Britney Spears shaves head. The next Syd Barrett?

To think of all the possible topics I could return to my blog with, it's about Britney Spears' shaved head. But it's something I was thinking about this morning and felt that it would be important to express some opinions I have on it.

The general opinion is Spears needs help.

Jupiter psychologist Dr. Nancy Vrechek says Spears' actions may be due to postpartum depression.

"Obviously, she's under some kind of extreme distress and people are speculating," says Vrechek. "But she could be in postpartum depression, experiencing extreme stress with a divorce and the paparazzi. People need to be a little more sympathetic.

If Spears is going through some sort of depression, or even some form of schizophrenia, she could be heading down the same path as Syd Barrett.

There is the story where Syd turns up during the Wish You Were Here sessions with shaved head and looking like a vagrant wondering the recording studios.

According to drummer Nick Mason's book Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett actually turned up at the studio in the middle of a recording session on 6 June 1975, which was also the day David Gilmour married his first wife, Ginger according to the book Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey. Barrett hadn't been seen by any of the band members in five years. He arrived unannounced, his head completely devoid of hair (including eyebrows, as alluded to in The Wall film) and had put on so much weight that most of the band did not recognise him at first. Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley (who was a guest at Gilmour's wedding reception) mistook him for a Hare Krishna devotee. Others were close to tears at the transformation: Waters later confided that he cried.

Barrett disappeared after that. A picture of him would turn up now and again until his death in July 2006, but for the most party, after the media left him alone, he vanished from the paparazzi. He did little from 1971 to 1975 anyway.

One can argue the same about Britney Spears. She gets tons of publicity right now and hasn't done anything that made her a star. It's time to stop giving this girl attention. Let her get the help she needs before she turns into a Syd Barrett.

Star Trek: Remastered TOS

CSI: Miami

Don't you think Carusso deserves an Emmy for his performances?

2007 Mission for Manhattan GOP Clubs

The New York Republican County Committee has a list of district clubs throughout the borough. There are 12 Assembly Districts in Manhattan and each is supposed to have at least one corresponding district club.

The purpose of district clubs is to organize registered Republicans in an Assembly District and build the party on the local level. To build the party at the local level in 2007, each district club should increase membership and encourage those members to run for open county committee seats. Below are the level of vacancies in each district, followed by the Manhattan District clubs.


64 AD
New Amsterdam Republican Club
Chinatown Republican Club (no website)
65 AD
Knickerbocker Republican Club
66 AD
Village Independent Republican Club (not active)
67 AD
G&M Parker West Side Republican Club
Riverside Republican Club (not active)
68 AD
(No active Club)
69 AD
The Fighting 69th Republican Club
70 AD
Harlem Republican Club
71 AD
Lionel Hamption Republican Club
72 AD
(No active Club)
73 AD
Metropolitan Republican Club
74 AD
Vincent F. Albano Republican Club
Gramercy Park Republican Club (absorbed into TR Group & Albano Club)
75 AD
The TR Group

The list of county committee members at the Board of Elections as of December 2005.

If you're currently active in the county committee, a district club or you're someone who hasn't gotten involved yet and would like to, here are some suggestions for Republicans in 2007.

1. County Committee Members not involved in their local club should join it for 2007. I'm involved in my district club and I know their are District Leaders and committee members who are not part of local clubs. Most clubs have nominal annual dues, so there isn't a reason for county committee members to not play a role. There's nothing preventing a person from being a member of two or more clubs. Clubs like the Met Club and Young Republican Clubs are good for social events with special guest speakers, but for grassroots work, your district club can play a better role in building the party.

If you're a County Committee Member and learn that your Assembly District's club isn't that active, you can start a club of your own. If you can organize regular meetings of a dozen or so registered Republicans in a District, contact the County Committee and learn how you can register your meetings into an official Club. You can incorporate a new Club in your district, or, County can arrange a way to get you the charter of the official district club, if it's not active.

2. District Club leadership should market their district club and solicit membership. It could be as simple as a postcard mailing to registered Republicans in the district. Each club should have funds available to design and print a club membership card or application. The card or application should include a contact phone number or email, a website if available and should tell the Republican the day of the month the club meets and where. It should also mention that club members are encouraged to run for county committee so their voice can play a role in district politics.

