From “Half Sack” to No Sack: “SOA” Actor, Johnny Lewis, Dead at 28

For all you “Sons of Anarchy” fans, seems as if Johnny Lewis has possibly killed himself after officers responded to the home of a Catherine Davis and not only fond the body of the 81-year-old woman but that of Lewis as well.

Neighbors reported hearing a woman screaming & glass breaking in a home in Los Feliz, an affluent neighborhood near Hollywood, and apparently when LAPD rolled up on the scene they found the body of Lewis lying in a pool of blood in the driveway from an apparent fall from the roof, and upon entering the hillside home of [Catherine] Davis, found her dead on the second floor of her three floor home.

Cmdr. Andrew Smith of the Los Angeles Police department told reporters that the scene where [Catherine] Davis’ body was found was “gruesome” & believes that [Johnny] Lewis was renting a room from Davis. Lewis is also the main suspect in her killing because evidence shows that no one else was in the home at the time of the two deaths. In addition, reports from the neighbors say that a man fitting Lewis’ description jumped the fence that connected that of Davis’ property, assaulted the homeowner and a painter before jumping back to the other side. The man then climbed onto the roof of the house because of the sirens of approaching LAPD in what is thought to be a possible escape attempt. It is unclear at the moment whether [Johnny] Lewis jumped or fell.

Drugs are expected in the strange ending to Lewis’ life. However, TOX reports won’t be back for a few days. Lewis has been in trouble with the law lately. He plead No Contest to an assault with a deadly weapon & had an attempted burglary charge according to police records, and was released from jail on September 21st.

[Johnny] Lewis is probably best known for playing the character Kip “Half Sack” Epps on the FX Network’s “Sons of Anarchy” for two seasons (26 episodes) before being killed off on the second season finale.

During an interview back in 2009 “SOA” creator, Kurt Sutter, told Alan Sepinwall that Lewis wasn’t happy on the show. Saying: “Creatively, he [Johnny Lewis] wanted out of his contract.” And after conversations they decided to find a noble way for him to go.

About the killings, Sutter Tweeted that Lewis’ death “was a tragic end to an extremely talented guy, who had unfortunately lost his way”. Sutter also Tweeted that he was not shocked by the events, & was deeply saddened by the death of Davis.

Lewis’ acting resume contains 33 projects. Other than “SOA” Lewis was in the 2010 indie feature “The Runaways”; 9 episodes of Fox’s “The OC”; and the upcoming “186 Dollars to get Out”.

As for Catherine Davis, she lived in the home for decades, renting out her rooms to young actors & actresses; writers & other movie industry people.  

The Apple Doesn’t Fall to Far from the Hashish Tree: Fiona Apple Busted

Okay, I’m pulling an Anderson Cooper (talk show version) here with this one. But I thought it was too funny to pass up.

Remember Fiona Apple? Come on, you know you want too. The 1996 album “Tidal” help you out? Or how about the Grammy winning tune ‘Criminal’?

Well, whatever. For those of you that do, looks like Miss Apple is trying for a come back except she is doing it Snoop-Dogg style by getting busted in in the town of Sierra Blanca. This Texas town has an interesting habit of arresting musicians for the magic weed (the fore mentioned Snoop, along with Willie Nelson).

Apple, now 35, got nabbed carrying 4 grams of hash after her tour bus was stopped by Border Patrol agents at a check point and a drug sniffing poochie detected the stash in her bag & was released from the Hudspeth County Jail after posting bail. While pot is only a misdemeanor in the great state of Texas, however, Hashish in any amount is not. And is considered a felony according to the Texas Controlled Substance Act.

What does this mean for [Fiona] Apple? Probably nothing but her [Apple] publicist had no comment on the matter.

Symphony of Stupidity Part 3: Just Who the Hell is “Sam Bacile” and Why Do We Care, & Will Eric Holder Prosecute?

I don’t know about you, but if I were going to use a fake name so I could make one of the most incendiary YOUTUBE videos (come on, we can’t call what that is a movie no matter how much some douche bag radical cleric wants too) in YOUTUBE history I think I would of used a fake address as well. Buy hey, who am I kidding. Nobody is smart in this entire situation. And I mean NOBODY. Not “Bacile” who seems to really be Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, Nakoula is being named by the feds as the filmmaker behind the now the most notorious (and just awful) video; the ever loving Arabs of Egypt, Libya, Yemen, & so on; the governments of all those nations previously named; Obama; or even Mitt “Robot” Romney. They all have dropped the ball on this whole ball of wax.

