The Adventures of Cowboy Hazel

You know, starting these things is really the hardest part. Once you hit your stride, you’re fine. It’s just the getting going that poses a challenge. I’ve been sitting here for about eight-and-a-half minutes now trying to think of a clever, witty, but not overdone intro to this article and nothing has come to me. I have several interesting topics lined up, but no real idea of how to introduce them. Of course, I came up with this, but that was a desperate move. You can only use the topic of introductions as an actual introduction once. Well, I hope you enjoyed it because you’re never going to see it from me again.

Before I continue, let me apologize for any misspellings, bad grammar, or general nonsense I may be publishing. I’ll admit that I’ve had a few beers tonight. This does not violate my recent restriction on drinking, however, because today is part of the weekend. Furthermore, there was a really cute girl at the supermarket today who told me she’d give me a free t-shirt if I bought a 12 pack of Presidente. How could I have said no to that?

Moving on, tonight’s post will cover the following topics: Governer Spitzer’s recent resignation, Harlem, my new professional blog, and face recognition software.

You’re probably sick of hearing about this whole Governor Spitzer thing. God knows I am. I generally do a pretty good job of sheltering myself from the popular news because I think it’s mostly hype and scare tactics (Note to self: develop this into something more substantial at a later date). Even so, I’ve been bombarded by this story at every turn. I first heard of it from a marketing e-newsletter that I subscribe to. Then, I was at the laundromat and it was all over the television news that I couldn’t turn off. And, most recently, it showed up in the newest edition of The Economist, the magazine that is pretty much my only link with traditional media. I read their magazine because respect the fact that they report only real news and not merely sensationalism. That being the case, I have to admit that I was a little surprised to see a full page devoted to the Spitzer story (I don’t believe this is “real” news at all) in the current issue. But when I read the editorial, my faith in the magazine was restored. It was one of the most accurate criticisms of our country’s hypocrisy that I’ve read in a while. You can see the full article here or you can just enjoy the following excerpt that I find particularly true:

“The combination of legalism and puritanism invariably produces the same dismal results. It creates expensive government bureaucracies that seize on any excuse—rules relating to inter-state commerce are a particular favourite—to extend their powers to boss people about or spy on them. It throws up swivel-eyed zealots who pursue their manias with little sense of proportion or decency (remember Kenneth Starr). And it ends by devouring its children. Mr Spitzer is only the latest in an endless line of self-righteous crusaders impaled on their own swords.”

I was also happy to find an article about my own neighborhood in the magazine. (You can view it here.) It spoke of gentrification and the current residents’ complaints against it. I hold a unique view on the whole situation. As a white person, I seem like one of those gentrifying types that the locals seem so concerned about but, in actuality, I worry about my own rent going up just as much as the people who have lived here forever. My apartment is just down the street from the new Super Target that they’re building and I’m real scared about what that’s going to do to my rent when it opens up this fall just before my lease renews. I can’t afford any rent increases any more than my fellow Harlemites can. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating rent control at all (Note to self: You really need to write an article on rent control because you speak of it as though everyone already knows your thoughts but they really don’t.), I’m just saying that I worry about the neighborhood getting “too nice” too.

Moving on. I spent a ridiculous amount of time today launching a new blog. I’ve really been trying to think of ways to promote my new business lately and came to the conclusion that creating a blog on website design, development, and marketing would be a good start. Please visit the blog - NYC Web Design - and give me any feedback that you have. I ended up using WordPress instead of Blogger for it and was pretty happy with it after I downloaded it myself instead of using 1&1’s default version. I’ll probably be switching this blog over to WordPress soon too so that I can get rid of that annoying top bar.

Finally, I wanted to share a laugh with you all. I found a site today that offers face-recognition software comparing your face with celebrities. It seemed like a cool deal and so I submitted a picture. I was a little surprised by the results so I submitted another. This happened a couple times and I ended up sending them four different pictures. The strange thing is that of the resulting 32 celebrities (each picture delivered eight) there were no duplicates. Even stranger is the fact that none of the pictures delivered the name Billy Zane, which I get from people all the time. Strangest of all is the fact that they returned Charlize Theron as the celebrity I looked most like for one of the pictures. I don’t, do I? Click here to view the results of my photos. And, check out myheritage.com to find your look-alikes. Even though they’re not accurate, they certainly are funny. Oh, and make sure to share them with me. I can always use a good laugh.