The Haphazard Blog

There is an awful lot of glee that Chicago didn’t win the Olympics today. It’s silly that so much of it is simply because President Obama supported it and went to Munich to make the case.  How many of these people were chanting U-S-A! at rallies within the last year? Now they cheer when the United States is knocked out of the running for the Olympics. The first to declare others are unpatriotic and somehow this isn’t? Completely disingenuous, and I wish I could say it was surprising.

Here’s a thought. Instead of making it all about President Obama you support a completely valid reason to not hold the Olympics here. Hosting the Olympics is getting more and more costly. Unless it is done smart and makes use of much of the existing infrastructure, there is going to be massive debt that will be paid for decades after the Olympics are long gone. Chicago, or any city in the United States, really does not need the international spotlight. The primary beneficiary of the Olympics in Chicago would’ve been politicians getting a very large national stage and private corporations profiting from the actual games and the myriad of projects required to prepare the city for the games. The taxpayers, both locally and nationally (I’d expect some type of federal stimulus to help fund this), would’ve borne the cost of it.

This is really the main reason politics, especially at the national level, drives me nuts. There is so much disingenuousness when they speak. This would never happen since the people who would actually need to make it happen are the ones that would be affected, but in an ideal world, “we the people” would vote in the people who would fundamentally change the way congress operates.

• Term limits (1 for Senators (6 years) and 2 for Representatives  (8 years)) to reduce or eliminate conflicts between legislating and securing money for re-election
• Reduction in salary to the average salary in the United States as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau, adjusted for inflation annually ($43,362 in 2005). They represent their constituents and should be paid more like their constituents.
• Eliminating political action committees (PACs). PACs are ways for companies to get around (somewhat) election contribution laws. In addition to being able to contribute to candidates, they can campaign for them as long as they don’t coordinate with the candidate.
• Further reducing the per-person yearly contributions. The gap is still rather large between a typical small donation and the maximum limit of $2,300 ($4,600 per couple). If the limit is lower, there is less of an incentive to cater to high money donors and more of one to reach individual constituents.

I think actions like this would tip the scales back to the people away from lobbyists and special interest groups. I’m sure they’d find other creative ways (jobs after their terms end?) to try and push their influence, but it would be nice to start somewhere. When you have Senators admit so freely that they let lobbyists write legislation and there is little outrage, I think it’s evident that “we the people” are more than likely going to get the short end of the stick while a minority benefits the most.

This week I’ve read and heard from writers and commentators some variation on “real men don’t wear pink” in reaction to NFL players who will be wearing pink in support of breast cancer awareness this month. To be fair, they also commended the NFL and players for doing it. I’ve never been accused of going out too much, but do any of these people get out, watch TV or look at magazines? I see men wearing dress shirts and ties that either contain pink or are all pink. Even on air people at ESPN will have some pink in their shirts or ties at times. I know I’ve seen Tom Brady wearing stuff with pink in it during post game press conferences. Now it’s some big deal for players to wear pink cleats or gloves. I think we’re quite a bit beyond “real men don’t wear pink”.

It’s astounding how many celebrities think Roman Polanski should be set free. That seems like a very big disconnect between those who support him in Hollywood and the average person. I’m shocked Woody Allen leads the list.

I’d say I have lost respect for the following people, but I don’t know any of them. I respect their talents as artists, but anyone who doesn’t feel that Polanski should finally face his punishment for such a horrific act and should be set free have a serious problem. What he did is simply indefensible. He was free to do whatever he wanted for over 30 years.

Some notable people who want him released by the Swiss:

Darren Aronofsky (Director, Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler)
David Lynch (Director, Twin Peaks, Mullholland Dr.)
John Landis (Director, Animal House, The Blues Brothers)
Jonathan Demme (Director, The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia)
Martin Scorsese (Director, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Casino, Gangs of New York)
Michael Mann (Producer, Heat, The Insider, Ali, The Aviator)
Monica Bellucci (Actress, Dracula, Matrix Series)
Sam Mendes (Director, American Beauty)
Steven Soderbergh (Director, Pleasantville, Erin Brockovich, Ocean’s Series, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind)
Terry Gilliam (Director, Monty Python Series, Brazil, Twelve Monkeys)
Tilda Swinton (Actress, Chronicles of Narnia Series, The Curios Case of Benjamin Button)
Wes Anderson (Writer/Director, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited)

The directors seem to stick together.  Maybe the director’s guild pushed it?  In any case, I really can not understand how this guy has so much support without him ever saying he didn’t do what he was accused of doing.

