My prayers are with you Mike (Michael Patrick)

[FreeCells]

My comment wasn't written to make everything ok or to solicit money. When I read the "it is" and "it is NOT" entertainment arguement written earlier, I decided to look it up and find out for myself if in fact it was or was not entertainment.

My post was just written for information purposes with hopes to help end one of the many arguements within this topic.

[The Amazing Beaumanz]

Miles...

Miles, is there any way you can find out his situation. I have a performer here who also is an accomplished magician and a BONDSMAN. ( he is interested in possibly helping Michael get out)

contact me with any info you might be able to get. Maybe you could possibly try and contact his girlfriend or go visit him and see what he wants to do.

[jeep caillouet]

bond

Hey Dallas, contact Evelyn Ortega at 305-296-6145. She can probably get that imfo. for you including his girl friend's #. Tell her you talked to me. Come on Dallas what question? Inquiring mind want to know! Will told me he was going see him.

[Stephon]

Originally posted by FreeCells
My post was just written for information purposes with hopes to help end one of the many arguements within this topic.

The problem is that you didn't apply any kind of context to the words/phrases you highlighted.

Originally posted by FreeCells
Not entertaining in the sense of the word meaning something pleasurable, but in another sense of the word

That is the only sense of the word in those definitions (with the exception of number 5, which has no application to this topic.) Every definition specifies the requirement of some type of enjoyment to create entertainment.

It's not just "a performance of some kind", it's "something affording pleasure, diversion, or amusement, esp. a performance of some kind".

Doing what you did, I could argue that Michael is a sea cucumber:

sea cu·cum·ber (plural sea cu·cum·bers)
noun: an invertebrate echinoderm that has a long tough muscular body and a mouth encircled by tentacles, and lives in the sea. Class Holothuroidea.

[Seadawg]

And from the sounds of things a sea cucumber with a big debt to pay off....

[FreeCells]

Definition #2 is an either/or definition

"2. something affording pleasure, diversion, or amusement, esp. a performance of some kind: The highlight of the ball was an elaborate entertainment."

It states three different meanings in this definition alone namely pleasure, diversion, OR amusement in which Micheal's stunt was a diversion.

If a bank robber told his buddy to go entertain the security guard while he gets the cash, he wouldn't expect his buddy to act like a monkey, jump around, and make the security guard laugh. But if his buddy blew up the shop across the street or acted like he was having a mental breakdown, that would divert the attention of the security guard. The security guard wouldn't find any amusement out of either act yet he was entertained just enough for the bank robber to get the cash.

[Stephon]

Originally posted by FreeCells
Definition #2 is an either/or definition

"2. something affording pleasure, diversion, or amusement, esp. a performance of some kind: The highlight of the ball was an elaborate entertainment."

It states three different meanings in this definition alone namely pleasure, diversion, OR amusement in which Micheal's stunt was a diversion.

If a bank robber told his buddy to go entertain the security guard while he gets the cash, he wouldn't expect his buddy to act like a monkey, jump around, and make the security guard laugh. But if his buddy blew up the shop across the street or acted like he was having a mental breakdown, that would divert the attention of the security guard. The security guard wouldn't find any amusement out of either act yet he was entertained just enough for the bank robber to get the cash.

No. You're talking about a diversion as a distraction. Those definitions mean a diversion as "a recreation or pastime" (Oxford English Dictionary).

So exactly how is the guard entertained?

The only way your bank robber would tell his buddy to go entertain the guard, is if he's using the word "entertain" sarcastically, in which case he would really mean the exact opposite of entertain.

No one is arguing that Michael got people's attention, but anyone could do that with a particularly heinous fart.

[FreeCells]

ok, it seems pointless for me to continue to hold up my position even though I could... some people have different opinions I guess, anyways, the point was to try to help end an arguement not to begin another one.

Entertainment of the mind can be nothing more than occupying another persons mind with an act or a performance.

Entertain and Occupy can be found together in the Thesaurus as synonyms

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/entertain

I am not trying to justify Michael's act as being amusing but rather it took up alot of coverage. Not only with the papers, tv, and radio stations here in Key West, but it also closed the rest of the shows for the evening and the tourists were drawn away with the commotion. Michael's act got their attention as well as the attention of many.

