cane) attempts to enter house in nice (white) suburban (white) Massachusetts (really white) neighbourhood.
Neighbour (frightened honky) calls cops. Cops show up.
-- Door got jammed. Gates and his driver go in back door, turn off alarm, and force the front door open.
-- Call the campus housing folks, tell them to fix the damn door.
-- Cops show up.
-- Gates asks, "Can I help you", shows ID and everything, in HIS OWN HOUSE.
-- Officer refuses to give him a badge number or a name.
At that point, Prof Gates may have got a little hot... according to the police report, he said.
"A visibly upset Gates responded to the officer’s assertion that he was responding to a report of a break-in with, “Why, because I’m a black man in America?’’
“Gates then turned to me and told me that I had no idea who I was ‘messing’ with and that I had not heard the last of it,’’ the report said. “While I was led to believe that Gates was lawfully in the residence, I was quite surprised and confused with the behavior he exhibited toward me.
Gates was eventually arrested for shouting at the officer.
Not for a B&E on his own house, but for having the teremity to question the officer who wouldn't even give him his badge number, and if you are dealing with the police, get a badge number and a name, otherwise, they are very accomplished at closing ranks.
I would have shouted.... real loud and real long. Probably would have swore, made some comments about the level of training and academic capability of city police officers, and I still wouldn't have been arrested.
OK, he did work in some choice material,
When the officer repeatedly told Gates he would speak with him outside, the normally mild-mannered professor shouted, “Ya, I’ll speak with your mama outside,’’ according to the report.
Since when is it a crime to be rude? Or to makes remarks about someone's mama? Not very dignified, but hardly arrest worthy.
There are advantages to being a reporter, that is for sure. Take yesterday for example. There was a press conference for the Olympic Games here in Iqaluit yesterday, featuring the perverse pleasure of every Furry's dream, the mascots for the 2010 Games.
So, I got to hang out with stuffed people..... beats clicking a time clock to be sure.
The other advantage, I brought The Boy, who loves all things Olympic. He had three of the mascot McDonalds glasses from the last Olympics, and we don't even have a McDonalds.
The final advantage... when another reporter sees your kid in action, they click a photo for you for later.... like this one. Thanks Inflatable Elvis, you're not dead, just retired.
They brought in some day camp kids for the event, but when they mascots came out, The Boy was the only child there.... so when they looked a little lost, he just offered a hug. He's a good Boy.
The esteemed Editor is joining us on our program to discuss this, his editorial calling for Prime Minister to honour his commitment to elect Senators, and that he wants the PM to start with the Nunavut seat, recently vacated by Senator Willie Adams.
Should be interesting, at least to see one of my ink-stained colleagues face the bright lights of my job ;)
EDITED TO ADD: Technical opportunities prevent us from having this on tonight. We will try again tomorrow.
I was reading over at Reflections (since that is the name of the biggest pink triangle bar in Halifax, in honour of Ferry Tales, I'm only going to call Megan's blog Reflections from now on, so that Ferry Tales knows that the straights love her too), and got moved on over to this interesting bit of blogishness:
It is a fun read, maybe not for you, but for me to be sure. See, I used to work for the parent corp of the Inuvik Drum, and Mr Halifax tends to call these people out by name (he follows this blog, so I'll call him Mister ;)). It is inside baseball, but I'm on the inside. When he names a name, I usually have an idea who he is talking about
There is a blog on PEI that is taking the same sort of tactic with the local media, the now infamous NJN Network. There are huge differences, like:
-- Mr Halifax doesn't seem to fear women. NJN continues to trash the work of a local journalist based on her red raincoat and high heels. As I have said before, if I run into NJN Network on vacation, I'll go put on my red raincoat and high heels, to make a point.
-- Mr Halifax doesn't seem to have been threatened by the local paper. NJN has been threatened with legal action from The Guardian.
-- Mr Halifax comes up with meaner fake names for the reporters involved.
-- Mr Halifax manages to get responses from thin-skinned editorial types, while NJN Network gets letters from lawyers. Maybe it is a NWT vs PEI type of thing?
Mr Halifax is not NJN Network. Mr Halifax is mean, but not really offensive or particularly deluded. I link to Halifax, I don't link to NJN (in my sidebar at least).
Aside from pointing and shouting "Hey, over there, look at those awesome car wrecks", there is a point here, the rise of the semi-pro media critic. I bet there is one for every paper in Canada at this point. I could even point to a certain employer rating site that has some pretty one sided comments about my employer.
Journalists are like any other profession, we get the good and the bad and the indifferent. I watch Howard Kurtz every Sunday. If you are writing a media criticism blog and don't know who Howard is, you need a new hobby.
These blogs are at least as legitimate as a letter to the editor, and have the advantage of not having the comments put through a filter.
However; when you are reading them, be sure to give them the weight you would to a letter to the editor. Consider the source, consider the point of view, ignore the inflammatory language, and take it for what is worth, the opinion of a single individual, as noble and flawed as the rest of us.
For the semi-pro media critics, I only have one bit of advice. Drop the fake names for yourselves, the papers and the reporters. If you want to trash someone, at least make it clear. The cute pseudonyms are tiring.
As for my former colleagues at NNSL, I have some simple advice.
HARDEN THE FUCK UP.
There is no need to respond to these blogs, and thinly veiled attacks from proxies aren't worth the hassle. Do what the Guardian did, ignore it until it is libel. Then get a lawyer.
Really, go to NJNNetwork, look under the PEI section, and click the link that says The Guardian. If Mr Halifax is getting under your collective skins this badly, imagine what it would be like with a determined soapboxer like that on your ass.
I'll keep reading, but then again, I like the sound of sirens ;0