New and continuing shows are premiering on network TV now. There isn’t really much that is coming out that I feel like are worth watching. I gave some shows that seemed interesting a chance. I’ll include some of my thoughts. Before I do a couple general things I observed so far. ABC Studios (formerly Touchstone) has decided they want to promote more and it seems every show the produce (on ABC at least) start with “an ABC Studios production” to kick off the credits. My worst time slot is Thursday’s at 9 PM ET. FOX made it even worse by moving Fringe there.

Melrose Place (CW, Tuesdays at 9): I watched one episode. I never watched the original so I think that one aspect probably hurt. The show just didn’t seem all that interesting to me. Wow, someone was murdered. The characters weren’t interesting to me.  On a slight aside, Jessica Lucas is beautiful. She looked familiar, so I checked her filmography on IMDb and she was on CSI. She was the new CSI who just vanished. I thought she was better than the other girl they brought in last season (who they also wrote out).

Jessica Lucas, Melrose Place

The Beautiful Life (CW, Canceled): This was marginally better than Melrose Place. Although that doesn’t mean much since they canceled the show after the second episode. For anyone who was a fan, it’s really dead. They shut down the show during production. The CW will not be bringing it back later and if they do show the few episodes that were shot, there was no heads up so there won’t be any type of ending.

Community (NBC, Thursdays at 9:30): I’m giving this show a little bit more of a chance than I normally would. I bailed on The Office way too early and was horribly wrong on that show. So far, I’m not impressed.  Ken Jeong (the Spanish Teacher) is a MD in real life. He was practicing at Kaiser before getting into comedy/acting full time.

Bored to Death (HBO, Sundays at 9:30): This joke probably has been beaten to death, but the title is perfect:  viewers are bored to death watching this show. There’s “smart comedy” and then there is this. It reminds me of movies by Wes Anderson. His stuff is very (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited) hit or miss with people. So I’m not shocked that Jason Schawartzman is in this show. I thought Lucky Louie was way better than this and HBO killed it. Since all they care about are critics, this show will probably be back.

Accidentally On Purpose (CBS, Mondays at 8:30): I gave this show two episodes. It’s just not that funny. CBS made a mistake canceling The Class two years ago and Worst Week last year. Each was at least funny. The Class had superior characters as well.

the forgotten (ABC, Tuesdays at 10): The premise (solving unsolved murders of nameless victims) and characters weren’t interesting to me. The show just seemed to drag on. There wasn’t anything compelling about the “mystery”.

The Good Wife (CBS, Tuesdays at 10): The premise seems a bit lame (the wife of a cheating politician goes back to work), but I like legal dramas. The case was interesting. I’ll see if they continue to be. There’s some promise here if it doesn’t start to really lean on her back story and the cases all go back to her difficulties in having a crappy husband.

Mercy (NBC, Wednesdays at 8): I’m not watching this anymore. The characters stunk. It will likely draw comparisons to Hawthorne (on TNT). Hawthorne is a lot better.

Modern Family (ABC, Wednesdays at 9): This show is clever. It’s well done and uses the mockumentary style (The Office, Parks and Recreation) well. I think it will do well.

Cougar Town (ABC, Wednesdays at 9:30): I laughed. Nothing real special here besides that though. I found Modern Family to be superior.

Eastwick (ABC, Wednesdays at 10): This show will probably do pretty good for ABC, but it’s not all that appealing to me. I’ve never watched Charmed, but I imagine these shows would have similar audiences.

FlashForward (ABC, Thursdays at 9): I think this is my favorite new show so far. I enjoy these shows that have a more in depth story and a mystery (Lost, Fringe). Did anyone notice the Oceanic Air billboard? It said “Perfect Safety Record”.