Your target audience would be registered Republicans in your district who actually voted in the last General Election. A district could have 8,000 registered Republicans, but only 2,900 in the district actually went to the polls in the last election. You can obtain the list of Republicans who actually voted from the County Committee.

3. If you're not active at all but want to be, and your area doesn't have a club, and you want to get things started, run for county committee in 2007. The Manhattan GOP is supposed to have two committee reps for each Election District. Each Assembly District has anywhere from 108 to 130 Election Districts. You can petition to get on the county committee. If you visit Grassroots Initiative, you can learn how you can run for representing your Election District and start playing a role in local politics. It's as easy as getting one or two signatures in your Election District for a petition and submitting it with a cover letter to the Board of Elections. Grassroots Initiative can help you with the process. The Board of Elections then registers your petition for a Primary Election. If no one else has submitted a petition, you have officially been elected to the County Committee.

You don't necessarily need to go through the County Organization to get the ball rolling, but once you're on the committee, you will have to. There is also no reason to primary other registered Republicans at this stage of the game. There are plenty of Election Districts out there with vacancies and according to election law, you don't have to represent your Election District. You can be a committee member for the ED next to the one you live in.

There are over 1875 vacant committee seats in Manhattan, so we have a lot of work to do in 2007. We will have accomplished a lot if we can reduce our vacancy level to triple digits instead of quadruple digits. Each and everyone of us needs to play a part, so let's start by making 2007 a year of grassroots party development.

My Endorsements for Local Races - Nov 7 Election

23 Assembly District - Queens
Stu Mirsky (R,I,C) is a man on a mission in his district and I whole-heartedly endorse Stu. His main reason for running is because the incumbent has gone unchallenged election after election and though she's well liked, she has not been a force in Albany for the district. She positions herself on insignificant matters that are almost comical. Mirsky has a background in government and is the type of reform-minded Republican that can win in the district. It all comes down to the GOTV in the area. His Assembly District has voted for Pataki (2002), Bush (2004) and Bloomberg (2005) even though the odds are greater than a 2 to 1 Democrat to Republican. The reason is many of the working class Democrats are conservative in nature and understand security and low taxes are more important than social policy. They aren't conned into voting for someone based on matters that don't affect them that greatly.

44 Assembly District - Kings
Yvette V. Bennett (R,C) gets my endorsement for the 44 AD, because she will bring the conservative message of school choice, lower taxes and individual freedoms to Albany. Bennett ran for City Council last year and did better than anyone expected. This year, with a smaller district, she will be able to target her message and certainly connect with the family person in the area. Bennett is in a district with a career politician as well, and change is always good. When you elect change for a two year term, you are telling the establishment of entrenched incumbents that enough is enough. By picking up an Assembly seat, we area bringing the Republican Party that much closer to blocking an Assembly override of a governor's veto. With Democrats and Republicans spending our money in Albany, an independent Republican who opposes pork-barrel spending will be important.

60 Assembly District - Kings/Richmond
Anthony Xanthakis (R,C) is the candidate for the 60 AD in Staten Island and it is a traditional Republican seat in Albany. to lose this seat will be a disaster for the Republicans in our minority status in the Assembly. With Matthew Mirones retiring, Xanthakis would make the perfect replacement, because he has served for Mirones for more than five years.

64 Assembly District - New York
Michael Imperiale (R,C) receives my endorsement, because his opponent, incumbent Sheldon Silver, is currently part of the Three Men in A Room that has ruled New York State politics the last twelve years. He has opposed transparency in the budget process, tax reductions, spending reductions, favored pork barrel projectsthat have inflated the budget to $112 billion, opposes School Choice, hampered development in Manhattan where he says he wants projects like the WTC and Farley Station to benefit NYers, but also feels companies like Madison Square Garden have a piece of the pie, and finally, Silver opposes Tort Reform and strong laws against criminals. He has been in the State Assembly representing Lower Manhattan for 33 years and it's time for a chnage. For many years, Silver had challenged the petitions of the Republican Party and ends up with either no opposition or a candidate from the Independence or Libertarian parties. This year is different. He finally will face a Republican and I implore every Republican to go out and vote for Imperiale and every anti-Silver voter to do the same. It will be a good test to see the strength Silver really holds.

