R.I.P. Ram Ayala

The owner of Taco Land, a landmark San Antonio night club once immortalized in song, was fatally shot at the bar around 1:21 this morning in an incident that sent two other people to the hospital in critical condition, police said.

Ramiro Albert Ayala, 72, was pronounced dead at 2:25 a.m., according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office. Ayala is listed as the bar's owner, the medical examiner said.

Details of the shooting were sketchy, but San Antonio Police Department Sgt. Matt Podwika said two men were inside the bar when words were exchanged and at least one of the men opened fire.

"We don't know exactly what was said between ( the victims) and the suspects," he said.

Ayala was taken to Brooke Army Medical Center with a wound to the left side of the chest. A 40-year-old woman who was shot in her abdomen, and a 54-year-old man shot in the side, were taken to University Hospital, according to Podwika.

It appears the two suspects fled in an unknown vehicle with the money in the bar's cash register, the sergeant said.

Roller Derby at the Opera

Detroit Roller Derby at the Detroit Opera House.

The sixth annual BravoBravo! takes place Saturday, June 25, at the Detroit Opera House. This annual gala celebrates the tastes, sounds and people of Detroit, and it benefits the ongoing restoration of the Detroit Opera House.

Food and drinks will be served by more than 35 Detroit restaurants and bars while local musicians, DJs and artists perform. A silent auction and Masked Grab Bag are among the other festivities planned, according to event organizers.

Some of the restaurants and bars of Detroit that are scheduled to appear at this year's BravoBravo! are American Coney Island, Andiamo Riverfront, Detroit Beer Company, Midtown Café, Union Street Saloon, Inc. and many more.

DJ Liz Copeland, The Singles, Detroit Roller Derby, and the Desperate Divas of Opera fashion show are just some of the acts scheduled for this year's entertainment.

Among the event's visual artists are Phaedra Robinson, Jerome Ferretti, Brandon Garrison and SLAW.

Tickets purchased in advance are $55, and tickets purchased at the door are $65. VIP passes, which include valet parking, an exclusive bar until 9 p.m., gift bag and more, are $75 if purchased in advance and $85 at the door.

The Detroit Opera House is located at 1526 Broadway in Detroit.

tags: roller derby, rollergirls, Detroit

friday random ten

Lauren has the instructions.
Norbizness Coolness Audit Edition

1) Get Real - Kelly Willis
I Heart Kelly Willis. This is from her best album. 7/10

2) Only Shallow - My Bloody Valentine
This song kicks off "Loveless" quite nicely. 7/10

3) I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend - Ramones
When the Ramones don't show up on my random ten, I get a new player. A Ramones song can never score less than an eight. 8/10

4) Your Generation - Generation X
Generation X doesn't mean much to me. 5/10

5) Baby Baby - The Vibrators
9/10

6) Little Honda - Yo La Tengo
Great cover. So damned catchy too. 8/10

7) Papa Won't Leave You Henry - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Bonus points for live version. 8/10

8) Parking Space - Glass Eye
Glass Eye is bent by nature. 7/10

9) 1970 - Mission of Burma
Kick out the jams. 7/10

10) Thin Line - The Big Boys
An average Biscuit song. 6/10

7.2

Dirty Britches

Brooke Leavitt aka Dirty Britches of the Kansas City Roller Warriors is the subject of an article in The Pitch.

The revival of women's roller derby in Kansas City began in March with a grudge match. In the opening minutes, a member of the Bionics rounded a corner too sharply, collided with one of the Dogfighting Dames and landed hard.

As the skater regained her feet, someone in the sellout crowd shouted, "Oh, my God, they tore that girl's arm off!"

Actually, a school-bus accident tore 25-year-old Brooke Leavitt's arm off when she was 3 years old, but she encourages more fanciful versions of how she lost the limb. It's just part of the show-business side of the sport, which is ending a far more successful first season than its founders had expected. Part of the credit goes to Leavitt -- not only one of the three original players in the local roller-derby revival but also its most aggressive and meanest skater.

tags: roller derby, rollergirls, Kansas City Roller Warriors

Hell Marys to Kick Ass, Take Names This Sunday

The flat track Texas Rollergirls skate their fifth bout of the season this Sunday, June 26th.

The Hell Marys will try to win their first bout of the season against the 1-3 Hustlers.

The second bout features the 3-1 Hodrod Honeys taking on the undeafeated Honky Tonk Heartbreakers.

Sunday, June 26.

Playland Skate Center

Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door.

Doors open at 6:30 pm, bout at 7:15 pm.

Music by The Addictions and Peter Elliot and the Sell-outs.

Please visit the Texas Rollergirls website for more info.

tags: roller derby, rollergirls, Texas Rollergirls, Austin, Hell Marys

The Gods Hate Kansas

Open Letter To Kansas School Board

I’m sure you now realize how important it is that your students are taught this alternate theory. It is absolutely imperative that they realize that observable evidence is at the discretion of a Flying Spaghetti Monster. Furthermore, it is disrespectful to teach our beliefs without wearing His chosen outfit, which of course is full pirate regalia.

Via Boing Boing

Rocha Investigation

ACLU Submits Open Records Request, Urges Thorough Investigation of Rocha Killing

Last Thursday, the Central Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union submitted an open records request for all public documents related to the recent shooting of 18-year-old Hispanic male Daniel Rocha by an Austin Police Department officer. This case appears to represent the misuse of lethal force by the Austin Police Department against an unarmed man--and the public release of the police car videotapes could have answered many of the questions posed by the public-- if those tapes existed; although there were three police cars at the scene, officials now claim that the two cars present at the time of the shooting did not have their cameras on, and that the third arrived only after the shot had been fired.

