As I mentioned as the close of my last article, the TNT new crime-investigation drama Perception, which showed its first episode last Monday, seems to have its own agenda regarding what should properly be the public's "perception" of mental illness, specifically the condition known as schizophrenia. That the protagonist, neuropsychology professor Daniel Pierce, has this affliction is obvious; he even suffers from hallucinations arising thereof. But this character is resolute about integrating himself into (not isolating from) general society. And he wants others to accept people with his "condition" as full, welcome members of society, and not regulated to some ostracized, segregated status as "crazy" and, consequently, as some sort of dangerous threat. With this fictional character's viewpoint I wholeheartedly agree. More than you could imagine, actually. However...
It is one thing to want more acceptance for schizophrenics in our society. They should have just the same rights and opportunities as others and shouldn't suffer discrimination for what is a medical illness anymore than someone with, say, diabetes, heart trouble, or cancer. In the past, and possibly even in the present, those with this illness were subject to legalized abduction, incarceration in mental hospitals, and forced against their will to undergo treatments some of which was barbaric (like shock treatment or lobotomies). As well as blatant discrimination with jobs and housing. Their rights MUST be upheld and respected!
Still, it is one thing to properly demand acceptance and respect. It is, however, something completely different to act as if suffering mental illness is simply a matter of diversity, with the afflicted simply being "eccentric". This is how the Wikipedia article written about Perception describes Dr. Pierce. I abhor this apparent political correctness about what words can and cannot be used to name this disorder. And it is a disorder, not just an eccentricity. Our jails are teeming with the mentally ill, not just "eccentrics", and the homeless have an enormous number of the same, who because of their "eccentricity" cannot function independently in society. This isn't just a diversity issue.
So let us all respect those afflicted with mental illness, including schizophrenia, as legitimate human beings suffering from a truly physical illness, and who merit the same degree of insurance coverage and societal respect and sympathy for their circumstance. Be vigilant about protecting the civil liberties and rights of the mentally ill as well. But if you don't like a word such as "schizophrenic", don't soften it to "eccentric": you are rendering service to no one in doing this. And you may actually be going counter to your own intentions by once again making this topic a taboo matter to discuss openly and honestly...
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Watching Perception from its Beginning
I have a mixed record about keeping up with popular culture,
especially that of a mainstream nature. For example, on game shows like
Millionaire or Jeopardy, I usually excel in the more academic areas
while withering with questions (or answers, in Jeopardy) about
celebrities, "top" pop music, and TV series. So for me to say that I am
interested in actually following a new television dramatic series from
its very beginning is something of a statement. But I may have come
across a new series that is worth my attention: Perception.
Monday is one of my days off; the other weeknights during prime time I am at work. So with Perception's premiere last Monday, I saw an opportunity to get into a new series from its beginning, with a high probability of being able to keep up with it should it turn out interesting. And so far, I am sold on it. So far. And conditionally.
Perception is a crime investigation series that, like Monk before it, features a brilliant and sympathetic crime-solving individual with a decidedly pronounced mental handicap. With Monk, it was obsessive-compulsive disorder. With Perception's Dr. Daniel Pierce, a neuropsychologist, it is schizophrenia, replete with hallucinations (how convenient for the screen). And as in Monk, the protagonist has an assistant who helps him to interface and cope with the often rough and intolerant world. Oh, and naturally since he is solving crimes, Dr. Pierce is connected with the "authorities", here through an FBI agent who was a former student of Pierce and recruited the good professor's help on difficult cases.
As I mentioned, the character Daniel Pierce suffers hallucinations which in his case (at least in the first episode) are of relatively benign people who assist him in solving cases. Plus, although it hasn't been revealed as such, there is one character he regularly talks with that I suspect to be a hallucination as well. All of this dovetails well with the cinematic, romanticized view of the schizophrenic as some sort of brilliant soul with visual fireworks going on all around him/her that plain, ordinary people are (dammit) missing out on. This was also the case in Ron Howard's portrayal of schizophrenic mathematician John Nash in the movie A Beautiful Mind. With all of the hallucinations and associated visual tricks and mysteries depicted here, I was surprised later to read that, unlike in the movie version, the real-life John Nash, although he was certainly delusional, actually did not suffer from hallucinations. But that wouldn't have played very well to audiences, would it?
