Could a Smoking Ban Be Coming to a _________ Near You?

This is a 'gray area' subject for me, I must warn you. After all, I consider myself an ex-smoker, yet I must confess that every once in a blue moon, I may sneak in a puff or two (especially if I'm enjoying a pretty good libation- and/or if I'm trying to get inside some woman's pants/skirt...anyway...).

The subject here is smoking bans, and about 2,200 jurisdictions in the US have bans on smoking in the workplace; in bars and bowling alleys. Some- such as the one in Washington State (just 10 miles up the road from where I'm at- in good ol' Moscow On the Willamette- Portland, Oregon) won't allow you to smoke within 25 feet of a building's entrance. Which means that the only place you can puff that Camel or Marlboro is in the middle of, say, C Street in the Vancouver city center. (Of course, there's this ban here in Multnomah County, Oregon- where Portland is located- this Ordinanace 937 that stopped this blog's author and (then) fellow smokers from smoking at that Wash World on Southeast belmosnt and 28th (it became law about 7 years ago...).

Now the anti-smoking nazis are at it again (I don't think that they stopped in the first place, to be honest). In my birth state of Ohio, there is this ballot measure, Issue 5 (what we call a 'measure' in Oregon, Ohio calls an 'issue', but both 'issue' and 'measure' are one in the same) called Smoke Free OhioThis measure, if passed, will ban smoking in workplaces, bars, race tracks (yes, Ohio has tons of them!); bingo parlors; even radio and TV stations (though I honestly don't know what banning smoking in media outlets has to do with the whole ball of wax here...). Go to the website http://www.smokefreeohio.org/oh/default.aspx for more information.

Then, there's the competing ballot measure, Issue 4, Smoke Less Ohio. It's pretty much the same, except with Issue 4, you can smoke in the bars, bingo halls. Otherwise, like Issue 5, it calls for a uniform smoking ban. There is a comparison chart between the two measures you can go to (at http://www.smokelessohio.com/SLO-SFO-comparison.pdf). Of course, the notable difference here is that RJ Reynolds and other tobacco companies are backing Issue 4.

Now, I may not puff up as much as I used to (in fact, these days, I've pretty much given up on the damn cancer sticks), but I still believe that if you want to smoke your lungs (and heart; and spleen) to oblivion (and risk erectile dysfunction and/or infertility, though admittedly, lots of guys smoked and still were able to keep it up- and put themselves into that skulldrugery that is FATHERHOOD!), more power to you, baby.

But I also have the right to walk away from that smoke. After all, I don't need the temptation to light up again.

The School Shooting in Colorado- Did Authorities Miss Something?

I'm going to play conspiracy theorist (for the lack of better words) here.

The shooting at a Bailey, Colorado high school yesterday no doubt shattered a small community. Six young ladies sexually assaulted, including one 16-year-old that was later killed by the shooter, 53-year-old Duane R. Morrison. Morrison, of course, killed himself as SWAT was moving in.

Morrison has a minor criminal record- obstruction of police in Lakewood; larcency and marijuana possession in the mid-1970s.

Call me suspicious, but I think there's more to this story than that. Given the nature of the crime, which was sexual according to authorities (I couldn't agree more), it makes me wonder if Mr. Morrison was a registered sex offender. And if so, from which jurisdiction? If he wasn't, then somehow, he managed to slither through the cracks and keep his sexual crimes under the radar. I'm picturing Duane Morrison with binoculars, leering at young girls...he could be masturbating, no doubt fantasizing about kidnapping some young girl- or two- and do what he damn well pleased with her. Of course, those horrid fantasies

I don't know, but there is more to this puzzle than what I'm hearing from media accounts.

So...When Exactly Will I Head to California?

I had a conversation with a friend of mine- no names please (only I'll mention that he's a few years older). This man is an Air force vet, and travelled the world ("...and the seven seas/everybody's lookin' for something..." I just had an Eurythmics moment here). He even wrote books, but lost the manuscripts to them.