73 Assembly District - New York
Robert Heim (R,I) is a former high level prosecutor with the Securities and Exchange Commission and has served his district in community and business affairs. He is a life-long Republican who believes the way to bring change in Albany is divided goverment and reform-minded officials. Heim likes to champion himself as a Bloomberg republican but in fact, he is more Republican than even Bloomberg. He has been endorsed by Henry Stern and the Liberal Party organization because he favors good-government policies that should reduce government waste, corruption and transparency. As a Republican, he will champion tax relief and reform the anti-business policies that hurt small businesses from surviving in New York City.

74 Assembly District - New York
Frank Scala (R) has a difficult rode ahead to win his race, but there is a chance for victory and that is why it is so important for every Republican, Conservative and independent to come out and vote the establishment candidate on the Democratic line. Like the race in the 64 AD, the ratio of Democrats to Republicans is a major impedement, but unlike the 64 AD, Frank Scala is running in a race where the liberal vote will be split. The incumbent lost the Democratic Primary, but will be on the balot as the Working Families candidate, because she secured their line. It's a three way race. This is a race that is is winnable and I go more into detail with the numbers in my next entry. Frank has years of experience with the neighborhood volunteering with the local community board and being nominated President of the 13th Community Council. He has fought for Quality of Life issues and would be a fine addition to the State Assembly.

82 Assembly District - Bronx
Raymond Capone (R,C) is running in a district that has the potential of building a strong Republican Party. Of all ten Assembly Districts, this is the one I am comfortable issuing an endorsement in, especially if the Bronx is successful in winning back the 34 Senate District race. The 82 AD included City Island, which started the City Island Republican Club earlier this year. By having an elected Republican in the Bronx, the Republican Party could once again build from the ashes created by the corruption under former Senator, Guy Valella.

25 Senate District - Kings/New York
Ken Diamondstone (WF) will be the first Working Families candidate I wil vote for. I was asked to be the (R) in the district, but could not devote time to a candidacy, even if I was going to simply be a name. If I'm on the ballot, I run. I don't sit idle with an unfunded campaign. I agree that no incumbent should go unchallenged and that is why I'm glad Diamondstone remains on the ballot fighting on the Working Families line. Diamondstone received 44% of the vote in the Primary. He received the endrorsement of the New York Times, a paper I clearly think is biased and faulty, but has championing major reform up in Albany. Clearly the incumbent, Martin Connor, is vulnerable. The incumbent is the democratic Go To guy when an incumbent fears opposition and the democratic process. Connor was the attorney in the court challenging petitions of his primary opponent, and of the Republican candidates Michael Imperiale in the 64 AD and Robert Heim in the 73rd AD. The man is not for reform, he is not for change and should be retired the democratic way. By electing Ken Diamondstone. Though I disagree with Diamondstone in nearly all the issues, his election would be a sign that New Yorkers need new blood in Albany. And who knows? If I still live in the Senate district in 2008, I'll have a reason to run against him.

26 Senate District - New York
Philip Pidot (R, Growth) would be a breath of fresh air in the Senate Majority up in Albany. Though his opponent, the incubment Liz Krueger, is a strong and well-liked Democrat, favoring Pidot is a no-brainer. Philip Pidot has the background of someone who will fight for changing how we do business in Albany. The positions he takes on all the major issues are the right positions for the Republican and Conservative voter and they even impress Liz Krueger immensely. If every Republican running for office this year in New York City had the background Pidot has and had the the ability to finance a strong campaign, we would see some strong competitive races and possibly many victories.

29 Senate District - New York
Dan Russo (R) gets my endorsement because he is a middle class New Yorker who is against anyone making politics a career. He is displeased with both Sheldon Silver and Joseph Bruno. The odds of victory are not in the cards for a Republican in this district, but by simply making the effort of getting on the ballot and making an incumbent go unchallenged in a district that is historically hostile to Republicans is an impressive and commendable act.

34 Senate District - Bronx/Westchester
Joseph J. Savino (R,I,C) is running a well financed and a very winnable race in the Bronx and Westchester. Savino wants to bring back the Republican message to his constituency and wants to bring a stronger Republican majority in the State Senate. Savino gives the voters an impressive resumé and the potential of strengthening the Republican voice in Albany if a Democratic landslide occurs on Election Day. Just above him, Nick Spano is at risk of losing his seat to the Democratic challenger, so by securing a seat in the area with a Republican would be helpful for our party. Unlike Spano, Savino has shown he is more conservative and not as easily persuaded by the left (Spano has received the Working Families in the past and with it, damaged Republican credibility).