I am approaching Perception with the view that it is fiction, with the vivid and complex hallucinations of its protagonist used as devices to move the story forward in this very visual medium. Sure, some people do suffer from them, but most probably not in the self-enlightening manner that this series, at least from my first viewing of it, seems to be bent to depicting them...
There is another angle to this series: how it portrays mental illness as the protagonist faces it as more of an aspect of diversity than as a medical condition, at least as I see it. More on this in a future article...
Monday is one of my days off; the other weeknights during prime time I am at work. So with Perception's premiere last Monday, I saw an opportunity to get into a new series from its beginning, with a high probability of being able to keep up with it should it turn out interesting. And so far, I am sold on it. So far. And conditionally.
Perception is a crime investigation series that, like Monk before it, features a brilliant and sympathetic crime-solving individual with a decidedly pronounced mental handicap. With Monk, it was obsessive-compulsive disorder. With Perception's Dr. Daniel Pierce, a neuropsychologist, it is schizophrenia, replete with hallucinations (how convenient for the screen). And as in Monk, the protagonist has an assistant who helps him to interface and cope with the often rough and intolerant world. Oh, and naturally since he is solving crimes, Dr. Pierce is connected with the "authorities", here through an FBI agent who was a former student of Pierce and recruited the good professor's help on difficult cases.
As I mentioned, the character Daniel Pierce suffers hallucinations which in his case (at least in the first episode) are of relatively benign people who assist him in solving cases. Plus, although it hasn't been revealed as such, there is one character he regularly talks with that I suspect to be a hallucination as well. All of this dovetails well with the cinematic, romanticized view of the schizophrenic as some sort of brilliant soul with visual fireworks going on all around him/her that plain, ordinary people are (dammit) missing out on. This was also the case in Ron Howard's portrayal of schizophrenic mathematician John Nash in the movie A Beautiful Mind. With all of the hallucinations and associated visual tricks and mysteries depicted here, I was surprised later to read that, unlike in the movie version, the real-life John Nash, although he was certainly delusional, actually did not suffer from hallucinations. But that wouldn't have played very well to audiences, would it?
I am approaching Perception with the view that it is fiction, with the vivid and complex hallucinations of its protagonist used as devices to move the story forward in this very visual medium. Sure, some people do suffer from them, but most probably not in the self-enlightening manner that this series, at least from my first viewing of it, seems to be bent to depicting them...
There is another angle to this series: how it portrays mental illness as the protagonist faces it as more of an aspect of diversity than as a medical condition, at least as I see it. More on this in a future article...
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Coffee Shop Habit
Sometimes I am fortunate to get off a few minutes early from work. Also, fortunately, there are a couple of Starbucks in town that consistently stay open late at night (well, it's late at least for hokey Gainesville). The location on Archer Road stays open until midnight and is near my workplace, but it is usually filled to capacity when I get there. So instead, I often take a slight detour eastward on my way home and go to the one at the corner of 16th Avenue and 13th Street (US 441). They close at eleven, but I don't want to stay out late, anyway (the hokeyness has worn off on me, I guess). This Starbucks has its usual complement of police "customers" crowding the place (and parking lot) at this time of night, which is fine since they seem to have me pegged as a legitimate human being and not a "suspect" to be scrutinized; besides, there is plenty of seating to go around, so bring 'em on...
