Thanks Officer!(?)
Thread started by
bike punk at 11.8.07 - 10:44 pm
For how much longer do we have to thank the LAPD on the top of the homepage? Do they really deserve that much thanks? Probably are about a billion entities who have done more for bicycling in Los Angeles. Just sayin.
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we should be thanking the santa monica pd instead, AMIRITE?
ruinedbyidiots11.9.07 - 7:52 am
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I'm thankful that LAPD is NOT randomly citing cyclists like SMPD
spiraldemon11.9.07 - 9:34 am
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I think the "Thanks Officer" blurb is the smartest move possible on Roadblock's part. Cops are wising up out there and have definitely taken note of the increased cyclist presence. In trying to get a handle on what all this bicycle shit is about, I'm sure they've visited this page. The "Thanks Officer" hopefully diffuses any preconceived notion that the MR is some kind of lawless threat.
If cops feel threatened by something, it's nightsticks and tear gas. I think it only stands to help to show that MR isn't just trying to fuck shit up civil disobedience style or whatever.
Did I just make a long boring preachy post? DAMMIT!
City Hobgoblin11.9.07 - 10:34 am
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the cops have been really nice to MR over the last year on several of our rides and they pretty much let us have our fun including many other rides like Wolfpack and so forth.... so.... what city hobgoblin said!
Roadblock11.9.07 - 10:42 am
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I'm thankful they're not acting like the NYPD where cyclists are concerned..
redridinghood11.9.07 - 11:02 am
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I prefer dealing with NYPD.
But that's only cause I know people on the job and can drop names when I'm in a bind.
Someone go out and make friends with high ranking cops in SM, k thx.
kyber11.9.07 - 11:06 am
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much respect Bike Punk, You gave me a Bike Summer circular, way back in Spring of 05, so I thank you for letting me know about this whole LA bicycle culture things. I was all alone doing this for years before that.
I only bring that up because I rarely see you on any of the rides, any more, actually I haven't see you on any of the rides, for a long time.. That doesn't mean you aren't there. I saw you at the bicycle district the other night, so you obviously still physically present. The way the rides have played out, and the way the LAPD have dealt with what we do is pretty commendable, for the most part. They do still have to deal with people anonymously insulting them from a crowd of us, but don't act vindictively towards us about it.
The reality is, they probably get many complaints about us, being on the road. Instead of trying to break up what we do, they try to help the rides stay safe, and out of harms way from angry motorist. Other city have not been so just with us.
Yes, I would rather have society where we didn't feel we needed police officer, or at least police officers that feel they have to act the way they do in certain situations. In this situation, the LAPD has responded to what we do in way that respects are rights as cyclist on the road, and look at for a well being. I hope this continues, and I hope the LAPD does this more in all of their policing duties. (I know a few of us had problems individually with MTA bus, and the way the LAPD responded wasn't proper, that is another situation, not the big rides persay.)
In closing, I strongly hope that this post annoyed the hell out of City Hobogoblin
sexy11.9.07 - 11:08 am
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, and look out for our well being
sexy11.9.07 - 11:11 am
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If we are thanking people for what they are not doing, then we can add to the list:
People driving giant SUV's that don't hit anyone (it's close sometimes, but when they don't hit us we should thank them!)
Bus drivers that don't squeeze us against the curb (thanks for not killing us! Much appreciated!)
The LAPD do ticket people at random and have given tickets on large group rides and small group rides. Thanking them for not harassing us sometimes is like thanking a bully for not always beating you up (He could of taken my lunch today, but he didn't so I should thank him).
The discussion about tear gar and civil disobedience is probably outside the scope of my original post, but I see your points.
bike punk11.9.07 - 11:29 am
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ONE OF US
ONE OF US
ONE OF US
kyber11.9.07 - 11:30 am
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ok - it took me a second - but that is great Kyber!!! (and it even looks like the cop that was helping me out with the block party stuff!!)
redridinghood11.9.07 - 11:48 am
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There are certain areas you dont dare go without lights or while drinking. The Beach Cities. Seems as if most people by the beaches riding bikes at night are typically drunk. Duh. I've been pulled over on my bike a couple times now, and once even had a sobriety test, luckily I had nothing on me, not even a rolling paper. After a long lecture about bike safety I was let go every time.
