Michael Pellegrini's Blog and Rants and Stuff

I got a new rejection back on my taxi book today. The agent was named Toni Lopopolo. She wrote:

"Thanks, but I'll pass - your story may be a good one but I enjoy a 'point of view' - i.e., use a character's POV to 'see the story' - as written. This is the [something unintelligible] author method and it seems dated and distant to me. If you don't have these books, get them: 1) Stein on Writing, by Sol Stein, and 2) Self Editing For Fiction Writers, by Brown and King.

You see, if the novel is not put in one character's point of view, the intimate [something unintelligible] 3rd person - then it's no one's POV and that doesn't work for me." T.L.

"Dated and distant?"

Stupid bitch! I intended it that way. It's omniscient third
person! What about it? I like it that way!

If it seems dated and distant, maybe it's cause I was consciously trying to imitate Steinbeck's style, and yup, he has been dead a while... Yup, another dead, hack writer. But I like him. A dead hack writer with a Nobel Prize for literature...

I will persist!

I was watching Meet The Press on NBC this morning.

Tim Russert was interviewing Orin Hatch and Charles Schumer, talking about possible appointments to the Supreme Court. Everything was going along great, and then Russert asked Hatch about the possibility of “non-judicial” appointments – that is, making an appointment of a person who was not a judge to the court.

Hatch picked it right up. He said something to the effect that the necessity of appointing judges to the judiciary was overblown. All that was necessary, really, was to appoint someone “who knew what was going on,” and that a great deal of such qualified people existed.

“Perhaps even within the Senate?” asked Russert.

Hatch agreed.

Then Russert asked, “Perhaps you? Would you accept if the President offered it?”

All puffed up and looking extremely regal, Hatch shrugged and said something to the effect no one could refuse something like that.

Then they moved on.

Conventional wisdom has shifted, I see. Based on this, apparently all you need to be a Supreme Court Justice is to “know what’s going on.” You don’t need to be a lawyer, much less a judge.

Now that does make sense.

I mean really, when you think about it, why would you want to know about the law, just to be a Justice? Why confuse the issue with facts? Wouldn’t it be much easier to make a good decision with a fresh mind uncluttered with all those stodgy, confusing details – like precedents, case law, legal history, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, all those lawerly sort of confusing, icky, awful things?

So true!

And aren’t lawyers really to blame for all the ills of our society? Sure they are.

Yup, I’m with Shakespeare: “Let’s kill all the lawyers!” Let’s make it so no lawyer is ever appointed as a judge again!

Hmm… I’m guessing that Hatch was floating a trial balloon for the Bush administration on this issue – seeing what kind of support or opposition for the idea existed.

Well I think it’s a great idea, myself.

Based on that, I’d like to put out my own nominees for Supreme Court Justice:

Tim Eyman – Obviously Tim “knows what’s going on.” A champion of the people (while lining his own pockets), Tim would be great for the job. A consummate liar, he has no judicial knowledge whatsoever, no scruples, no morals, and is basically available to the highest bidder.

Dan Quayle – Who better than the former Vice president to be a Justice? Dan boy was a Senator for years and years, and then VP under the Big Bush. He has an intimate knowledge of Washington, so he must “know what’s going on.” So what if he has an IQ of 46? That’s at least 10 points higher than Dubya, and look how he’s doing! Quayle would be an “everyman’s” Justice. He can probably get someone to check his spelling when he writes all those silly opinions…

Jeb Bush – Hey, why not? Dubya’s brother “knows what’s going on” better than almost anyone! Look at what he did on the awful Terri Schiavo case. It was obvious that Terri Schiavo was alive and well and getting ready to make an appearance on Jeopardy when she was ruthlessly killed by her husband. She wasn’t even brain dead! No way. She was just playing possum and Jeb boy knew it! And then look how statesman-like he was when he went to Thailand to help all those poor heathens whose homes were destroyed by the wrath of God (From what he said, if they’d just been smart and accepted Christ as their Savior, the big wave woulda never hit – heathens are such dummies!).

Pat Robertson – Now Pat’s been part of the Washington political process for years and years and years. Who better than him would “know what’s going on?” His presence on the Court would be like a breath of fresh air. We could get rid of all those silly things, like Roe v. Wade, Miranda, the Bill of Rights – all that trash. And isn’t it about time we had a state religion? You know, “…One nation, under one God, with liberty and justice for just about everybody…”

George Herbert Walker Bush – Dubya? Yeah, sure! He can appoint himself! Who says you can’t serve as President AND Supreme Court Justice at the same time? Think of the money we’d save by combining the positions. And after he changes those silly rules about presidential term limits, he can swear himself in – and like Idi Amin, be President for Life!