I wonder sometimes how far back in my life this predilection to whiling away my time in public establishments drinking coffee goes. I recall once when I was with my father as we attended one of those hip (back then) new age self-improvement seminars down at the Marriott near Miami International Airport. It was October, 1972, and we had just finished hearing some sort of silly lecture (the message from which I have forgotten) and went downstairs to the restaurant where we sat around the bar there with some others attending the seminar...and we had coffee. Somehow the ambiance there made a strong, positive impression on me. I was sixteen at the time. Still, I didn't get into the habit of going out to drink coffee until 1978, after I had been in Gainesville and was going to the University of Florida as an undergraduate student. It was then that I took to this habit, something that I have never relinquished to this day.
Now when I am sitting in a coffee shop, I don't just sit there staring off into space. I usually have my portable work processor with me in case something comes to mind that I'd like to write down, maybe even fit into a blog article (like right now, as a matter of fact). Also, I have some foreign language texts that I study on a regular basis. And then there are whatever books that I happen to be reading as well. And a spiral notebook is on hand in case I'd like to jot down some thoughts or plan things out.
Well, I guess my time has "whiled" away enough, and it is approaching closing time. It's homeward bound time!
I wonder sometimes how far back in my life this predilection to whiling away my time in public establishments drinking coffee goes. I recall once when I was with my father as we attended one of those hip (back then) new age self-improvement seminars down at the Marriott near Miami International Airport. It was October, 1972, and we had just finished hearing some sort of silly lecture (the message from which I have forgotten) and went downstairs to the restaurant where we sat around the bar there with some others attending the seminar...and we had coffee. Somehow the ambiance there made a strong, positive impression on me. I was sixteen at the time. Still, I didn't get into the habit of going out to drink coffee until 1978, after I had been in Gainesville and was going to the University of Florida as an undergraduate student. It was then that I took to this habit, something that I have never relinquished to this day.
Now when I am sitting in a coffee shop, I don't just sit there staring off into space. I usually have my portable work processor with me in case something comes to mind that I'd like to write down, maybe even fit into a blog article (like right now, as a matter of fact). Also, I have some foreign language texts that I study on a regular basis. And then there are whatever books that I happen to be reading as well. And a spiral notebook is on hand in case I'd like to jot down some thoughts or plan things out.
Well, I guess my time has "whiled" away enough, and it is approaching closing time. It's homeward bound time!
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Assorted Running Banter
Although I have laid off running in half-marathons for a while, I was intrigued the other day while surfing the Net when I discovered that in south Florida, several half-marathons are being held throughout this year. As a matter of fact, in the middle of sweltering August, one will happen in Hialeah and another in North Miami the next day. To be sure, these aren't your typical road-running races that I have run in the past. Rather they are trail races and involve running on dirt paths and encountering assorted obstacles along the way. Still, in south Florida, I don't envision hills presenting any kind of problem...
Someday, when this current medical condition I am going through gets satisfactorily resolved, I'd like to return to running half-marathon races. With a vengeance. And these newly sprung trail races may be just the sort of lower-cost, closer events that I could use to fill the half-marathon calendar up. A calendar which, at least here in Florida, dries up in March and doesn't pick back up again until September.
Looking back on my participation in July 4's Melon Run here in my hometown of Gainesville, I was much more pleased with the experience than I was when I ran it in 2010. And moreover, the professional photographer covering the race accomplished something that no previous photographer had managed: actually capturing a picture of me while running the race! So naturally, I bought a print, although in all honesty it doesn't exactly flatter me...
This month, as expected, has seen the temperatures mount to an almost unbearable level for running. This has driven me indoors to the treadmill on a number of occasions. This morning, though, I decided to run a little earlier than usual, at 9 AM when the temperature was only around 80 degrees and the humidity was still high at around 77%. It was a very uncomfortable, but manageable 3.25 mile run. But I'm thinking of pushing back the running even earlier, to sunrise, as a matter of fact. And changing my name to "The Dawn Runner". So who am I kidding, anyway? Run a half-marathon in the middle of summer in Greater Miami? C'mon!
