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Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Capitol Punishment A Situation Comedy




Capitol Punishment
Created by
Robert Sarda & Miguel Caparros
We are looking for Producers or Interested Production Company
678 873 9412  678 409 1668
A situation comedy for television

The Premise

4 congressional members are convicted of fraud, bribery, misappropriation of public funds, tampering with votes, conduct unbecoming a Congressman and theft. Judge Randolph Burnhardt the III, has received a request and will be fully supported by the President and the Attorney General to be creative and humiliating in his sentence, that there will not be any wiggling out by serving time at a Federal country club prison or resigning. They will complete their elected term in their monitored incarceration. The point is to send the message to all government officials that there are tough enforcement's from now on. All government employees will be scrutinized

Judge “Burnhardt the third” is imposing some tough love. Since the fraud was diverting money destined for the poor to their own pockets. The Judge has ordered seizure of all property, monies, and all personal automobiles, bank accounts and credit cards. They will begin by maintaining their Congressional jobs but working and living off minimum wage.  You heard right they will be the poor congressmen and women. Additionally they must work 1 day each week at a minimum wage job unrelated to their skills.  Office cleaner, bicycle messenger, pizza or restaurant kitchen help, these are the jobs they may accept.  

In the federal inventory are some very rundown buildings that have been seized. All of them are 4 floor walk ups with questionable water, electricity services and toilets that may or may not flush.

Character Development

Virginia Lee Cheney Early 40’s in age, the Junior Senator from Nebraska. A Hardline Republican with strong Tea Party leanings.  Born in Virginia to the manor and wealth from Tabaco and coal she used her vast wealth to become an important citizen of Nebraska. After 2 years of greasing the right palms, and with virtually unlimited money, she deposed a Senior Democrat with a relentless smear campaign character assignation including a made up homosexual affair with fabricated photos and video of the senator trolling schools for young boys.  In her opinion, the world is here to serve her. Her staff with her direction, connections and coercions was the architect of the diverting of the millions from the charities to her and her cohorts pockets.

Mohammed Akheim Jones 50+ years old (developed specifically for JJ Walker or like character).

A Congressman from the state of Illinois, he grew up in the ghettos of Chicago. While doing a 10 year stretch for armed robbery and pistol whipping the guard, he went to law school while in the slammer. The only reason he went to law school was to beat his conviction.  As he puts it, "If Claus von Bulow can beat the rap for murdering his wife; I should be able to beat my own conviction." He was able to get a retrial and since several of the key witnesses refused to testify, Mohammed Jones walked out of Jolliet State Prison a free man and his conviction was overturned. He used the proceeds from the bank job to run for Congress. Seems he learned in prison where the real thieves in this country are. Apparently learning to steal like a congressman was not taught at Jolliet. He was caught putting votes in the Ballot box from elderly voters that “could not make their way to the voting booths”.

William Robert Poteet 28 years old. Congressman (R) from the State of Georgia.

From Valdosta Georgia, an agricultural area known for its Onions, High School educated, and backed by the Tea Party. Tall and thin, he carries a gun, a Bible, King James Version and a copy of the Constitution. Dresses like a typical used car salesman from the 60’s with plaid polyester jacket and pants that do not match. His Bible is hollowed out for his 9mm Berretta. Not the smartest man but able to sway the rural vote with his old time skit that plays to the ultra-conservative that do not live in Atlanta. He calls the Mayor of Atlanta a white man in a Black suit.
Chosen by Virginia Lee Chaney as a way to “sell the goods” to the country Bible belt folk who are charitable and not interested in paper work or where the money is really going. They know that the “Minister” Congressman ( he is not, just called that by his constituents) will get it to where it will do the most good. Billy Bob can easily be swayed by the thoughts of a big pay day. He offered his services to Senator Cheney as a runner. The “pick up man” as he put it ", I didn't break no laws picking up the money drops. This is bogus. I was set up!"  Billy Bob does not have a clue as to how the law works, and yet he quotes the Constitution all the time.

Guillermo (Jerry) Gonzalez de La Hoya.  38 years old, (D) Senator California. 

He is a western blue blood, descendant of the Mexican/Spanish aristocracy, of old money, a Spanish silver Baron. Maintains his Senate office on his 150 foot yacht “The Libertad”
Jerry was arrested for smuggling cocaine from Mexico on his election tour bus. Swears he was set up by his brother-in-law, who, according to the senator, is having an affair with his wife and they are trying to get him out of the way and get his money. A Harvard law school grad. Facing 20 years for trafficking, he readily takes the Judge up on the offer to repent in this half way house for the ruling class. He is classically handsome and very fit. He always look fresh even after a full day at the pizzeria his shirt and pants are not stained and the creases are perfect all the time.