I was there for one of the police escorts and although nice it did take away some of the fun of the ride. Its cool when they shut down an intersection but not so cool when they chaperone the party.
Has the LAPD ever given people tickets for open containers or dui's on bikes? Or worse arrested for stupid infractions? If not then we shoud really thank them since anywhere else we would be in cuffs waiting for a padi wagon.
digitalvermin11.9.07 - 11:54 am
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Just for the record, I didn't make that.
Joe Borfo did. But since it was relevant, I figured I'd repost it so that more people could enjoy it.
kyber11.9.07 - 12:06 pm
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Personally, I could think of better things for the LAPD to do than to 'babysit' our rides. I think we got that under control since everyone is a responsible adult who is capable of policing their own actions. But that's just me.
kyber11.9.07 - 12:15 pm
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ummm.....don't look a gift cop in the mouth?
tern11.9.07 - 12:22 pm
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Getting paid 120K a year to follow around bikes, beat people, and be pricks?
The need for Police is just an illusion, and a false sense of security. It's just a game that furthers the prison-industrial complex.
I understand what some of you are saying regarding their seemingly "laize-fair" approach, but I'm just trying to address this from a metalevel. You can take from it what you want, or nothing at all if that suits you.
kyber11.9.07 - 12:34 pm
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i nominate sexy and borfo to be our midnight ridazz spokespersons to the police!
speedybrian200011.9.07 - 12:44 pm
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We were in both lanes twice when police rolled by on Monday. They just asked us to stay to the right hand lane and went about their business. That was pretty reasonable, I think.
tern11.9.07 - 12:51 pm
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Tern,
You're right. But unfortunately things do not always go down like that. We should be somewhat thankful when they leave us alone, but at the same time I think they really ought to find better things to do on those nights where they harass us non-stop.
kyber11.9.07 - 12:54 pm
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I'm pickin' up what you're layin' down, my man.
tern11.9.07 - 12:57 pm
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it just comes down to this one thing:
DON'T BE STUPID
Joe Borfo11.9.07 - 1:07 pm
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okay, I'm done playing with the browse button now.
tern11.9.07 - 1:10 pm
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What with all those pictures?
sexy11.9.07 - 1:18 pm
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My reckoning arrives at the conclusion in which works suck as these compose a fitting theme for our discussion. I strongly feel that these works of grand portiaiture are a tonic to the soul and a a gift of placidity for the humors.
tern11.9.07 - 1:25 pm
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and thucydides and marquise de sade and some cat people.
tern11.9.07 - 1:38 pm
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On a meta-level, there should be no need for police. But on a meta-level, there should be no need for Midnight Ridazz, either.
Back here inside the frame, we exist as a group and they exist as a group, and different agencies treat us in different ways, ways which are worth noticing and remarking upon.
Santa Monica PD, Beverly Hills PD, Burbank PD, and Glendale PD, to name a few examples, have a "panic button" response to large non-roadie group rides. When they see one, their first thought is that
something unauthorized is going on, and
it must be stopped! Because they believe it's their job to stop unauthorized stuff, they therefore will go to absurd extremes to stop it, even if it means draining significant resources, drawing manpower, vehicles, and helicopters from other parts of the city, and shutting down traffic entirely for miles.
Up until recently, LAPD has tended to have an entirely different attitude toward group rides, to wit:
keep 'em moving. This is why they sometimes cork, sometimes escort, and sometimes don't do anything at all except chirp their sirens and yell at people to leave the left lane open. Whether this is something to thank them for is debatable, but one has to admit that it's a far more reasonable and pragmatic attitude than that of some of the other departments.
(Now, why they couldn't have had that reasonable and pragmatic attitude towards the immigrants-rights marchers on May Day of this year is another question, also perhaps worthy of a long-winded discussion. HI, CITY HOBGOBLIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1 !! 1 ! !!! !!!!)