Someday, when this current medical condition I am going through gets satisfactorily resolved, I'd like to return to running half-marathon races. With a vengeance. And these newly sprung trail races may be just the sort of lower-cost, closer events that I could use to fill the half-marathon calendar up. A calendar which, at least here in Florida, dries up in March and doesn't pick back up again until September.
Looking back on my participation in July 4's Melon Run here in my hometown of Gainesville, I was much more pleased with the experience than I was when I ran it in 2010. And moreover, the professional photographer covering the race accomplished something that no previous photographer had managed: actually capturing a picture of me while running the race! So naturally, I bought a print, although in all honesty it doesn't exactly flatter me...
This month, as expected, has seen the temperatures mount to an almost unbearable level for running. This has driven me indoors to the treadmill on a number of occasions. This morning, though, I decided to run a little earlier than usual, at 9 AM when the temperature was only around 80 degrees and the humidity was still high at around 77%. It was a very uncomfortable, but manageable 3.25 mile run. But I'm thinking of pushing back the running even earlier, to sunrise, as a matter of fact. And changing my name to "The Dawn Runner". So who am I kidding, anyway? Run a half-marathon in the middle of summer in Greater Miami? C'mon!
Monday, July 9, 2012
Too Early for Album and Song of 2012?
Having recently obtained a copy of Regina Spektor's new release What We Saw From the Cheap Seats, I was a little apprehensive. After all, two different musical acts that I have come to greatly admire, Sufjan Stevens and Radiohead, had recently issued new albums that, frankly, seriously disappointed me. With Stevens it was worse, with a disappointing EP released almost concurrently with a letdown of an LP. So I thought that maybe, just maybe, musical creative talent was thinning out of our atmosphere, possibly attributable to the extensive and exploding talk radio bullcrap polluting our airwaves. Then I listened to Regina Spektor's new work. What a work.
Often it takes me a few listens to get a feeling for a new recording. Regina's new album was love at first listen, though. Out of the eleven tracks on What We Saw From the Cheap Seats, I disliked only one (and it was the shortest song). The rest was good listening...and then there were the two tracks that I could only reasonably describe as masterpieces.
Firewood and Open are about as good as it can get. And Firewood went further: it made me literally cry (and it takes an awful lot to get someone like me into that state). Each and every time I heard it I wept, and it got to be a little embarrassing when I would listen to it on my MP3 player out in public. As a matter of fact, as far as I am concerned, Firewood is now the all-time greatest tear-jerking song. Just beautiful. And Open? A more philosophically-bent piece it is, with a rather disturbing but very inspired and creative vocal twist in its middle that intensifies its message. Of the two, though, Firewood has instantly shot up to become my favorite song of 2012 (with Open comfortably in second place). Already, in early July.
Can I just close out the rest of 2012 and declare What We Saw From the Cheap Seats as this year's greatest album and Firewood as the song of the year? Why not? I have a hard time imagining how any new album or song would have a chance of surpassing them...
Regina...what an appropriate name: she rules!
Often it takes me a few listens to get a feeling for a new recording. Regina's new album was love at first listen, though. Out of the eleven tracks on What We Saw From the Cheap Seats, I disliked only one (and it was the shortest song). The rest was good listening...and then there were the two tracks that I could only reasonably describe as masterpieces.
Firewood and Open are about as good as it can get. And Firewood went further: it made me literally cry (and it takes an awful lot to get someone like me into that state). Each and every time I heard it I wept, and it got to be a little embarrassing when I would listen to it on my MP3 player out in public. As a matter of fact, as far as I am concerned, Firewood is now the all-time greatest tear-jerking song. Just beautiful. And Open? A more philosophically-bent piece it is, with a rather disturbing but very inspired and creative vocal twist in its middle that intensifies its message. Of the two, though, Firewood has instantly shot up to become my favorite song of 2012 (with Open comfortably in second place). Already, in early July.
Can I just close out the rest of 2012 and declare What We Saw From the Cheap Seats as this year's greatest album and Firewood as the song of the year? Why not? I have a hard time imagining how any new album or song would have a chance of surpassing them...