Who would you like to see as Justice?

At right, Laura Ellen With Jay Boy Adams at KFAT.

On Memorial Day, Laura Ellen Hopper passed away due to complications from cancer.

Laura Ellen was the Program Director of KPIG radio - 107 oink 5, in Freedom, California. Before that, she was the Program Director of the legendary and infamous KFAT radio, located in Gilroy, California, the garlic capital of the world, from 1975 through 1983.

I didn’t find out Laura Ellen had passed away until today, because in a fit of nostalgia, I’d been listening to the KFAT stream for the past few days.

Laura Ellen has been in my life for over 30 years.

I started listening to her in the mid-70’s on KFAT. I was staying in Aptos, living a counter-culture lifestyle.

One of my friends suggested I ditch KLRB and try listening to this strange new hippie station that’d started-up in Gilroy (Garlic capital of the world!). The station played all sorts of weird shit – country and western, blues, rock, bluegrass, zydeco, reggae, folk – they played damned near everything, except top-40.

I tried it.

I loved KFAT. It was completely unpredictable. In one half-hour, you might hear Randy Newman, Frank Wakefield, Jimi Hendrix, Merle Haggard, Joan Baez, Clifton Chenier, Larry Hosford, and The Allman Brothers Band. All chased with some Hawaiian Cowboy music.

From that point on, KFAT was all I listened to.

Through KFAT and Laura Ellen, my musical vistas were expanded greatly. I broke out of the rock and roll mode I’d been in for too many years, and started listening to country and to bluegrass and all sorts of the other music that she and KFAT played.

There were the Fat Frys and Le Club Fat. KFAT became an institution in the Monterey Bay area.

In 1982, I moved up to the city, so I actually missed the very end.

But for the years afterwards, I remained a Fat Head to the bone. It was hard being Fat Free – I hadn’t had the foresight to record any KFAT off the air. But I existed.

Then in the late 90’s living up in the Seattle area, I found KPIG online, and rejoiced! Because the Fat One was reborn!

I’ve been a faithful listener ever since (minus a couple years when Real Player was the only stream option). I don’t know what I would do without the Pig.

I think it’s only been in the last year or so that I came to understand exactly how important Laura Ellen was to KPIG and KFAT; came to understand how much of the stations were her.

It’s against all odds that KPIG lives. In this era of Satellite Radio and Clear Channel, KPIG should not be allowed to exist. It’s an anachronism; but more than that, it’s seditious – the last true free-form radio that exists, at least in this country. It shows exactly how good radio can be.

And with the advent of the web stream, KPIG has oinked its way into the lives of people all over the world – reaching a tremendous audience. An audience far beyond anything she ever envisioned, I’m sure, when she started out with KFAT.

My sincere hope is that KPIG will live long and prosper in Laura Ellen’s absence. That more than anything would be a wonderful monument to her – a fitting tribute to the enormous 30-year musical legacy she has left us.

She affected my life greatly. She made me a better, more well-rounded person.

Thanks, Laura Ellen.

We’ll miss you a helluva lot.

Sincerely,

Mike Pellegrini
Tacoma, Washington
A Fattie Forever

Peace.

He who burns brightest burns quickest.

Chris Lapenski died in a motorcycle accident on the morning of Monday, August 13.

He was 36 years old, a longshoreman, riding his Suzuki Hayabusa – the fastest production bike in the world, capable of speeds close to 200 MPH.

He was on his way to work at TOTE that morning, and according to reports, might have been racing another bike (the other rider denies this) at speeds around one hundred miles an hour. Supposedly, the other bike briefly lost control swerving into his path, which in turn caused Chris to lose control. He came off the bike and impacted a wooden post.

This is a tragic loss.

Chris lived more in his 36 years than most people will ever live in double or even triple that period of time.

I worked with Chris at Evergreen for the last seven or so years. Chris was a good friend. I’m really going to miss him.

Chris was so vibrantly alive, I’m having problems accepting that I’ll never see him again. It’s hard to believe that he won’t come bursting into the room in a just a few minutes, wide-eyed, with some new story to tell.

He really was a great storyteller. He must be particularly upset that he won’t be able to tell the story of his last ride – I know he’d make the story a good one. “Man, you gotta hear this…”

Everything he did was larger than life. He was the consummate sportsman. He took no small bites.

Chris knew more about the Evergreen terminal’s operation than just about anyone else. He was an expert at any and every job on the terminal. When you had a problem with something on the terminal, Chris was the person you went to for a solution.

Chris occasionally displayed what some interpreted as arrogance and impatience, but the truth of the matter was that he was smarter and quicker and often more knowledgeable than most all of those around him. Even so, he was always eager to share his knowledge with anyone who asked.