Deputy Lee Roy Brown.  30 years old, 6'8''/375 going to night school to become a lawyer. 

He is the 9 to 5 enforcer of rules and ensures that the inmates are not cheating with money and acquiring things they cannot afford on minimum wage. Anything found by the deputy is confiscated and is allowed to take it home and do what he sees fit with it.

Julio Rivera Building Superintendent.  Born in the Bronx NY in 1957.

His father was the Super before Julio inherited the job when his father died. Julio is medium height stocky man who is constantly visited by the ghost of his father. Julio continues his conversations with his father even when others are present. He will constantly be reminding the tenants that they are behind on their rent. He grudgingly comes to attempt to fix things

The building is a left over property that was seized by the Feds. All the tenant characters in the building are damaged; physically, mentally, emotionally and financially. We will disclosed and continue to develop more of these characters for the production of the program.
The apartment is in the top floor of a walk up that has somehow avoided gentrification in Washington DC. Two of the top floor apartments have been combined as a way to provide a central living and working areas for the Congressmen and woman alongside the Senators, this will also permit the Deputy Brown to keep an eye on them and offer interaction opportunities. The Common area of the apartment is where the Lobbyists and constituents can interact with their representatives.


Sunday, December 23, 2012

1968 Citroen Mehari

One of the most fun things I did as part of my apprenticeship was to island hop the French Caribbean Islands repairing Citroen's that belonged to the resorts and the government. Among the DS19, DS21's and some 2CV sedans and delivery trucks was the French version of the dune buggy the Mehari. The Mehari is a type of fast running Dromedary camel. The Citroen Mehari may be faster on some terrains than the camel, in the Sahara the camel may have a slight advantage. Built on the of the 2CV platform, the steel body was replaced by a very toy like flexible polyester body. The soft long travel of the 2CV suspension, served well to absorb bumps, ruts and rocks that were the off road expectations for the cars use. These cars were replacing WW II surrey topped Jeeps and some Minimokes that went into service in the Islands. Built from 1968 to 1998 the basic vehicle did not change at all. Part of my job for Citroen was to go down to the Docks and unpack the cars from their 4 high stack get them running and drive them back to the Distributor where we would finish putting them together. It also meant driving them with windshield folded and no doors or seat belts through Miami. My whole 4 years of apprenticeship presented a different scope of what I was expected to do. In 1968 armed with a drivers license I was given responsibility by all my teachers to operate on my own in Guadeloupe (including surrounding islands), Martinique, Saint Martin, and Saint-Barthélemy, A tough job for a 16 year old to balance hormonal needs with the responsibility of operating a business. It was great experience flying, and sometimes sailing from island to island staying at resorts and staying out of trouble.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

1963 Studebaker Avanti R3.


In the late 50's Studebaker had been doing everything they could to stay in the Big Four Sales Club. GM, Ford, Chrysler and Studebaker were the  American power house world wide, the automotive Giants. By the late 50's Studebaker was looking for a miracle. They hoped that would come in Raymond Lowery's next revolutionary design. His last design the, 1954 President Speedster was evolutionary and way ahead of its time, with its low profile and and low drag shape. So in 1960 Studebaker turned once again to the genius of Raymond Lowery to set the world on fire. In one short year the Avanti went from concept to prototype and then production for 1962.











The Studebaker V8 was initially  was introduced in 1951 as a 232 cubic inch displacement with 120 horse power, It eventually displaced 304 cid and in the R3 Supercharged configuration it eventually exceeded 330 hp as installed in the Hawk GT and the Avanti. The R3 was fr all intents and purpose a factory race car. very few R3's made it to public hands, this seems to be one of them. The Andy Granatelli Land speed record Avanti was a modified R3 and with a special Supercharger was referred as the R5. That car was clocked at Bonneville just short of its 200 mile per hour goal due to poor traction not lack of power But 197 MPH in a "production" car was rather impressive in the early 60's.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

1963 Ford Falcon Sprint V8 Convertible

Before there was a Mustang, if you wanted a sporty small car there was a great choice in the Falcon Sprint. With Fords legendary 260 V8 and later the 289 available in either a Coupe or a Convertible. There were the usual option choices and it shows you how people though of this car by the number of 4 speed cars sold. In case you do not know the 64 Mustangs underpinnings came from the Falcon.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