I'll cut to the chase here. He's constantly telling me that I need to get things together, get my book published (though I thought I told him that I write scripts...challenging, sin't it? As you know I'm teaching myself Final Cut Studio, the video/film editing for the Macintosh, and Cinema 4D, a graphics program. Both programs are about to reach these grubby hands of mine...but, anyway...), and basically leave Portland. He's right on both counts.

So the question to myself: when exactly am I leaving Portland for Los Angeles? Yes, I thought about staying in Sacramento- albeit temporarily (and I still might, by the way)- but even if I do, it still doesn't change the fact that my backside needs to be in Los Angeles. After all, it sure as hell isn't going to come to me, is it? And I don't think some studio's going to come up to Moscow on the Willamette...er, Portland, Oregon, and say, "Darren, we'd love you to work for us." Doesn't happen, true believers.

So, having said this, I know that I'll be in California before 2006 is out. In fact, if I get my shit together, I'll be in the City of Angels in mid-October for Screenwriting Expo 5 (this year, the Expo's being held near LAX). And after I help vote (incumbent democrat) Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski out of office (and help put Ron Saxton in...hey, I'm Democrat, but I won't hesitate to vote for someone from the opposite party...), then I'll return to Los Angeles for awhile. Take those filmmaking classes I've been wanting to take forever, and start working in the industry.

But I've got to get working on this now, because if I wait any longer, I'll end up procrastinating, and find myself in a real mid-life crisis. As in "what have I've done over my 40 years (as of next July) on this planet?"

Okay, So He Goofed- T.O. accidentally ODs

Remember the news account that Dallas Cowboys wide receiver/diva Terrell Owens tried to kill himself last night?

Don't believe it!

As we know, T.O. broke his right hand in the Dallas-Washington game September 17. He's taking painkillers for the hand (hydrocodene...I wonder if it'll work on the damn toothache I'm screaming through now...). Apparently, he took a few too many pills, and when paramedics and police arrived, he was O-U-T of it. When asked if he was trying to harm himself, T.O. reportedly said "yes", when he meant, "hell, no, but I'm flying higher than a kite in a Ben Franklin thunderstorm right now." (okay, so I'm not from Texas. I'm not from Oregon, either. Still I lived here for nine years).

So for those who are worrying that our beloved flamboyant receiver has decided to play in the big Super Bowl in the sky, stop worrying. For those who were hoping that he would, well, let's just say that T.O's (right) hand heals pretty fast, and soon, he'll be eating defensive tackles for breakfast, lunch, dinner...and appetitizers.

How you like that?

Nevada War Widow Wins Right to Post Wicca Symbol on Husband's Grave

On September 25, 2005, Nevada Army National Guard Sergeant Patrick Stewart was a passenger on a Chinook in Afghanistan, probably coming from the field- or on his way there.

The Chinook was shot down by enemy fire, and Stewart was amoing the fatalites. He was only 34. While alive, Sgt. Stewart was a practicioner of the Wicca religion, considered a pagan faith by many circles.

His widow, Roberta, wanted to honor his memory by placing a Wiccan symbol on his plaque. However, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs does not honor the Wiccan symbols- mainly the pentacle, which is the pentagram inside a circle.

However, the state of Nevada does, and it has honored her request to place the pentacle on her husband's plaque.

Now, why the Department of Veterans won't recognize the Wicca symbol as a religious one, that's beyond me. But I can only surmise that it has something to do with the Judeo-Christian ways. After all, many say that the United States was founded upon Christian principles and values, and many see Wicca as anything but religious, let alone Christian. Sure, the Veterans department accepts the Jewish Star of David, and even Muslim symbols. But not the Wiccan symbols? That doesn't sound fair to me.

Kudos go to the State of Nevada, and to Mrs. Stewart in her continuing efforts to allow widows and widowers of soldiers who practiced Wicca to be recognized by our federal government.