The Nam on Facebook/Craigslist: Car "for sell"

Thanks to one of my cousins for finding and posting about this gem.

Sounds legit, right? I mean, zero chance that this car is stolen.

Do the cops patrol Craigslist, and if not, why?

Judge will consider settlement in lawsuit against Joe Hardy

A lawsuit against Joe Hardy regarding the death of Zack Nelson may be settled for $200,000.

The lawsuit contends Hardy is liable because he allegedly knew his daughter hosted underage drinking parties, including the one that ended in the fatal accident, but did nothing to cut off her access to alcohol.  

Paige Hardy was cleared of liability in August when a judge found that, under the state's “social host” doctrine, minors who give alcohol to other minors cannot be held liable. 

Through their attorneys, Thomas E. Crenney & Associates of Sewickley, the Nelsons on Monday filed a petition and proposed settlement agreement seeking a judge's approval to end their claims against Joseph and Paige Hardy for $200,000.

Not exactly a win--the Hardys aren't admitting to any liability or wrongdoing despite the settlement--but it is something. Maybe the Hardy family will learn something from all this.

Brownsville drive-in wins crowdfunding support

Remember the push to vote for Brownsville drive-in to win a new projector from a Honda contest, thereby allowing them to stay open? Yeah, they didn't win--at least not at first. But they just made the cut as the 10th and final winner.

So it looks like Brownsville drive-in lives to serve another summer. They still could use some help, though, so please donate here. 100 bucks gets you some nice perks, too!

The Nam on Tumblr: The Truth About Small-Town Life

Nailed it.

The Nam on Tumblr: Interesting Folk at Lynn's

From this here Tumblr

Flaunt it, sir!

Geibel class of 2007 loses one of its own

Sending prayers and condolences to the family and friends of one of my Geibel classmates, Robert Orange, who was found dead on Thursday.

I didn't know him well, but he always seemed like a cool guy, and the outpouring of sympathy and reminiscing I've seen on social media the past few days only proves that.

You never expect to lose a classmate in your 20s, before you even hit your 10th reunion.

May he rest in peace.

The Nam on Twitter: Huggies

Oh, the dangers of internet modeling!

Fayette County jury convicts Yvonne Bradley of Hazelwood of kidnapping Pittsburgh baby by using fake Huggies photo shoot to lure mom.

— Liz Zemba (@LizZemba) April 10, 2014

Family (rightfully) wants claims tossed from lawsuit

The parents of Zack Nelson, who was killed in a drunk-driving accident, want a judge to throw out allegations that they're responsible for his death.

The lawsuit contends Hardy is liable because he allegedly knew his daughter hosted underage drinking parties, including the one that ended in the fatal accident, but did nothing to cut off her access to alcohol. 

In a cross-claim filed in October, the resort's attorneys, Gerard Cipriani and Rebecca Sember Izsak of Pittsburgh, place blame for Nelson's death on his parents.

Honestly, I usually don't support lawsuits like this. I tend to think that they don't do much good. That said, if they have good reason to believe Joe Hardy knew about and did not stop underage drinking (and driving) on his property, he should be held accountable. Besides, the idea that parents are responsible for their nearly adult children's actions is pretty ridiculous.

In our late teens, we're expected to choose colleges and career paths. We're treated as independent adults who need to start running our own lives. Teens have committed crimes but been treated as adults who made their own decisions without their parents being blamed, and this is no different. And this all assumes that his parents knew what he was doing and condoned it, which isn't the case, and very few people have never drank underage or gotten in a car with someone who's been drinking. Most people are lucky enough to learn from that and move on. Beyond being illogical, blaming parents for a young adult's death that they weren't involved in at all is just cruel. Interesting that this convoluted thinking is their defense, too--not that Joe Hardy didn't know but that parents should be controlling of their children because everything their kid does is their fault.

The attorneys alleged the Nelsons were aware their son had previously drank to the point of intoxication, drove while drunk and rode with others who were drinking, but failed to do anything to deter him. 