But lets start with the simplest of idiots in this equation: That of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, aka: Sam Bacile.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula is a 55 year-old Coptic Christian (what’s a Coptic Christian? Glad you asked because in truth I hadn’t the slightest fucking idea either. I mean, really, how many fucking different names & ways does a person or group of persons need to basically worship the same GOD?… anyway, a Coptic Christian (according to Wikipedeia) is the name of the largest Christian Church in the Middle East (now that has to be fun) & belongs to the Oriental Orthodox family of churches which dates back to AD 451 & the Council of Chalcedon. The church group also has ties to the church founded by good-ol’-Saint-Mark back in AD 42. But enough of the history lesson. Seems as of 2012, the Coptic Christians claim about 10% of the Egyptian population. I guess they believe in, I don’t know, whatever the other Christians believe), who pled no contest back in 2010 to federal bank fraud charges in California and was ordered to pay more than $790,000 in restitution, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and ordered not to use computers, or the Internet for five years without approval from his probation officer. He [Nakoula], at last check, was still on probation, according to court records. Oops. Hence the alias.

Now that the whole fucking Muslim world wants to kick Nakoula’s ass for his video, of course he now looking for police help to keep him safe. On Thursday, Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to his house & production office in fear of reprisals. (they have been removed thus far, but be assured the FBI Terrorist Unit can’t be to far away. Nakoula is just to big of a target to not dangle out for some terrorist asshole to bite on)

And things look as if they are going to get worse for Nakoula, who will in no doubt be sued by the cast & crew for being miss lead about what the film they making actually was. Turns out that the cast & crew thought they were making a film called “Desert Warrior” & now have issued a joint statement saying: “they are extremely upset and feel taken advantage of by the producer.” The statement goes on to say: “We are 100 percent not behind this film and were grossly misled about its intent and purpose. We are shocked by the drastic rewrites of the script and lies that were told to all involved. We are deeply saddened by the tragedies that have occurred.”

 Now in the wake of the death of a U.S. Ambassador & three others in Libya, Attorney General Eric Holder said that Justice Department officials had opened a criminal investigation into the attack on the American mission in Benghazi. It was not immediately clear whether or not authorities were focusing on the California filmmaker as part of said probe. Now here is where it gets a little sticky. If Holder thinks that he can bring Nakoula Basseley Nakoula up on charges for the death of Ambassador Stevens and 3 of his staff I think he is way off base. Right or wrong there’s still something called the first Amendment & it is still firmly in place. I have no problem if the FEDS get him [Nakoula] on a violation of the terms of his parole, since he is in clear violation of. If Holder gets away with the former of the two, it will have long standing consequences on one of the things we, as Americans, hold dear. And that of FREEDOM OF SPEECH, PRESS AND ALL THE OTHER GOODIES THAT GO ALONG WITH THAT AMENDMENT.  

In the end nobody will listen. And the Wall Street Journal is saying best: There is no Isreali-American named Sam Bacile; there is no Jewish money cabal fronting cash for “Innocence of Muslims; quite surely this crap YOUTUBE video didn’t cost anywhere near $5 million dollars; and it seems that the head of the National American Coptic Assembly, Morris Sadek, has been publicly promoting the video suggests that they are somehow involved as well.

But like I said, none of that matters. Radical Clerics with an agenda all their own will, and have been, spinning the wheels of hate in the direction they most want it to go: TOWARDS AMERICA & THE WEST.    

Symphony of Stupidity: Part 2... This is the Crap Film that has Egypt Pissed [UPDATED]

This badly edited, badly acted, badly written, badly… oh, fuck, just plain bad… clip is supposedly what has the Egyptians all worked up.

Turns out that the these 13 minutes of “Innocence of Muslims” have been floating around on YOUTUBE since July but has only recently been picked up on by protesters and other activists alike.

Directed and produced by an Israeli-American real-estate developer, Sam Bacile,  who characterized the film (if it can be called that) as a political effort to call attention to the hypocrisies of Islam, and has been promoted by Terry Jones, the Florida pastor whose burning of Qurans previously sparked deadly riots around the world.

