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Ventilate

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It was my mother's birthday Friday so I was looking at all the cards she got from her friends and co-workers and I thought of something amusing. See one of the cards she received was from her employer's outsourced employee benefits company. This reminded me of my last birthday when I received a birthday greeting card from of all places, my life insurance company. It really seems somewhat off to me to get a card from a partial organisation like that. I mean really all the card needed to say was, "thanks for not dying so we do not have to pay out to your beneficiary." Perhaps that is just the slight twinge of bitterness toward the "American dream" cum corporate monopoly.

In other news, Lou Perlman can suck my dick for laying my friend off. Actually, I take that back. I would not let that fat fuck near me with a ten-foot pole. I hope all three-hundred of his pending lawsuits work out just fine for him that prick.

Finally, to the middle-aged bearded man who cut me off in traffic today, yet honked and gave me the finger, go fuck yourself.

I am not in a bad mood. Seriously. Just fed up with a few things.
"Ventilate" https://mtsutro.org?p=150

Two Comment Bubbles five Comments

  • Thorin
    2003-10-27 0203

    Scott [Voice-Over]: And now Bruce McCulloch with an open letter to the guy that stole his bike wheel.
    [Bruce enters, bike lowered from above. Lots of "Ah"s from the audience]

    Bruce: Well, why did you do it? Are you some sort of jerk or something? It's *my* front wheel! What did you think, that I'd ? drive home and not notice it was stolen? What are you then? Some sort of *prick*? Some sort of idiot? Some sort of thief? What would you do with just my front wheel anyway? What good would just one wheel be? You human loser! Well, why didn't you buy your own wheel if you wanted one so badly. That's what I did.

    [Music starts as Bruce turns away and stops when he turns back.]

    Well, don't you think I need that wheel? Well, well, what were you thinking? JERK!

    Scott [Voice-Over]:That was Bruce McCulloch with an open letter to the guy that stole his bike wheel.

  • Thorin
    2003-10-27 0205

    Scott [Voice-Over]: And now Bruce McCulloch with an open letter to the people who watched the guy steal his bike wheel.
    [Bruce enters, bike lowered from above]

    Bruce: Well, you knew it wasn't his wheel! What did you think? He was coming back for the rest of his bike later? Well, why didn't you do something? Why didn't you say something? You human piece of apathy! Why didn't you say, "Hey! That's not your wheel! That could be Bruce McCulloch's wheel! We love him! And he loved that wheel!" Just eatin' brunch. Well, didn't you think I needed it? I did! Well, look at that! Feast on that act of violence! Good work, Einstein! Pus!

    Scott [Voice-Over]: That was Bruce McCulloch with an open letter to the people who watched while the guy stole his bike wheel.

    [Bumper video of Bruce walking his incomplete bike.]

  • David July
    2003-10-30 1834

    Lou Pearlman files $100 million lawsuit
    [ original article ]

    Pop music impresario Lou Pearlman is seeking more than $100 million in damages from the men and women who persuaded him last year to take control of a controversial model scouting company, according to a lawsuit in state Circuit Court in Orlando.

    Pearlman says he was misled about the scouting network's operations as well as the backgrounds of some of the people involved with the company, previously known as Wilhelmina Scouting Network.

    "I feel totally duped," Pearlman said. "They've taken advantage of my name."

    The lawsuit alleges violation of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, trademark infringement and defamation.

    It marks a decided change in tactics for Pearlman, who previously stopped short of accusing his former associates ? the defendants include former employees, company officers and business partners ? of any wrongdoing.

    The more aggressive approach was necessary, he said, to protect his image and that of his Trans Continental brand. However, he said he doesn't expect to collect the $100 million in damages claimed in the lawsuit.

    Rather, he said it is an effort to convince people that he never knew what he was getting into when he got involved with the scouting network last year.

    "I've gotten beat up too much," Pearlman said. "Now it's time that I fight back to save my face."

    Key figures sued

    The lawsuit, filed earlier this month, names 10 defendants, including Ayman El-Difrawi and Ralph Edward Bell. They are two of the three "principals" behind the 2001 creation of the model scouting network, according to documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Their prominent placement in the lawsuit appears to bolster the claims of critics, including former employees and company observers, who have long maintained that the two men were key figures in the scouting network's operation.

    In previous interviews with the Sentinel, Pearlman downplayed the roles of both men, saying neither was particularly important. Pearlman once described El-Difrawi as "a computer guy" who worked on the company Web site.

    But on Wednesday, Pearlman characterized El-Difrawi's role as being considerably more significant.

    "He was the one that really developed the business," Pearlman said. "He's the one that put it together."

    El-Difrawi could not be reached for comment.

    Bell would not comment on the suit, saying he was "vaguely aware of it."

    Backgrounds

    The backgrounds of the two men have been pointed out by critics who have accused the scouting network of using questionable sales tactics. El-Difrawi was sentenced to 46 months in prison in 1996 for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, while Bell settled a dispute with the Federal Trade Commission in 1999 after government investigators objected to sales techniques allegedly used by his Virginia-based modeling school.

    Pearlman and associate Gregory McDonald ? president of Pearlman's Trans Continental Records ? agreed in September 2002 to acquire 51 percent of the scouting network, which operates a Web site where aspiring models and actors can be seen by modeling agencies, casting directors and such.

    Since Pearlman took control as chairman, the company has come under increased scrutiny from authorities.

    The Florida Attorney General's Office has been investigating the scouting network for more than a year. More than 1,500 consumers and former workers have complained of misrepresentation and deceptive advertising.

    The scouting network ? it recently changed names to Web Style Network ? also has been the target of a public-awareness campaign in New York, where the State Consumer Protection Board has labeled the company "a consumer scam." The agency recently launched an effort to force the scouting network's final New York office to close.

    Pearlman recently began to phase out the company's scouting operations, which are handled by 57 national and international offices, each owned by franchisees. On Wednesday, he said the company will no longer offer any support to those offices, saying "We are out of the scouting business."

    He said the company will continue to offer its Web site but is shifting its focus to conventions where aspiring models, actors and musicians compete for contracts and industry exposure.

    But also, Pearlman said he may pursue a recision of the September 2002 deal that put him in control of the company in the first place. Such a move, he said, would eliminate his stake in the company.

    "It would be as if I were never chairman," Pearlman said. "And we could take our name back."

  • David July
    2003-09-28 2001

    Excellent! :-)

  • Allstarme79
    2003-10-31 1214

    PANT PUFF. That's a long post.

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