Regina...what an appropriate name: she rules!
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Baseball's 2012 All-Star Break
We've arrived once again at the time of the summer when sports enthusiasts are all abuzz about...Wimbledon tennis, right? Uh, sure, if you say so.
No, I was referring instead to the "real" sports annual milestone: the Major League Baseball All-Star break. This is the time when a few watch an essentially meaningless Tuesday night game showcasing star players, but my interest is with the standings and how the various teams are doing. In the American League East, my New York Yankees are comfortably in first place, although this year all five teams are competitive. Baltimore is the biggest surprise, managing to stay in second place this late in the season. In the AL Central are two other surprises: the first place Chicago White Sox and the embarrassing Cleveland Indians in second. I say embarrassing because whenever I am watching a game that they're playing in all I can do is stare at that offensive, toothy, grinning caricature of a Native American on their uniforms (and just about anywhere else, it seems). Oh well, I guess I'll have to stay embarrassed because they're never going to change it. Now what was I talking about? Oh yeah...
Although the Chisox and Grotesque Grinjuns are currently ahead of them in the AL Central standings, the Detroit Tigers, last year's divisional winner, is poised right behind them in third. I expect them to surge ahead of the two upstarts in the season's second half and win it again (although I like the Pale Hose).
Over in the AL West, Texas is once again solidly in front while the Los Angeles/California/Anaheim/Los Angeles (at Anaheim) Angels are in solid second (even if their name isn't solid), having recovered from a horrendous start to the season. I'm rooting for the "Wherever" Angels to overtake the Rangers for the divisional title. Whoever finishes second should make it to the playoffs as a wildcard team, though.
The National League features a few surprises of its own. The East has been turned on its head with perennial cellar-dweller Washington solidly in first place and perennial champion Philadelphia solidly in last. Many are expecting the capital city's Nationals to fade some in the second half, and the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves are in good positions to surge to a title. The NL Central also has a surprise leader: the Pittsburgh Pirates. But lately this division has seen a big turnover in champions each year. The Seattle Pilots, last year's divisional champions, are currently mired in the lower division (and I'm aware of what I just said) while Cincinnati and defending World Series champion St. Louis are in second and third places respectively. Look for the champ Cards to brush away the opposition in the second half of the season, despite having lost star slugger Pujols to the Angels. The NL West is shaping up as a three-way race between last year's winner Arizona, 2010's World Series champion San Francisco, and the overhyped Los Angeles Dodgers. Who knows who will manage to win that division this year: your guess is as good as mine.
I'm trying to think of what would be the "best" World Series this year, based on what has been going on so far. The Washington Nationals, although with clearly the best record in the National League so far, don't appeal to me. No, I think rather that the New York Mets or San Francisco Giants would be a more attractive matchup against, of course, my pick in the American League: the Yanks!
No, I was referring instead to the "real" sports annual milestone: the Major League Baseball All-Star break. This is the time when a few watch an essentially meaningless Tuesday night game showcasing star players, but my interest is with the standings and how the various teams are doing. In the American League East, my New York Yankees are comfortably in first place, although this year all five teams are competitive. Baltimore is the biggest surprise, managing to stay in second place this late in the season. In the AL Central are two other surprises: the first place Chicago White Sox and the embarrassing Cleveland Indians in second. I say embarrassing because whenever I am watching a game that they're playing in all I can do is stare at that offensive, toothy, grinning caricature of a Native American on their uniforms (and just about anywhere else, it seems). Oh well, I guess I'll have to stay embarrassed because they're never going to change it. Now what was I talking about? Oh yeah...
Although the Chisox and Grotesque Grinjuns are currently ahead of them in the AL Central standings, the Detroit Tigers, last year's divisional winner, is poised right behind them in third. I expect them to surge ahead of the two upstarts in the season's second half and win it again (although I like the Pale Hose).