 [Sam] Bacile, a 52-year-old writer, stated that he wanted to showcase [his] view of Islam as that of a “hateful religion“ also saying in a telephone interview from his home, that "Islam is a cancer." Bacile also claims that his film (again I say this loosely) is not political movie nor a religious movie."

Even though he called it a political effort… but whatever. His money. His time.

Although, the bad blood about this crap film has not stayed with-in the borders of Egypt. In Benghazi, Libya, a deputy interior minister for region told the Al-Jazeera network that several dozen gunmen from an Islamist group, Ansar al Sharia, attacked the [U.S.] consulate with rocket-propelled grenades to protest the film, after which militants set it on fire. CNN also reports that one American was killed in the attack.

Since it is an American production, even though the United States has nothing to do with it, Americans in the Middle East are bearing the brunt of the attacks.

The State Department, however, confirms that the Egyptian police have removed demonstrators away from the embassy, even though protest leaders have denied that account stating that they had convinced the young men of the protest to leave the grounds of the embassy. But as darkness fell over Cairo, there have been some reports that some demonstrators were still around. Protest organizers have stated as well that they understand American laws on free expression, but see them as secondary to their religious practice. 34-year-old protester, Ashraf Ibrahim, stated: “Freedom of belief is more important than freedom of expression.” (That is unless it is about a different religion or Jews. Just call it how is.)

The Foreign Minister of Egypt said that their government bears full responsibility for the attack.


[UPDATE]

In a statement released Tuesday night, Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton said:  “I condemn in the strongest terms the attack on our mission in Benghazi today. As we work to secure our personnel and facilities, we have confirmed that one of our State Department officers was killed. We are heartbroken by this terrible loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and those who have suffered in this attack.”

Turns out that there were three victims in yesterdays attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

U.S. Ambassador, Christopher Stevens (52) was killed Tuesday when about 20 gunmen stormed the consulate trading gun fire and rocket propelled grenades for about a twenty minutes with Libyan Security forces that guard the complex along with a detachment of Marines.

It is not sure whether Stevens was succumbed by smoke inhalation or was possibly in car that was hot by a motor while trying to clear the area.

The U.S. State Department is now evacuating all personnel from Benghazi.

President Obama also released a Statement Tuesday condemning the attacks: “I strongly condemn the outrageous attack on our diplomatic facility in Benghazi, which took the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. Right now, the American people have the families of those we lost in our thoughts and prayers. They exemplified America's commitment to freedom, justice, and partnership with nations and people around the globe, and stand in stark contrast to those who callously took their lives. I have directed my Administration to provide all necessary resources to support the security of our personnel in Libya, and to increase security at our diplomatic posts around the globe. While the United States rejects efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others, we must all unequivocally oppose the kind of senseless violence that took the lives of these public servants.”

Symphony of Stupidity: The United States Apologizes for Attack on U.S. Embassy in Egypt

 U.S. officials on Tuesday apologized (as is being reported by Reuters)  as pissed off Egyptians scaled the wall of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, tearing down the American flag & burned it, then tried to raise a flag of their own saying: “There is no God But God, and Mohammed his Messenger” in protest over a movie that is “supposedly” being made about the Prophet Mohammed.

In a statement released by embassy officials condemning: “”misguided individuals” who hurt the religious feelings of Muslims or followers of other religions. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.”

(Wasn’t that nice of us? Maybe I object to you objecting the right that is given to all AMERICANS & when we [The United States] wants to grant the DREAMERS those same rights we APOLPGIZE for it! How about this: FUCK YOU!)

However, it’s not clear what film the protesters are all in a huff about.

When asked no one seems to know really anything about the movie other than it’s being made in the United States and that it is being done by Christian pastor, Terry Jones (you remember Jones, right? He made fame in the Middle East in 2010 by threatening to burn the Koran, prompting riots in Afghanistan).

All they know is that according to the website www.standupamericanow.org, was that Jones & others were taking part in an event marking the 11th anniversary of the September 11th, 2001 attacks supposedly entitled: “International Judge Mohammad Day” that was going to be carried on the internet.

As we all know by now is that the ever peaceful & loving folks in the Middle East take great offense when it comes to THEIR god and/or MOHAMMED especially when it is negative (if your name is Jesus or Buddha or whatever I guess you’re just shit out of luck). Many of the protesters were thought to be supporters of Islamist group "ultras" youths (kind of makes me think of an Arab version of the thugs from Stanley Kubrick’s “Clockwork Orange”), the group played a big role in the uprising that brought down Hosni Mubarak last year.