PC11.9.07 - 3:03 pm
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To bring the postings back to the original topic about the "thank you" on the splash page...
LAPD has been far less offensive and obtrusive than the SMPD. Those idiots in SM are nothing less than conducting a campaign to chase out Crit Mass. Period. LAPD, with more serious things on their minds have been giving us due attention... which is not much and the way I prefer it.
Personally, having the police escort a ride is about as sexy as having your mother buy you your first pack of condoms. I'd welcome their company only if it kept me from needing a .45 tucked in my spandex shorts.
Thanking them may not be bad p.r. and basically harmless, But if that's what it is, you're thanking them simply for not being total dicks. Only occasional ones.
I suspect the posting will stay there until roadblock gets a ticket.
indigis11.9.07 - 3:08 pm
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even though i go by my middle name which is tyler, my first name is DAVID and my last name is HUME(r).
ruinedbyidiots11.9.07 - 3:10 pm
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All you eloquent typing peeps better be there on Tuesday . . .
OR ELSE!!
Knittens11.9.07 - 3:10 pm
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tern, you rule.
Hi PC! Hi Sexy! We are the smartest! Holla!
What's happening on Tuesday?
City Hobgoblin11.9.07 - 4:03 pm
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bike punk wrote:
So when can it be taken down?
When the person who pays the bills for the website feels like taking it down, is my guess.
PC11.9.07 - 4:39 pm
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bike punk, It really pisses you off that much? You don't feel it has any merit as PR?
City Hobgoblin11.9.07 - 4:49 pm
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^^ nevermind, I just looked at your profile and noticed your anarcho-vegan-pacifist logo. I'm guessing PR is pretty low on the list when one wishes to smash the state... with a caveman axe, a wrench and a bicycle.
City Hobgoblin11.9.07 - 4:57 pm
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Hey hey hey now,
bike punk is a smart guy too. This man has got history around this thing called the LA bicycle culture. I would consider him beyond CORE, beyond ELITE. He left that realm along time ago. Bike Punk is of a whole different level. RECOGNIZE!
sexy11.9.07 - 5:01 pm
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Bike Punk: The man, the legend....
kyber11.9.07 - 5:03 pm
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"ehem... thankyou."
[bows, exit stage left]
tern11.9.07 - 5:25 pm
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"I suspect the posting will stay there until roadblock gets a ticket. "
LOL. that would make me a pretty darn shallow person.... I demand you cease and desist such slander on my good name!! ;)
believe you me, I've been ticketed harassed arrested and spent some lonely soul searching nights in a place I never want to be again as per the finest of LAPD. It doesnt change my belief that we have to make good with the cops in order to continue riding as a mass.
the fact is that we are breaking the law when we run lights and cork... remember that... yes. we are breaking laws by running lights. and thanking cops for not totally breaking up that fun and in fact helping us out sometimes well, thanking them is about the least we can do.
of course it sucks when they hover over us. that's the police state that is the United Snakes of Amerikkka. but the cops are just doing what they are told. you have to go to their higher ups if you want them to stop hovering. but it's pretty fucking minimal at this point and I like to think that it's because they know we arent trying to be assholes to them. consider it a trade off of "evils". a lot of naysayers talk shit on cops but as soon as a crash / a hit n' run occurs or a bike gets stolen et al.... the cops are expected to respond que no?
IMHO absolutely nothing can come good of bashing cops or talking shit to them / about them and we need every bit of their generosity concerning our safety and good times. I believe that even the cops deserve love and that for the most part they will love you back, because... they are humans too.... which also means that they can be dicks and can react like assholes to what we do I cant deny that..... think about it this way.... so who's gonna win? the cops will win if they are pushed hard enough. we dont have the resources to defeat the cops. better to befriend them than to aggravate them. when laws come up that intend to break up our ride then I better see all of you naysayers in the city hall making noise cause for the most part we're challenging laws when we run lights en masse.
Roadblock11.9.07 - 5:57 pm
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I agree. Some cops ride with us. Really. Like I said....
Don't look a gift cop in the mouth.
tern11.9.07 - 7:38 pm
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RB makes perfect sense in his reasoning.