Over in the AL West, Texas is once again solidly in front while the Los Angeles/California/Anaheim/Los Angeles (at Anaheim) Angels are in solid second (even if their name isn't solid), having recovered from a horrendous start to the season. I'm rooting for the "Wherever" Angels to overtake the Rangers for the divisional title. Whoever finishes second should make it to the playoffs as a wildcard team, though.
The National League features a few surprises of its own. The East has been turned on its head with perennial cellar-dweller Washington solidly in first place and perennial champion Philadelphia solidly in last. Many are expecting the capital city's Nationals to fade some in the second half, and the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves are in good positions to surge to a title. The NL Central also has a surprise leader: the Pittsburgh Pirates. But lately this division has seen a big turnover in champions each year. The Seattle Pilots, last year's divisional champions, are currently mired in the lower division (and I'm aware of what I just said) while Cincinnati and defending World Series champion St. Louis are in second and third places respectively. Look for the champ Cards to brush away the opposition in the second half of the season, despite having lost star slugger Pujols to the Angels. The NL West is shaping up as a three-way race between last year's winner Arizona, 2010's World Series champion San Francisco, and the overhyped Los Angeles Dodgers. Who knows who will manage to win that division this year: your guess is as good as mine.
I'm trying to think of what would be the "best" World Series this year, based on what has been going on so far. The Washington Nationals, although with clearly the best record in the National League so far, don't appeal to me. No, I think rather that the New York Mets or San Francisco Giants would be a more attractive matchup against, of course, my pick in the American League: the Yanks!
2012: Not the Last Chance
I was skipping across my FM radio dial the other day and happened to come across the Neil Boortz show just as the host was finishing for the day. And what words of right-wing conservative wisdom did soon-to-retire Mr. Boortz leave with us? Just a reminder of a point he has apparently been repeating: the 2012 presidential election is our "last chance". On hearing "last chance", I instantly picked up on his meaning, although our political outlooks are quite divergent. Because I've heard observers from both sides, left and right, who see the upcoming election as leading inexorably, even permanently in one direction, all good or all bad, depending on which "side" one is on.
If Obama is reelected to his constitutionally-limited final four-year term, according to too many on the right, he will pursue an aggressive, socialist agenda while trying to figure out how to surreptitiously remain in office after his final term ends. And just like I heard about Bill Clinton as he was nearing the end of his second term, with speculation running rampant among some opposition circles that he would impose martial law over some trumped-up national emergency just to stay in power, this tired old tune is being sung again, with just the names changed. It saddens me to think that there are people around us who are this prone to unreasoning suspicion and paranoia and who flatly cut off anyone whose political leanings differ from theirs.
The left has its own fears. If Romney gets elected, the rich will supposedly completely take over and have de facto dictatorial powers over everyone else. The organized labor movement will be completely legislated out of existence. Women and minorities will see their hard-fought civil rights gains over the past decades severely reversed. And the U.S. Supreme Court will become irreversibly stacked with hard-line right-wing justices who, if Congress doesn't abide by their political and social agenda, will simply usurp the Legislative Branch's authority and write their own laws (which I believe they've already done with the recent Citizens United decision). The Supreme Court, I admit, presents some problems here.
Forgive me for perhaps sounding naive, but I don't believe in either scenario (although the Supreme Court going overboard in one direction does sound ominous). For me, Obama already has a substantial track record as president and he strikes me as someone who relishes collaborating with others, especially Congress, not ruling with an iron fist. His reelection would produce more of the same leadership philosophy. On the other hand, Mitt Romney has reached the position he is now in (the presumed nominee of a major party) by either avoiding specifics in his stances on the issues or flip-flopping on them. But should he become president, he would be forced to actually make some decisions, some of them necessarily controversial by their nature. And then an opposition movement would naturally form and grow against him.
It's the political pendulum and it has been going on in American presidential politics, as far as I can discern, since the 1824 election between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson when third place finisher Henry Clay threw his support to Adams against plurality winner Jackson, giving Adams the election and creating as a by-product two factions with one in power and one in (often bitter) opposition.