19-year-old Ismail Mahmoud, a member of the so-called "ultras", said, that “This movie must be banned immediately and an apology should be made,” and called on President Mohamed Mursi, Egypt's first civilian president and an Islamist, to take action. But again he had no details of the film that angered him or other protesters.

This isn’t the first -and I doubt will be the last- incident where protesters clashed with American interests in Egypt since the outing of President Mubarak in 2011. During Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit last July, after new Egyptian President Mursi was sworn in, her motorcade was pelted with tomatoes & demonstrators shouted slogans against her [Clinton], reflecting perceptions of some Islamists, who have swept Egypt's presidency and a parliamentary vote, that Washington helped them [Islamists] to power.

Hell, maybe they weren’t protesting at all and instead saying thanks to 1.3 billion dollars that the United States sends Egypt every year as has since signing of a peace treaty with Israel back in 1979. Yeah, that could be it. You have to love it. The American government is borrowing money at a phenomenal rate to pay bills & here we are sending over a billion to them to prop up their [Egypt] military. With videos being uploaded to YOUTUBE showing protesters as they chant outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, attacking it because some take it to the extreme when they think that anything that maybe insulting to Islam, I, for one, think that shit [sending aide] has to come to a stop, especially when we can‘t get our financial house in order.

But what the fuck do I know. I’m just some asshole that has to pay taxes to a government that has to borrow money so they can send it to other countries.

CRAIGSLIST = Zero, Nada, Nothin’

In today’s awesome climate of crap that comes to job searching people turn to all different means of applying and/or getting their names and themselves out there thru a variety of different avenues. One of which would be the ever popular CRAIGSLIST, where a person and/or businesses can post ads explaining what they want and need and what they are looking for.

So as I am one of those poor and unfortunate fools looking for a another job I said: “what the hell” and started applying via that way [CRAIGSLIST]. Hitting all the jobs I was qualified for, all of which came up to ZERO, NADA, NOTHIN’.

Okay, that can be expected. Jobs are tough to get by these days so I kept at it to more of ZERO, NADA, NOTHIN’.

I mean I got NOTHING. Not a single reply except for the occasional email kick back stating that they had received my email.

After a couple of weeks of this ZERO, NADA, NOTHIN’ I started thinking on just how many people actually get real jobs off of CRAIGSLIST. I know thru a friend that it is possible to get the random day gig for something because this is how he makes a living, however, that is not what I want. I, like the other 20+ million unemployed people in this nation, want something that at least resembles a REAL (9 to 5) JOB. I’m told they are out there, but I just don’t know where.

So I ran a little experiment. I applied for all the jobs. And I mean ALL of them. Every time there was a new post I would apply. I even went as far as to tailor my emails and resume to make it appear that I was more than qualified for the job. It didn’t matter what the job was. You needed a wedding DJ, I’m your man; you needed a warehouse guy, I’m your man; you needed an intern to work in fashion for no pay, I’m your man. The list went on & on.

After two weeks of this my efforts still came up to ZERO, NADA, NOTHIN’.

Not a single reply back.

I was like: “YOU have to be kidding, right?” And to be completely honest, I am not sure what it reflects. Does it reflect that CRAIGSLIST is the words biggest waste of time for searching for a job or is that there are SO MANY poor saps like myself looking that I, and people like me, just get lost in the shuffle?

But not to have a single reply?

Wait, I take that back. I did receive ONE reply back about being paid for writing reviews on the website YELP, a week later telling me to be patent & that since it was a holiday that they would be getting back to everyone after it. Here it is, now, a week after Labor Day, the holiday that was holding them up on doing anything, & still ZERO, NADA, NOTHIN’.

Now I have used CRAIGSLIST before, posting an ad for actors when I was filming my defunct film to a wide response. All of which [the emails I received] I contacted whether I thought they would fit or not, either explaining where & when to go for the audition or explaining that they were not what I was looking for. And we all know that prostitution does more than well since the government has made it their duty to clean up the site. So I know it is possible to find something via CRAIGSLIST.

Perhaps if I respond that I work for so may roses an hour I would have better luck.

But for now all I have to show for my time is ZERO, NADA, NOTHN’.