Blind hate for things one doesn't fully understand is ignorance, plain and simple.
The bottom line, cops are just people doing a thankless job that nobody else wants to do. There are good ones and there are bad ones, as well as good departments being run by good people and bad ones being run by bad people.
If the OP doesn't care to see thanks to some officers who were going out of their way for the safety of fellow cyclists, he can find somewhere else to gripe on the 'net. Try bikeforums, they're real fun over there.
Jeronimo11.9.07 - 7:41 pm
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Jeronimo is a cop from Orange County.
See?
tern11.9.07 - 7:52 pm
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okay, just kidding. To my knowledge, Jeronimo is not a cop.
And, his ridazz name is misspelled.
It's Geronimo.
But, that makes him unique among people with all kinds of midnight ridazz names.
Plus, he beat me in the wolfpack century by that (!!!) much.
You are welcome for being pulled up that hill on Sunset.
heheh laughing lols
Yeow!
tern11.9.07 - 8:04 pm
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Thankless job, No one else wants to do.
How easy was it for you to get hired?
That not an accurate statement, i know lots of folks that tried to get in the law enforcement career. Its not like nobody wants that high paid civil servants job, there is lots of people passed over everyday.
Thankless, that not accurate either. Political races are hinged, on law enforcement association endorsements, that shows the importances, people feel about LE I see people fawning over law enforcement officers constantly.
Law enforcement is going to get a bad vibe from people, especially when they are abusing there powers. And thanked when they are of service to someone. Just like people in any other line of work, the difference with a cop is, they can take away your liberty, take away you life, stop you from movement, levy fines, and they can give you a beat down and them charge you with assaulting them. They can also stop someone from harming you, or just stand by and let the harm happen to you. That is some heavy duty power we give a group of people, it's no wonder that not everybody gets the job. For me I wish we didn't have a society that is filled with fear, that thinks we need law enforcement officers to baby sit us.
sexy11.9.07 - 8:09 pm
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@sexy-"bikepunk is on a whole different level, better recognize"
So, if he's beyond "CORE", beyond "Covenant ELITE", then I guess he must be.......
Ascended!!!!
He is on a higher plane of enlightenment than all of us and will wield the two-wheeled armies of the Ori shall we smite thee!!
Franz and his BSG fleet are going to suffocate me for that one:(
bentstrider11.9.07 - 8:17 pm
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Sexy is right. RB is right.
shhh.
rowling the cops on MR threads can't have perfect outcomes.
But, there is a time and PLACE for everything.
I think LAPD (as opposed to others) is treating MR pretty well at the moment.
And, I should vacate the discussion at this point.
tern11.9.07 - 8:22 pm
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ya all think i'm b.s.ing ya
Let me tell you about Bike Punk, when you are struggling tomorrow on your way to san Diego, Bike Punk does double century's, just to go see new parts of the South Land that he hasn't seen before. Bike Punk, gave us a course on how to tour across country, because he has done it before. Feel my legs I'm a racer......if I'm not mistaken, that was his idea. Promoting bike culture, way before it was anything cool, he was the one doing it. Opening his house to stranger, just because you road a bike, doing that long time ago.
Those are just some of the things that I can think of off my head.
sexy11.9.07 - 8:28 pm
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Bike Punk.Bike Punk.Bike Punk.Bike Punk.Bike Punk.Bike Punk.Bike Punk.Bike Punk.Bike Punk.Bike Punk.Bike Punk.Bike Punk.Bike Punk.Bike Punk.Bike Punk.Bike Punk.
Bike Punk sounds like a really great guy.
tern11.9.07 - 8:35 pm
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I do think this thread need some more of those Tern pictures. I still don't understand it, but I liked the last one of that girl with the bonnets.
Really there is truth in everything that this thread has to say, except for Borfo (but that goes without saying). How long does the thanks have to stay up there? I just hope everybody is better off for what is shared on this thread, especially the law enforcement officers who monitored (spy) on this sight.
I
sexy11.9.07 - 8:36 pm
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Bike Punk invented bicycle chains. Before Bike Punk, you had to reach back and turn the cog with your heel.
