Author Archives: Nik Bronder

Reason # 217: Not to do time in the South.

The Louisiana State Penitentiary has at least one Black Bear living on the prison grounds.  One might ask how the 400 pound bear was able to gain access to this ‘maximum security prison’:

“I love that bear being right where it is,” Warden Burl Cain said Monday. “I tell you what, none of our inmates are going to try to get out after dark and wander around when they might run into a big old bear. It’s like having another guard at no cost to the taxpayer.”

Warden Burl Cain

This statement leaves me with so many questions for Warden Burl Cain I really don’t know where to begin.

 

  1. Was there a problem of inmates ‘wandering around after dark’ before? 
  2. Has anyone looked into how the bear was able to get in?
  3. If a bear can get in, could a person get out?
  4. If you’re name is Burl Cain are you destined to be a Warden of a Penitentiary in the South?
  5. What has the 400 pound beast been eating?

 

If you have any questions you would like to ask Warden Burl Cain you can reach him at (225) 655-2002.

 

Justice Tour (or the best $10 I ever spent).

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Last night Julie, Nick and I went to Parkwest to see The Nightwatchman and many others on the Justice Tour.  The show was $10 and over three hours long.  We missed the opening set, which I’m pretty sure was just Tom Morello as The Nightwatchman but we saw everyone else:

  • Ben Harper w/Juan Nelson
  • Perry Farrell
  • Boots Riley of the Coup
  • Shooter Jennings
  • Wayne Kramer of MC5
  • Sen Dog of Cypress Hill

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It was completely bad ass.  I ran into Tom Morello on the way to the bathroom.  We slapped hands with Ben Harper, Perry Ferrel and Sen Dog on their way out of the venue.  The only thing that would have been cooler is if we found our way to the floor.  The setup of Parkwest was more like a nightclub than a rock venue.  There were a lot of booths and tables and the main floor seemed to be separated from where we were at.

Honestly.  It was the best $10 I’ve ever spent.  

Piracy Pays: $40K a year.

According to CNN’s top story a modern day pirate can make up to $40,000 per year.  I’m assuming this is a low-level pirate not a First Mate.    The article has some real gems such as these:

Why Piracy?

Since the days of Blackbeard, who sailed the seas in the early 18th century in a period known as the Golden Age of Piracy, countries with coastlines beefed up their navies and generally routed the robbers.

Yet analysts say two recent trends have led to a rise in piracy: access and opportunity.

As global commerce picks up, more and more of the world’s fuels, minerals and other crucial commodities travel by ship. Ninety-five percent of America’s foreign trade, for instance, moves by water, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration.

And this:

And although the motive is still money, today’s pirates are a far cry from the eye-patched, peg-legged swashbucklers of Hollywood.

Awesome.  But there’s hope right? Loannis Michaletos, security analyst for Greece-based Research Institute for European and American Studies doesn’t think so:

There’s a humanitarian crisis. There’s a food crisis, you have people who are desperate, and this is an easy way to supplement their income.

I am not optimistic for the future.

Either am I, Mr. Michaletos… either am I.