Brothers (FOX, Fridays at 8): I think this show is a little better than Accidentally On Purpose. Unlike Friday Night Lights, the Actor in the wheelchair (Daryl Mitchell) is really paralyzed. (The actors on FNL, Scott Porter and Kevin Rankin do a good job, especially Kevin Rankin.) There are funny moments. I usually get bored with FOX sitcoms (except Arrested Development), so I’ll see how this one goes.

Trauma (NBC, Mondays at 9): Similar feelings as Mercy. The characters aren’t that good except maybe the helicopter paramedic. Again, a paramedic show on TNT (Saved) was done much better.

I think there are a few more new shows coming. I’ll recap them in a final grouping next month.

Another week of the “Patriots don’t lose two games in a row” talk and they didn’t lose this one. They also looked pretty good. They played a little more balanced and Brady had a lot of time to make his throws unlike last week.

The offense looked better, but I don’t know if that’s because Brady had time to throw or if they were successful running the ball. With Wes Welker out, Randy Moss seemed to be doing everything. Later we found out he had a lot of back pain. Teammates were stretching him out during breaks and he had trouble getting his jersey on and off. Then CBS Sports put up an article saying he was dogging it the whole game. Brady looked more accurate and there was one point where some possible TDs were blown by Joey Galloway (stepped out of bounds at the back of the end zone) and Sam Aiken (cut his route short). The crowd also cheered Galloway when he made a catch. That is not a good sign for a WR when he gets the cheers for just catching the ball. I think the red zone offense is a concern at this point. They’re kicking a lot of FGs so far this season.

The defense looked even better. In the 2nd half, they allowed 78 yards, 2 1st downs in 15 total plays. Still no interceptions or real playmakers have emerged.  But it was solid team defense. Gary Guyton has done an admirable job filling in for Mayo.

Bill Belichick also made the gutsy call to go for it on 4th and 1 from their own 24. They were winning and it was only the 3rd quarter. He must’ve really felt they could get it pretty easy. Being up by only 6 points, missing that could’ve shifted momentum and led to a quick TD and them being down by 1.

Next up are the Ravens who people expect to be another good matchup for the Patriots. Their offense is a lot better, but their defense has fallen off a bit from past years.

I was a little too delighted to read that Roman Polanski was nabbed by the Swiss. I don’t know him personally, I really shouldn’t care. I think I first really knew who he was after he won the Oscar for The Piano. I couldn’t believe someone who drugged and raped a 13 year old, and then fled to avoid jail won an award. Child molesters are given a special place at the very bottom of the depths of society. They are the bottom of the prison food chain. Who would vote to give him an award? Who would work with him freely?  As far as I can tell, he doesn’t even deny any of it. A forty-something and a 13 year old! Why is this guy better than all the other child rapists? Because he made some good movies?

It seems like back pain is going around in my family. My mother’s back started to hurt in July and it was a couple months before it felt normal. Then my father’s back started to hurt right before he left for India, but it seemed to feel better after a couple of week. Next up, it was my turn.

A couple weeks ago, I woke up with pain in the lower left part of my back. I’ve woken up with back pain before in the past, usually from a hotel bed. It will go away after I’ve been up for a few hours. No such luck this time. When my parents went to the doctor, they got the generic diagnosis. For my mother, she was also sent to get an MRI and physical therapy. Her MRI looked normal and PT didn’t seem to be doing much. My father was just given a muscle relaxant. They were both also told to employ RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation) and take Ibuprofen.

So I went with the generic treatment, RICE and anti-inflammatories. It didn’t help much at all. I am currently in physical therapy, so it was pretty easy to ask my PT about it and have her take a look. Even better for me, she has a lot of experience with back pain. So she started to dig around and found my lower back muscles were out of whack, “knots” and “strings” aplenty. She worked quite a few out using myofascial release. My back hurt in a different way (from what she did) for a couple days. It feels significantly better, but I think I need to have some more work done.

My PT also showed me something else that was interesting. It’s called a Nada Chair. It’s an interesting device. Put simply, it is a postural support for when you are sitting without any support in the back. It uses simple leverage to rotate your pelvis to make you sit straight. It forces you out of a slouched position and also prevents you from falling back into one. Its simplicity in doing this is amazing. It’s not particularly useful to me since my chair has a back that is positioned and shaped to keep me sitting tall, but to any other people who may stumble on this page, it may be something helpful.