Chris lived and breathed his Hayabusa. His cycle magazines are lying all around the office here. In his off moments while working, he’d almost always be on some website or internet forum dedicated to Haybusas. He’d always be calling you over to look at some new video or web page about a Hayabusa.

No one wants to die, but I’m sure if Chris had been offered a chance to pick the manner of his own departure, it would have come down pretty much as it did – doing something he truly loved.

It’ll never be the same here at Evergreen without him. His loss leaves a giant hole in all our lives. We’ll all miss him terribly.

My condolences to his family.

Our prayers are with you Chris.

I just replaced the firepot on my pellet stove last week. $300.

I’ve heated my home with wood pellets for the last five years. I have a Quadrafire Santa Fe stove.

In a typical year, we’ll use about two tons of pellets in the heating season. When I got the stove, that’d cost about $300, which is a helluva good deal.

Last year, I spent just over $500 – which is still really inexpensive compared to any other form of heat.

For most of that five-year period, I’ve used Manke Clean Burn Pellets, which are produced here locally in Tacoma. They burn really hot, and produce almost no ash. The ash from two tons easily fit into the ash drawer on my stove.

I was cleaning the stove one morning last week and punched a hole in the side of the firepot – it had rusted through in the area by where the starter element was welded on to the pot (area circled in red on photo).

Also, I noted the white deposits on the air holes (arrows). I wet the tip of my finger and touched the white area, then tasted it – it tastes salty.

When I went to the dealer to get the new firepot, I described the damage to the parts guy – who used to work as a repairman. He asked how old the firepot was – I told him four years (it was replaced under warranty when the stove was one year old).

Then the guy asked, “You use Clean Burn, huh?”

What’s the difference between a bookie and an insurance company? The bookie won’t welsh on paying if you try to collect.

We just got done with a long, troubling fight with Safeco Insurance.

Early last April, my oldest kid’s car – a 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo – was sitting in front of his house one night at 2 AM. A drunk lady leaving a nearby bar plowed into it and split without stopping. Luckily, my son heard tires squealing and ran outside in time to get her license number as she sped off.

He gave the information to the police, who told him they thought it was likely a college student going home from a bar just down the street.

When the lady hit, the main point of contact was her car's right front wheel - it hit on my son's left rear wheel, smashing his car about a foot into the curb, and then forcing it maybe another foot forward along the curb.

Damaged in the crash were his two passenger side wheels, plus the wheel that took the initial impact, as well as some minor body damage at the point of impact. The crash also stripped the splines on his steering shaft and bent his left rear control arm.

The next day, my son went driving with a friend around the nearby university and in short order, he found the car. We turned that information over to the cops.

In a day and age when organized labor seems largely irrelevant to many, this is an appropriate time to stop and reflect on the gains made by unions in the past 100 years.

Although no one seems to remember now, some of the most basic protections we presently enjoy – like Social Security and Unemployment Insurance – came to workers courtesy of the push from organized labor. This package also includes the 40-hour workweek, the minimum wage, overtime, the child labor laws and much more, including some very basic things like the right to join a union and the right to strike. Most of this was enacted as parts of President Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation.

But none of these rights and protections were just handed to the workers, even if they were part of Roosevelt’s New Deal. People died to obtain these protections.

The years leading up to the New Deal – particularly the 20’s and 30’s – were a bloody, bitter time for workers. Strikes – where people died for their union beliefs – were commonplace.

Back in those days, the typical scenario was that the workers would go on strike or get locked out, and then the employers would hire scabs, and detectives (like the Pinkerton’s or the notorious Baldwin-Felts Agencies) to “protect” the scabs. Then the war was on.

The strikers were most often cast as “Commies” or communist-dominated in propaganda put out by the employers – the “Red Menace” was a very common theme. The Chamber of Commerce and other civic organizations usually backed the employers. Often, local citizen groups, augmented (or supplanted) by the hired detectives and backed by the local governments formed “posses” and took on the strikers in open warfare – all in the name of “civic virtue” (cleaning out the Red’s). Occasionally the National Guard even got into the act.

Good examples of this sort of open labor warfare include The Ludlow Massacre (1914), The Battle of Matewan (part of the West Virginia Coal Wars - 1920), the Battle of Blair Mountain (1921), The Herrin Massacre (1922), The Columbine Mine Massacre (1927), The Auto-Lite Strike of 1934, The Minneapolis Teamsters Strike (1934) and the 1934 West Coat Maritime Strike (which evolved into the West Coast General Strike of 1934).

Hundreds and hundreds of workers died in those years, fighting for even the most basic of protections.