Back and forth. Momentum shifts. This is the way it goes, folks, so chill out! Remember, George W. Bush won reelection in 2004 and strengthened his party's majority in both houses of Congress that year. Just two years later the Democrats took back both houses and, with Obama in 2008, the White House as well. There is no "last chance", just the next election. The day after the 2012 election they'll be talking about 2016. And on and on it goes...
If Obama is reelected to his constitutionally-limited final four-year term, according to too many on the right, he will pursue an aggressive, socialist agenda while trying to figure out how to surreptitiously remain in office after his final term ends. And just like I heard about Bill Clinton as he was nearing the end of his second term, with speculation running rampant among some opposition circles that he would impose martial law over some trumped-up national emergency just to stay in power, this tired old tune is being sung again, with just the names changed. It saddens me to think that there are people around us who are this prone to unreasoning suspicion and paranoia and who flatly cut off anyone whose political leanings differ from theirs.
The left has its own fears. If Romney gets elected, the rich will supposedly completely take over and have de facto dictatorial powers over everyone else. The organized labor movement will be completely legislated out of existence. Women and minorities will see their hard-fought civil rights gains over the past decades severely reversed. And the U.S. Supreme Court will become irreversibly stacked with hard-line right-wing justices who, if Congress doesn't abide by their political and social agenda, will simply usurp the Legislative Branch's authority and write their own laws (which I believe they've already done with the recent Citizens United decision). The Supreme Court, I admit, presents some problems here.
Forgive me for perhaps sounding naive, but I don't believe in either scenario (although the Supreme Court going overboard in one direction does sound ominous). For me, Obama already has a substantial track record as president and he strikes me as someone who relishes collaborating with others, especially Congress, not ruling with an iron fist. His reelection would produce more of the same leadership philosophy. On the other hand, Mitt Romney has reached the position he is now in (the presumed nominee of a major party) by either avoiding specifics in his stances on the issues or flip-flopping on them. But should he become president, he would be forced to actually make some decisions, some of them necessarily controversial by their nature. And then an opposition movement would naturally form and grow against him.
It's the political pendulum and it has been going on in American presidential politics, as far as I can discern, since the 1824 election between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson when third place finisher Henry Clay threw his support to Adams against plurality winner Jackson, giving Adams the election and creating as a by-product two factions with one in power and one in (often bitter) opposition.
Back and forth. Momentum shifts. This is the way it goes, folks, so chill out! Remember, George W. Bush won reelection in 2004 and strengthened his party's majority in both houses of Congress that year. Just two years later the Democrats took back both houses and, with Obama in 2008, the White House as well. There is no "last chance", just the next election. The day after the 2012 election they'll be talking about 2016. And on and on it goes...
Friday, July 6, 2012
Sprinting to the End
As I continue to focus on the recent running race I participated in,
I'd like to expand on something I wrote about in yesterday's article.
At the end of the public three-mile run, I found myself in the company
of a diverse group of runners. Some of them were clearly pooped out and
were just trying to finish the run. But others, myself included,
suddenly reached deep inside ourselves and found a reserve of energy,
which we then used to engage in an almost insane sprint against each
other to the finish line. It mattered not who was running against me: I
had to beat them! As it turned out, as far as sex/age groupings of the
runners were done in the final standings, none of my end-of-race worthy
opponents were in my category. And also, our final placings and times
depended on when each of us individually crossed the starting line at
the beginning of the race. As for me, although I crossed the finish
line in 26:15, I was given the final time of 25:45 because the timing
chip I was wearing showed me taking 30 seconds just to reach the
starting line at the beginning of that very crowded race. So someone
edging me out at the race's closing moments was really irrelevant as far
as the final placings were concerned; that runner could have started
the race way ahead of me. Still, there was that rush at the end and the
excitement it brought.