2013 Hyundai Sonata In Detail

Published on Jul 25, 2012 by Miguel Caparros Many of you are not aware that Hyundai first came to the US market in 1986 with a model named the Exel. It was not. The only car worse was the Yugo. Both the Yugo and the Hyundai were aimed at the bottom of the market, first time buyers, people with little or no credit, buyers that for the first time wanted to buy a new car instead of a 7 year old used car. Some think that they would have been better off with the used car. With a price of $4,995 and not looking cheap while on the showroom floor, the cars were flying out the door, The closest Made In the USA car was the Chevrolet Chevette at $5,645. The unfortunate thing was that the brand became synonymous as a poor persons car. Lets face it, no matter how inexpensive the labor was then in Korea, to build a product and send it 1/2 way around the globe and sell it for $600.00 less than the least expensive North American car, something has to give. That is enough on the history. In 2009 Hyundai opened up the wallet and hired key European BMW people to turn the image of reliable but boring, to the cars that are now at the top of style and reliability. What should make the competition even more nervous is the fact that with Hyundai's growth, they are attracting top designers such as Chris Chapman. Chris has been in the industry for 22 years and after leaving BMW, now stands to lead Hyundai's design center in Irvine, California to bold new heights. The Sonata was the first product of the reformatted Hyundai line up. The new Sonata SE $23,345 MSRP does not have to make any apologies. This is now a world class car, the direction that Hyundai is taking has served notice that even Mercedes better pay attention. We had the Sonata for a 5 day weekend that found us driving to Florida to visit friends and family. The 198 HP engine felt a little soft on take off but it came alive the higher it revved. The 6-speed automatic transmission gives you the option of manual shifting when you are enjoying your favorite twisty road, The SE Sonata comes with everything you need. Here is the equipment list for the SE 198-hp 2.4L GDI 4-cylinder engine 6-speed automatic transmission with SHIFTRONIC® Electronic Stability Control (ESC) with Traction Control System (TCS) and Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Brake Assist (BA) Daytime running lights Power door locks, windows and outside mirrors Remote keyless entry and alarm Six airbags - includes driver and front passenger, front seat side-mounted and front and rear curtain airbags Tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel with audio and cruise control functions Blue Link® telematics system Bluetooth® hands-free phone system Pod® / USB and MP3 auxiliary input jacks Advanced trip computer with custom settings On the highway the tall 6th gear gave relaxed cruising by providing relaxed engine RPM's. The slippery shape contributed to low wind noise and fantastic gas mileage. One leg of I 75 for 200 miles we averaged 40 mpg! The 1500 mile trip including cruising South Beach and dealing with Atlanta traffic returned and average of 33 mpg Category: Autos & Vehicles License: Standard YouTube License

1956 Studebaker SkyHawk

Studebaker buyers were different. Early on to appease their customers Studebaker added features such as the over head valve V8 in 1947, padded dash, seat belts, at the same time they took a very aero look to their cars including a very spacy bullet nose. In 1953 they stunned the automotive world with Studebaker Commander Coupe. Maybe too shocking for the average buyer. The low and wide cars were a generation ahead of the rest of the industry  The low swooping nose with twin snorkels was unlike anything else, the roof line was a  good 8 inches lower than everyone else. The performance abilities of the Lowey designed car was amazing for a, first 239 CID engine and got more so when they opened it up to 289 cid..The big cast iron block was wide and heavy but extremely durable As they found out when they made the Paxton Supercharger an option.

The Hawk series was an interesting departure of the ultimate coupe the 1955 President Coupe ( See the Video http://youtu.be/2bmdoiMY7uI ). The stand up Mercedes grill of the Hawk is due to Studebakers marketing partnership with Mercedes Benz, with the hope that they could sell more cars. The Hawk line was almost a complete separate brand. Starting with Golden Hawk - Sky Hawk - Power Hawk - Flight Hawk - Silver Hawk  - Hawk - GT Hawk and the Packard Hawk that was powered by a completely different 352 CID V8.

The Studebaker Sky Hawk was a pillarless two-door hardtop coupe for the 1956 model year only. The Sky Hawk was considered part of the Studebaker President series. One of four models of Hawks available that year, the Sky Hawk was positioned between the flagship Golden Hawk and Power Hawk pillared coupe. Sky Hawks differed from Golden Hawks in that they had less chrome trim and lacked the Golden Hawk's fins. They also had slightly less luxurious interiors, and were powered by the President's 289 cubic inch V-8 with 210 HP standard and 225 horsepower optional instead of the Packard 352 of the Golden Hawk. Only 3,050 were produced that year. The Sky Hawk was discontinued for the 1957 model year.