"All the car cameras should have been recording this incident," said Austin Dullnig of the Central Texas ACLU, "and the fact, alone, that two were off should be grounds for serious discipline. We also demand that the Austin Police Monitor to take a leading role and ensure that justice will be done."

He continued, "The ACLU worked hard to help create the office of the Police Monitor and, although its ability to share information publicly was severely crippled by the Austin Police Association during the process, Ashton Cumberbatch still has the power to request that certain questions be asked of the officers involved. This is exactly the kind of case where thorough questioning is warranted, and we expect Mr. Cumberbatch to exercise his authority to the utmost extent."

Mr. Rocha was shot in the back and, according to press interviews, eyewitnesses and the police reports that have been released so far, was unarmed at the time and had informed the officers of that fact during the scuffle. At a Town Hall Meeting last Thursday night, police said they had videotaped a re-enactment of the incident, but still couldn't say for sure what position Rocha was in when the shot was fired. However, it has been asserted by eyewitnesses that Rocha was already pinned on the pavement when the shot was fired, and when someone asked how Daniel could possibly have been a threat "lying face down on the ground" officials did not dispute the form of the question. Instead they said: "That is up to the Grand Jury to decide."

The ACLU's Debbie Russell noted, "This incident also stresses the need for evaluation of the use of tasers. The APD cannot have it both ways; on the one hand, we have multiple officers repeatedly tasing people to the point of serious injury. On the other hand, when a single taser is merely thought to be in the hands of an 18-year-old kid who is confronted by two trained police officers, it is used as justification for homicide."

The shooting of Daniel Rocha has incited not only massive public outrage and fueled ongoing accusations of racism, but has also triggered a Federal investigation into the incident. This investigation comes less than thee months after Austin City Manager Toby Futrell filed her own request for a Federal investigation of the APD due to their shockingly inappropriate behavior during the burning of the Midtown nightclub, whose clientele were predominately African-American.

Holy Rollers vs. Rhinestone Cowgirls

The banked track Lonestar Rollergirls will bout this Sunday, June 26th.

Miss Conduct and the Holy Rollers take on the Rhinestone Cowgirls.

Sunday, June 26.

Bout at the new Thunderdome.

Doors open at 6 pm, bout at 7 pm.

Tickets are $10.

Music by Scott Biram and Chili Cold Blood.

Check out the Lonestar Rollergirls website for more info.

tags: roller derby, rollergirls, Holy Rollers, Rhinestone Cowgirls

KC Roller Warriors 2005 Final Bout

The Kansas City Roller Warriors will skate their final bout of the 2005 season this Saturday, June 25th.

The Dearly Departed take on the Silent Assassins.

Saturday, June 26.

Winnwood Skate Center.

Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door.

Doors open at 6:30 pm, bout at 7 pm.

Halftime performance by Massive Tassel.

Visit the Kansas City Roller Warriors website for more info.

tags: roller derby, rollergirls, Kansas City, Roller Warriors

The Voice of China America

Via Suburban Guerrilla:

A group of senators have joined the American Federation of Government Employees in protesting plans by the Voice of America to contract out to China news writing work in English that is currently performed by Americans.

The senators, led by Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., include 13 other members of the Foreign Relations Committee and the State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee.

“As noted by the senators in their letter to VOA Director David S. Jackson, VOA must ‘present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively’ and ‘represent America, not any single segment of American society’ so that the agency ‘can present a balanced and comprehensive projection of significant American thought and institutions,’” said Tim Shamble, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1812, who has led the fight against VOA’s Chinese outsourcing plan.

“It’s almost impossible to imagine how VOA intends to accurately report on U.S. policies and issues with reporters living half way around the world. VOA management seems to have forgotten what the “A” in VOA stands for,” said AFGE Legislative Representative John Threlkeld. “Additionally, it is unthinkable that VOA would try to do this with contractors who live under a totalitarian government and whose impressions of the United States may be based more on anti-American propaganda than real-life experience.

“This privatization plan is completely contrary to OMB Circular A-76, which requires public-private competition for work performed by federal employees before it is given to contractors, regardless of whether the adversely affected employees may be reassigned,” Threlkeld added. “The only way VOA can go through with its Chinese privatization system is if the competition requirement is waived by OMB, which leads to the bigger picture. AFGE firmly believes that OMB’s privatization system is nothing more than an attempt to replace hard-working federal employees who perform critical work for the American people with poorly-compensated contractors, even foreign contractors.”

Rat City - Bout #5

The flat track Rat City Rollergirls will hold their fifth bout of the season this Saturday, June 25th.

The first match will see the Derby Liberation Front take on the Sockit Wenches.

The second match features the Throttle Rockets vs. Grave Danger.

Saturday, June 25, 2005.

Hanger 30 at Magnuson Park.

On-line tickets are sold out. A limited number of tickets ($15) are still available.

Doors open at 5 pm, bout at 6 pm.

Live music by Akimbo.

See the Rat City Rollergirls website for more info.

tags: roller derby, rollergirls, Derby Liberation Front, Sockit Wenches, Throttle Rockets, Grave Danger, Rat City Rollergirls