“The Nelsons breached the duty of care owed to their minor son and this breach of duty was the sole, direct and proximate cause of Zackery Nelson's injuries,” the resort's attorneys claimed in a court brief.   

Okay, fine. Let's play with this twisted logic. Let's just say that yeah, you can reasonably blame parents for their child's decisions and actions. Wouldn't that then mean that since the party in question was hosted by Paige Hardy at Nemacolin, and if she had done so before and Joe knew and "failed to do anything to deter" her, and she was actually in the accident, as well, that...Joe Hardy actually is at fault here? After all, shouldn't he have known what his daughter was doing and kept a closer eye on her, let alone taught her better?

Nice try, lawyers. If this is the Nelsons' fault--and it's not--then it's Joe Hardy's fault, too.

Yeah, so, fuck Joe Hardy and his asshole lawyers.
— Janelle Sheetz (@LittleJanelleS) April 8, 2014

Hope you liked my business while you had it, Joe Hardy, because you just lost it.

Comedian Gallagher performed in Uniontown, didn't get paid

Man, even famous comedians come to the Nam and suffer.

According to the longtime comedian, he got stiffed out of his $10,000 fee by Chase Ebaugh, a 22-year-old North Versailles promoter who is facing a lawsuit tied to a canceled Bill Engvall comedy stop last year in Oakland's  Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum. 

“The trip to Uniontown meant a lot to me because it was kind of like completing the circle of life,” said Leo Gallagher, 67, noting that his Irish grandfather in Sharon and Croatian grandmother from West Virginia courted in that part of Fayette County and that he drew much of his early comedic inspiration from them.

I guess it wasn't worth not getting paid, though, not that I blame him--making a living in any of the arts is tough and people deserve to be paid for the work they do, plus it's just shady to book an artist and not pay them.

CEE Presents promoter Ebaugh told the Tribune-Review that he wants to pay Gallagher something — maybe $7,500 — but he spent nearly twice that on radio advertising and sold only about half of the State Theatre's 1,404 seats. He said he does not want to take a major loss.

I have bad news for you, Ebaugh--if you promised a performer $10,000 and spent double that on advertising but still only sold about half the theater's tickets, that's your problem and you still owe said performer what you said you'd pay them. So you're out all that money and you don't want to take a loss? Tough shit. These things happen--even the State Theater's manager has said event promotion is a big risk--and people are like you are why all judges on daytime TV have jobs

“Gallagher is an awesome guy, and there's no way I want to hurt him,” Ebaugh said, “but he just didn't sell the tickets."

Actually, Ebaugh, you didn't sell the tickets. That's your job, not Gallagher's. Gallagher's job is to show up and be funny, which fans said he did. Besides, it's hard to side with someone who's being sued because of ticket reimbursements for a Bill Engvall show and claims he filed for bankruptcy but has no proof of it.

Ebaugh told the Trib that he filed for bankruptcy in June. The Trib could not find a record of bankruptcy proceedings in Ebaugh's name or that of CEE Presents.  

Oh, and he tried to back out of the fee the day of the concert.

Craig Marquardo, Gallagher's manager in Oregon, shared with the Trib a string of emails he exchanged with Ebaugh dating back to the day of the concert. They show Ebaugh mentioning his earlier losses on Gallagher's show and trying to back out of his pledge to pay the $10,000 fee printed on the Uniontown gig's offer sheet. 

Ebaugh told the Trib that the messages prove only that he had no written contract with Gallagher and he's sticking to his $7,500 offer — take it or leave it. Gallagher's manager wonders whether the comic will ever see a penny from a Uniontown show that grossed nearly $21,000.

Except for the fact that they prove he had agreed to pay $10,000 and changed his mind. Granted, I'm not sure if e-mails saying, "I don't want to pay you $10,000 anymore" count as a written agreement, but it doesn't really help Ebaugh out much.

Erica Miller, manager of the historic State Theatre, said she's now “kind of leery” of working with Ebaugh because of his dispute with Gallagher. Ebaugh paid the theater's $2,700 rental fee, and the comic's fans told her that “it was a great experience,” but stiffing the talent is never good, she said. 

Can't say I blame her.