- - If you're a registered Republican, or a right-leaning voter living in the above districts and considering candidates for this November Election, I encourage you to vote for the slate I've listed above. A well balanced divided government is important and if Democrats win the Governorship, Attorney General Office and the Comptroller seat, we will need to hold and gain as many seats as possible. We will still be in the minority in most situations, but as we see in Washington, one-party rule doesn't help the people as much as it helps the party in power. New York is the opposite in Washington, so voting Republican should be the preferable thing to do.

Rebuilding the New York Yankees

The Problem.
The New York Yankees are old and need some youth injected into it. Unfortunately, Joe Torre isn't known to put his cards in young players. He'll try out one or two, but for the most part, he puts his faith in veterans and their experience.

The Solution.
Well, for one thing, never lock up all eight position players and seven pitchers to long term contracts. You need room to move the pieces around. You can make four position players and three pitchers the faces of your franchise, but when you start spending money on the entire 25-man roster, you get stuck spending a lot of money on untradable players.

Drastic times means some drastic measures. It's time get rid of players who may be fan favorites, in order to bring in some youth and new talent. To rebuild the farm system and to put the team in position to win a championship by 2008.

You got that right. Not next year. Joe Torre's last season should be viewed as another season without a win. George Steinbrenner has a "win-now-at-all-costs" mentality and unfortunately, that doesn't work even with $200 million sunk in aging players.

The 40 Man Roster

The Outfielders
Bobby Abreu
Melky Cabrera
Johnny Damon
Aaron Guiel
Hideki Matsui
Kevin Reese
Gary Sheffield
Kevin Thompson
Bernie Williams
Craig Wilson

Damon was just signed so let's consider him a lock next year. Everyone else is expendable. Personally, I'd keep Cabrera, because he's young and shows some promise in being a dependable everyday outfielder. I like Abreu as well and would consider keeping those guys as the outfield. A Guiel or a Wilson could be kept as a fourth or fifth string outfielder, but everyone else should be let go. It's time to move on. If some young talent can turn up, then Guiel and Wilson won't be needed.

There is another possible move that would be drastic, but may be neccessary. That is, move Derek Jeter to the outfield, while Alex Rodriguez moves back to his natural position of shortstop. Yankees have done it before. Mickey Mantle was a shortstop. Bobby Murcer was a shortstop. Both were converted to centerfielders.

The Infielders
Miguel Cairo
Andy Cannizaro
Robinson Cano
Jason Giambi
Nick Green
Derek Jeter
Andy Phillips
Alex Rodriguez
Sal Fasano
Wil Nieves
Jorge Posada

Giambi will probably be designated as the designated hitter. Moving Jeter to centerfield or rightfield would put Alex Rodriguez at shortstop and with Cano at second base, the Yanks will have a chance to fill in the corner infield positions with some new blood. Some youth, hopefully. The Yankees won with a player like Scott Brosius at third base, not a power hitter, but a hitter with some pop in his bat. Tino Martinez was an above average defensive first basemen and a player that could give you a clutch home run, but wasn't a .300 hitter. He did know how to draw a walk. Posada has a contract and has been a very good backstop for the Yanks, but it's time to find and groom a successor. I wouldn't trade Posada, but I wouldn't be surprised if we start hearing his name thrown around. The role players should be traded or released. After filling in the starting positions and then the back-up infielders, the role players from this year can then be looked at for next year.

Pitchers
T.J. Beam
Brian Bruney
Matt DeSalvo
Octavio Dotel
Kyle Farnsworth
Sean Henn
Philip Hughes
Randy Johnson
Jeff Karstens
Cory Lidle
Mike Mussina
Mike Myers
Carl Pavano
Scott Proctor
Darrell Rasner
Mariano Rivera
Tanyon Sturtze
Jose Veras
Ron Villone
Chien-Ming Wang
Jaret Wright

I'm looking at these names on the 40-Man Roster and with the pitchers, I'm thinking, "Who are these guys?"
This is not the pitching staff that won four world championships.
I like Dotel and think there's some life for him next year. Randy Johnson has another year and is untradable. Unless he retires, the Yanks are stuck. Pavano is a contract the Yanks are stuck with as well. Rivera is a given to stay and there is no reason to get rid of Wang, since he's a very good pitcher and he's a young pitcher. Proctor has been fairly reliable. The Yanks may well be stuck with Sturtze, but beyond that, it's time for some new arms
So far, I'm keeping Johnson, Pavano, Wang as starters (not because I want to but because I may have to) and Sturtze, Proctor and Rivera in relief. Everyone else can go bye-bye.

