Incredibly sad...totally preventable!

Did you hear about this tragedy? What kind of parent takes his 8 year-old to a gun show... and lets him shoot an uzi? What kind of 'show' would allow a minor to handle one? Why in the hell were they using live amo? I hope all those gun owner's rights freaks take a good long look at this little boy's face. I hope they remember him and how he didn't have to die. Someone needs to go to jail for this - at the very least, this is child neglect. What a shame. (And this is the perfect example of the reality that 'guns really do kill' - not just the people using them.)


Police Probe Boy's Gun Show Death
By SUSAN HAIGH, AP

WESTFIELD, Mass. (Oct. 28) - With an instructor watching, an 8-year-old boy at a gun fair aimed an Uzi at a pumpkin and pulled the trigger as his dad reached for a camera.

It was his first time shooting a fully automatic machine gun, and the recoil of the weapon was too much for him. He lost control and fatally shot himself in the head.

Now gun safety experts — and some gun enthusiasts at the club where the shooting happened — are wondering why such a young child was allowed to fire a weapon used in war. Local, state and federal authorities are also investigating whether everyone involved had proper licenses or if anyone committed a criminal act.

"It's easy to lose control of a weapon like that ... they are used on a battleground for a very good reason," said Jerry Belair, a spokesman for Stop Handgun Violence, based in Newton, Mass. "It's to shoot as many times as you possibly can without having to reload at an enemy that's approaching. It's not a toy. It's not something to play with."

Police said Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn., was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., on Sunday afternoon, shortly after firing a 9mm micro Uzi submachine gun at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club, co-sponsored by C.O.P. Firearms & Training.

"The weapon was loaded and ready to fire," Westfield police Lt. Hipolito Nunez said. "The 8-year-old victim had the Uzi and as he was firing the weapon, the front end of the weapon went up with the backfire and he ended up receiving a round in his head."

Nunez said the investigation is continuing.

Christopher, a third-grader, was attending the show with his father and sixth-grade brother, Colin. Christopher had fired handguns and rifles before, but Sunday was his first time firing an automatic weapon, said his father, Charles Bizilj.

Bizilj told the Boston Globe he was about 10 feet behind his son and reaching for his camera when the weapon fired. He said his family avoided the larger weapons, but he let his son try the Uzi because it's a small weapon with little recoil.

"This accident was truly a mystery to me," said Bizilj, director of emergency medicine at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford, Conn. "This is a horrible event, a horrible travesty, and I really don't know why it happened."

Police are calling the shooting an accident but are investigating whether everyone connected with the incident had proper weapons permits. Massachusetts requires licenses to own firearms, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issues different licenses to possess machine guns.

The machine gun shoot drew hundreds of people from as far away as Maine and Virginia. An advertisement said it would include machine gun demonstrations and rentals and free handgun lessons.

"It's all legal & fun — No permits or licenses required!!!!" reads the ad, posted on the club's Web site.

"You will be accompanied to the firing line with a Certified Instructor to guide you. But You Are In Control — "FULL AUTO ROCK & ROLL," the ad said.

The ad also said children under 16 would be admitted free, and both adults and children were offered free .22-caliber pistol and rifle shooting.

Massachusetts has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. It is legal in Massachusetts for children to fire a weapon if they have permission from a parent or legal guardian and they are supervised by a properly certified and licensed instructor, Nunez said. The name of the instructor who was with the boy at the time was not released.

"We do not know at this time the full facts of this incident," Nunez said Monday.

Associated Press Writer Pat Eaton-Robb in Ashford, Conn., and Denise Lavoie in Boston contributed to this report.

I thought it was just me...

Have you seen the newest DirecTV ad featuring the film Poltergeist and its stars Craig T. Nelson and Heather O'Rourke? (I won't lend to its viewership by posting a link to it - but you can find it on You Tube and other sources if you like.) Well, I am just disgusted by it.

For those who do not know, the young actress who portrays Carol Anne (O'Rourke) in the films, died of septic shock at the age of 12 - shortly before the release of Poltergeist 3. So I thought it was incredibly tasteless to feature her in this ad. I was especially offended that Craig T. Nelson "talks" to her as if she were still living and standing there. I normally think their ads are cute - but this one is just terrible!

Shame on them for exploting a dead child for a buck. I have read some rumors online that her family gave their permission for DirecTV to use her image in the ad - but that still doesn't make it feel right to me. Although she died 20 years ago, and I know dead actors and actresses are used all the time in ads (Marilyn Monroe...James Dean as just 2 examples), the fact that she died so young makes it her an exception to the rule to me.

I remember being very upset when she passed away in 1988. I couldn't say why it affected me so much - but I recall how sad I was when I heard of her passing. Perhaps it was because she was the first child I "knew" that died. All I know is I hope they yank this ad off the air. It is really just too sad. RIP Heather...

DirecTV's 'Poltergeist' ad gives some viewers the creeps

By Anne Glover, Times Staff Writer

In print: Wednesday, October 15, 2008

We're seeing dead people.

And that has some of us up in arms over a DirecTV ad that's running on television right now.
You might have seen it. It's one of those commercials where they take a classic movie scene and use one of the original stars to promote the TV service. Previous ads have featured Sigourney Weaver in a classic Aliens scene and Robert Patrick as the T-1000 from the Terminator 2 helicopter scene.

In this case, it's Poltergeist. Craig T. Nelson, who played the dad in the 1982 movie, is real and alive in the ad. But Heather O'Rourke, who is seen reciting the movie's memorable line, "Theeeyyyy'rre heeerrre" is deceased. She died in 1988 at age 12 of septic shock while undergoing an operation to remove a bowel obstruction.