PC11.9.07 - 8:40 pm
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@sexy.
Great, after that posting, you made me feel like one also.
I mean, aside from doing a quick yard patrol every hour, I pretty much just peruse the interesting theories presented on this here site.
It's either that, or practice sling-shot tactics to relieve boredom.
bentstrider11.9.07 - 8:41 pm
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This one is just for you, muy sexy:
tern11.9.07 - 8:47 pm
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shouldn't you century and halves be going to bed soon. You need to be rested for tomorrow. Turn off your computers and go to bed.
sexy11.9.07 - 8:59 pm
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True that. I'm just finishing my carb loading program....
tern11.9.07 - 9:04 pm
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I wasn't trying to start a 'Are cops good or bad?' thread, I don't think it is as simple as:
Cops are good = leave it up
Cops are bad= take it down
I'm just tired of looking at it and thought maybe I was not the only one. Just to be thanked on the top of a bike page as important as this one for months on end you'd really have to of done a lot. A real lot.
And, uh, it's not about me. Even if cityslicker or whatever the army dude's name is confuses my politics with everything left of Oliver North. Is he the same dude who got bent out of shape over not paying for the LA Bike tour?
bike punk11.9.07 - 11:20 pm
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After last night's ride, and from what I know of how well the LAPD acted towards the ride and the ridazz...........
I welcome the LAPD any time!
I've talked to them at stoplights while on rides and their attitude is always positive.
So I do have to say "Thanks Officer"!
Ratt_Bones11.10.07 - 12:22 pm
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I agree and most of them waved back. I guess some of them realize that MR is on it's way to becoming an LA institution. Thanks officers!!!!
sc_nomad11.10.07 - 12:42 pm
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The officers were doing pretty good last night from what I saw. By pretty good, I mean leaving us alone. I guess there was some issue with one unit that was referred to on the La Nocke ride.
My thoughts on the current climate of relations of ridazz and LAPD is this. First of all being an officer in most of the areas we ride, the officers' "plates" are usually pretty well full of with incidents through the night. Dealing with bike riders is pretty low priory. Of course if a unit happens to be at one of ours rides, they may do something like breaking up the pack as it happened last night. All in all the current mood is palatable. But ask yourself would this be the case if the May 1st incident didn't happen? My guess is it wouldn't. I have a feeling that the LAPD is on a fairly short leash for awhile. The last thing they want to do is open another front to defend.
On the reference to the "thanks nice cop". Who even goes to the front page of MR? Why load up currently 23 references to youtube videos you seen 6 months ago? Why not just go to http://midnightridazz.com/forums.php ? OK so you know the cop reference is still there, but hell, really it's not hurting anyone. I've given up on the front page after seeing Dan's radical bloody arm for the last 3 months. Just go to http://midnightridazz.com/forums.php from now on.
User111.10.07 - 2:47 pm
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i guess i chalked the 'thanks officer' opening to smarmy pr. even those of us with a, generally, less than appreciative perspective on the popo can be amused by the scene of a cop, after a long overnight shift, sits at his home computer and looks up this "midnight ridazz" bullshit he was assigned to last night.
Couple possible reactions, I suppose:
Awe, shucks. They like me!
Smart ass punks.
Sexiest photo, what...?
I'm so happy they're talking about safety
...?
MaoTseDan11.10.07 - 3:06 pm
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My thoughts exaclty! Being the new spokesperson for Midnight Ridazz, I am as swarmy as they get! Now who wants to go skiing?
Wink Martindale11.10.07 - 3:12 pm
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everyone knows who i am now because i am in the elite sexy photo gallery. midnight ridazz made me a somebody!
ruinedbyidiots11.10.07 - 3:49 pm
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go skiing? Ah Wink, your a card.
Smarmy, don't every use that word in front of me again. It causes me to lose control.
As for what I got to on this site, I have my home page set to
http://midnightridazz.com/viewProfile.php?userId=350
Thats what really going on!
sexy11.10.07 - 4:02 pm
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Ridazz Roulette!
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