You have eight position players and only four should be locked into contracts. The others should be rookies or tradable contracts if they don't work out in a given year.

You have five starting pitchers and only one of those starters should be over the age of 35. You can have two in their early thirties, but the last two should be in their twenties. And you need two or three young 20-something starters available if one of the big five get injured or have to skip a start during the year.

With relievers, you have a good trio in the Proctor, Dotel, Riveral crew, but you'll need a couple of solid lefties. Meyers would be worth keeping, but another would be useful.

If Brian Cashman can get rid of all the extra weight on this team, the payroll should go down considerably. And if he has any power under his new contract, he should let George Steinbrenner know he insists on getting youthful and not spending money on players past their prime.

Fun with animation

Blogger Cake of Death had a funny little play with that Soccer headbutt a few months back.
Gotta love the effort put into this stuff.

The 25th NY State Senate District

Back in late April, I was in a discussion with Kevin Breslin, State Committee member from Brooklyn and District Leader from the Carrol Gardens, Park Slope, Cobble Hill area (I'm not sure what his specific AD was).

During our discussion, we were talking about local races and that I attempted a City Council run last year. He asked if I was going to run again this year

"No," I said, "I'm going to take a back seat and help on a campaign. I helped Frank Scala with his Special Election race in February and since he's staying on through the November Election, will help him through the summer."

I then added, "If I only lived two blocks west, I would've been in Shelly Silver's district and I would most certainly have put my summer on hold to challenge him."

Mr. Breslin then said, "Well, I can't do anything with Manhattan races, but the 25th Senatorial District runs in my part of town and into lower Manhattan, so if you know anyone who would be willing to run against Martin Connor and put his name on the ballot, I can take care of the Brooklyn part."

I said, "Well, I live in Connor's district, but I'm really not looking to run this year."

His eyes opened up and he made his pitch. "Look, Daniel, you don't have to campaign. Just go to the Manhattan County and get them to take care of the Manhattan part. I can get the Brooklyn side for you. I'm not asking you to campaign, but to just be a name. We can't let Martin Connor go unchallenged again like he was in 2004."

He told me to think it over and get back to him. I did for a couple days. But I felt this year is not my year. Too much has happened in the past twelve months from my council campaign, to work, to things in my personal life, and I didn't want another thing to add to it. I also knew that if I agreed to this and got on the ballot and was a candidate, I couldn't simply be a name. I know me. I would campaign. I would try to reach out to my voting base and all the time I'd spend on this campaign would ruin my personal life.

About a month after this conversation and right before petitioning, Kevin Breslin passed away. Whether or not his death would've affected petitioning in Brooklyn is unknown. I'm sure he had other Brooklyn leaders that would've picked up where he left off, but if I ended up campaigning and needed to appear in Brooklyn, I'm not sure how much I would've gotten done there.

Since I did not run and word from the Manhattan GOP was that there was no candidate for the seat, it appeared that Sen. Martin Connor was going to walk his way into a reelection.
Then I heard about Ken Diamondstone.

Ken Diamondstone sought received the support of the Working Families Party and the Green Party. As a registered Democrat, he also petitioned to get into a Democratic Primary against Martin Connor.

As usual, Connor challenged Diamondstone's petitions. Only, Diamondstone survived the challenge. And Diamondstone then got the endorsement of the New York Times.

When Primary Election results came in, Martin Connor won with 56% of the vote. A very strong showing by Ken Diamondstone.

So was that it? No. By having the Working Families and Green Party support, Diamondstone will be on the ballot come November 7. Primaries only bring out 20% of a particular voting base, while Generals bring out closer to 50%. And Generals also include all other voters, Republicans, Working Families, Conservative, Independents, all of whome could vote AGAINST an incumbent. So Martin Connor's Primary victory is not a win by any means.

I once said I could never see myself voting for some left-leaning "almost" socialist candidate with the Working Families Party, but knowing how undemocratic, democrat Martin Connor is, I think I've found my first WFP candidate. Here's hoping that 51% of the voters in the 25th Senate District agree and decide to vote out an incumbent.