And that, some blog posters and their readers say, is why this ad really creeps them out.
"Glad I'm not the only one who was a bit taken aback by this ad. I don't begrudge Nelson the dough but couldn't they have figured out a way to not use the dead little girl?" wrote Dan Taylor on Slashfilm.com.

Tiffany on EW's PopWatch blog said: "I had kind of an unsettled feeling when I first saw this, too. Couldn't they find another memorable Craig T. Nelson movie to re-make for the commercial? Oh, I guess not. But really, a dead child should be off limits when shilling something she didn't live long enough to see or experience."

And on AdFreak.com, Jim wrote: "I found it inappropriate. … It's one thing if the actor in question died of natural causes as an adult, but if you're aware of Heather O'Rourke's tragedy, it overwhelms the message. Will Dominique Dunne be in the next spot?" She's the young actor strangled by her former boyfriend right before Poltergeist was released.

Given the reaction out on the Web, seems as if the DirecTV folks would have been better off not disturbing the ghosts on this one.

Topsy Turvy...

Well, I've been employed now for three weeks. My body is still trying to adjust itself to my new schedule. By Thursday morning, I feel like I've been hit by a tank! Hopefully this will pass soon.

I'm also readjusting to being a working mother again. My house is now always in shambles. The laundry gets piled up faster too. It really bothers me because I had gotten used to being on top of these things. When I get home though all I want to do is rest before Brandon gets home from school. Regardless, I always feel like I am rushing off (or preparing to rush off)to pick someone up or run an errand. Sigh! How in the heck did I used to handle all of this?

Another odd result of my new job is the new anxiety of having more money. Yes, you read that right. Before I sort of got numb about every thing piling up because I knew we just didn't have the money to take care of certain bills or situations. Now we have a bit more money coming into the house and suddenly I'm stressed about what to do with it. We have been putting so much off - like paying some bills, buying new clothes, fixing our car and so forth - that now I'm not sure where to start. How crazy is that?!

I really do enjoy my new job though. The people I work with are great. It is a very easy-going place. We all click nicely. Like I mentioned before, my boss is very flexible on my needs. He lets me leave when I need too - which allows me to be super mommy or get extra hours when I am able. It's not a hard job either.

Did I mention that I lost my driver's license? I've been looking for the damned thing for 3 weeks! I finally broke down and went to the BMV on Friday to replace it. FYI - if this ever happens to you, bring your birth certificate AND your social security card with you. After waiting for 30 minutes, I found out the hard way and had to return with both documents. I don't like my new photo as much as my old one.

This weekend has been all about catching up: house work, bills and laundry. I also worked on the yard and Brian worked in the garage and fixed the break lights on our car. Tomorrow we will finally get the Halloween decorations up - I hope! We bought Brandon his costume tonight. Get this! He is going as a....banana! My kid marches to the beat of his own drum. I'm going to the grocery store to get one of those Dole stickers off the bananas. We are going to put it on his cheek. LOL I'll have to post a photo.

Hmm - what else?! Last night we went to the Blue Jacket game. I has bought tickets for the game for Brian's b-day present. The lost to the New York Rangers (who have a surprisingly large fan base here) 3-1. It was a very boring game. There was some bad penalties which cost us. Plus, I had to sit next to this obnoxious fat guy who kept belching all night! It was disgusting.

Last weekend we went to see Ballet Met's Dracula. (I think I told you all that Brian won 2 free tickets to every Ballet Met performance this year.) Our seats were excellent - dead center stage and about 10 rows up. I was really looking forward to this performance. For years I planned on going to see it, but I never had the money. Once again Ballet Met is saying they are retiring Dracula, but they've said that in the past. Well, it was pretty good. The two lead female dancers were awesome! I also really enjoyed the Brides of Dracula. The weak link? Dracula! Can you believe it? He just looked silly most of the time - particularly when scurrying around trying to appear like a bat. Plus he is one of their oldest dancers and it shows. His gut rolling over his pants during a shirtless scene was a bit unappealing. Overall I gave it a B+. We are going to see Cold Nights/Hot Dance in November. It is the performance they gave during their recent trip to NYC last month...so we are hopeful it will be very good.

Can you believe that Halloween is next Friday?! Where has the year gone? Before you know it I'll be Christmas shopping.

Happy Birthday Shout Outs to two of my very favorite people: Weird Al and little Xander!

Guess what? I read about a contest that I am thinking about entering. It is a short-story contest for fictional stories centered on a bisexual character. Dare I submit something and bare my heart & soul to just anyone? I think so...

This applies to so many things in my life...

I'm back....

Guess what?! My internet is now working at home again! Huzzah!!

A friend of mine (Jim) who is an IT super genius, was kind enough to take a look at my laptop. We were there almost 3 1/2 hours, but it was totally worth it to be able to take my laptop home and know I would be able to get online once again. He also dumped a bunch of unnecessary crap and added a few new bells and whistles to keep me safe. Best of all, he did it for free. What a guy! All hail Jim!

Bonus: He is going to set me up with a fully updated/clean system as soon as I am willing to part with my laptop for 3 days.

Oh joy!

I know I owe you all a much more detailed entry...but for now, I just wanted to share with you my good news. This means I will be able to post much more regularly.

Catch up with you all very soon!

Guess who has a job?!

This is going to be a super quick post because Brian is waiting for me so we can go out and celebrate his birthday (which is today)...but I got a job yesterday! Woo Whoo!

I'm going to be a receptionist at a brand new Allstate Insurance agency located in Clintonville. I'll be working 9-3 Monday-Thursday. I can already tell that the people I'll be working with are great and that I will like this job. My boss is super nice and a close friend of two people I know and trust to steer me in the right direction...they love him too. My new boss seems very pro-family (but not in a scary far right wing way). :o)

I promise to deliver more on this big break very soon.

Thanks to everyone who sent out the good vibes. It worked - I start Monday.