Entertainment isn't the right word to use if it was used in a sense of amusement. I don't believe it was amusing at all. But if it is used in a sense of occupying our minds away from the normal every day endeavors, I believe it is also called entertainment.

There are horror flicks and murder shows all over the tube. None of which I personally find amusing yet so many people find entertainment in them. All I'm saying is there are other definitions to the word "entertainment" that need to be recognized. Yet I don't know if there are people that find humor in Michael's act or not. I might be all the way out of place here. I'm only guessing that the person who said they thought it was entertaining meant the same as what I am trying to explain here. They could very well have meant that they were amused. In that case I would have nothing more to say.

[Doctor Eric]

Just to clarify, I haven't been around, I just read all 5 pages of this thread, and was thoroughly entertained.

The stunt was retarded. Jesus made some good points about how Michael could have done it in a way that was MORE entertaining, as well as how to do it without wasting the time of search and rescue teams, and screwing little kids' heads up. But for some, at least, it was still entertainment. It was also ridiculously irresponsible, and could have been done with a lot more showbiz flair.

It just seemed like y'all had been getting a little too heated in here, arguing points that don't really matter.

I'm still entertained enough to keep an eye on this one and see how it all pans out.

[Stephon]

Yeah, I agree this isn't worth a drawn out argument.

I think the only point we really disagree on anyway is that, to me, there has to be an element of enjoyment for something to be entertaining.

Much as I am entertained by debating semantics.

[Doctor Eric]

Don't wink at me Stephon, it's creepy.

[Stephon]

You never say that when you're looking over your shoulder at me.
(<-- now that's creepy)


Besides, the wink and the reply were to FreeCells. And I'm sure he found it entertaining. Or at least diverting.

[FreeCells]

well it occupied my mind, lol, just kidding

[parrotbill]

Michael Patrick

Jeep,
I know Michael Patrick is a friend of your's and you think a lot of him, but putting all first amendment issues aside right now and considering how the audience felt about this. Do you think this was a cool stunt? I had a friend who is not a performer and doesn't care about performer issues, he was there and told me that Michael jumped off the pier doing a under water Escape and never came back up. The Coast Guard and the Marine Patrol were called and dive teams tried to find his dead body. After all this, Michael shows up the next day like nothing happened and they busted him. If he is going to be so stupid as to not know what would happen if he didn't show backup to show folks he was OK, then he needs a little time off to think about the thousands of tax dollars that were wasted on him regarding the search & rescue efforts that were made in his behalf. I know tax dollars isn't a street performer's issue, but as a home owner it is now mine.
The Coast Guard & Marine Patrol don't come out for free, someone has to pay for the fuel and man power it took, and it is always tax payers who get stuck paying for stuff like this. What a jerk he is for doing that, not only for his audience but for everyone involved. I hope they make him pay the bill for the whole rescue operation he caused.
This was not entertainment, freedom of expression... maybe in the broadest definition of the word, but we all know what happened to Gazo when he pushed his first amendment rights to make jokes about Dykes in Key West, don't we? This was a little more extreme than that, and you can't exercise freedom of expression in a way that adversely effects others, that's the part of the first amendment that everyone forgets, when they get busted for stupidity. I think this stunt was a little twisted even for Key West.

[jeep caillouet]

coons age

Well howdy do Parret Bill,I haven't heard from you in a coons age.I guess Michael did one thing, he got toeather an old friendship!Italked to Birdie yesterday call me 305-304-6820.I'm on the board at Mallory now and the chair called a emergency board meeting saturday about this issue and it was voted to suspend him indefnatly ,I did not vote( you know me) , today at the regulary board meeting that vote was suspended and a NEW vote was cast to suspend him perminently(Idid not vote again) You know me fuck ''em if they can't take a joke, and it was a good joke on everybody,and that's entertainment!Unfortunatly I'm hearing that there might be new charges,federal,coastgard marine patrol etc. he might be in a pile of shit.It's a shame, because I'm sure Michael did not want all of this. Oh he does have a bond reduction hearing thursday the 9th. good luck michael.......