After I finished my run, I hung around at the finishing line for a few minutes to watch the slower runners finish. And it was funny: no matter how slow they had been going for almost the entire race, a large segment of the finishers engaged in this sprinting game at the end, against whomever happened to be around them.
But that's cool, since after all, we should all have been out there having fun. And the little sprint at the end was a nice, spicy topping to the whole experience. Of course, we brave, "strong" finishers were all aided by one factor. The last few hundred yards were decidedly downhill!
After I finished my run, I hung around at the finishing line for a few minutes to watch the slower runners finish. And it was funny: no matter how slow they had been going for almost the entire race, a large segment of the finishers engaged in this sprinting game at the end, against whomever happened to be around them.
But that's cool, since after all, we should all have been out there having fun. And the little sprint at the end was a nice, spicy topping to the whole experience. Of course, we brave, "strong" finishers were all aided by one factor. The last few hundred yards were decidedly downhill!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Running Climate
Florida is not exactly known as a place whose summer climate is conducive to running, the temperatures usually soaring during the afternoon into the 90's. That's been the case lately here in Gainesville; actually for July it's been relatively moderate. And now, in a freak reversal of fortunes, our weather is relatively runner-friendly compared to other places north of us in the eastern United States. Why, Minneapolis of all places, known for its mild summer weather, just reached 101! I think I'll just go with the low 90's here, thank you.
Speaking more figuratively of "running climate", our current era has provided a much friendlier social context for running, and this cuts across age and gender. That is quite different from the situation when I was growing up in the late 1960's and early 1970's. In that era (and in my working class neighborhood) a solitary runner jogging down the street would be viewed as a target for harassment and bullying, while the numerous stray dogs all around back then would delight in chasing the misguided soul, sometimes getting in a bite or two in the process. No, it wasn't so pretty back then, and yet I know that there are places even today that are hostile to runners.
It was encouraging yesterday at the Melon Run race to see so many competing, and with such a diversity. At the end of the run, I found myself first passing an elderly gentleman and then a younger man. Then, I caught up with a young woman pushing one of those aerodynamic super-strollers, passing her with the same relief that I felt passing an elderly runner with his dog late during the Tom Walker Half-Marathon last year. But as the finish line grew closer, here came that stroller back to challenge me. It passed me and rolled on to glory at the finish line. Beaten by a baby. Wonderful. And just before I finally crossed, a young teenage girl came out of nowhere and passed me. Wow: the old man, the middle-age man (me), the young woman, the young man, the teenage girl...oh yeah, and the baby! Yes, quite a bit of diversity in the span of a few seconds dashing to the end of a three mile run...
Speaking more figuratively of "running climate", our current era has provided a much friendlier social context for running, and this cuts across age and gender. That is quite different from the situation when I was growing up in the late 1960's and early 1970's. In that era (and in my working class neighborhood) a solitary runner jogging down the street would be viewed as a target for harassment and bullying, while the numerous stray dogs all around back then would delight in chasing the misguided soul, sometimes getting in a bite or two in the process. No, it wasn't so pretty back then, and yet I know that there are places even today that are hostile to runners.
It was encouraging yesterday at the Melon Run race to see so many competing, and with such a diversity. At the end of the run, I found myself first passing an elderly gentleman and then a younger man. Then, I caught up with a young woman pushing one of those aerodynamic super-strollers, passing her with the same relief that I felt passing an elderly runner with his dog late during the Tom Walker Half-Marathon last year. But as the finish line grew closer, here came that stroller back to challenge me. It passed me and rolled on to glory at the finish line. Beaten by a baby. Wonderful. And just before I finally crossed, a young teenage girl came out of nowhere and passed me. Wow: the old man, the middle-age man (me), the young woman, the young man, the teenage girl...oh yeah, and the baby! Yes, quite a bit of diversity in the span of a few seconds dashing to the end of a three mile run...
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
My Melon Run 2012 Report
About five hours ago I ran my first public running race in six months, going "light" with a short three-miler, the Florida Track Club's annual July 4 Melon Run, held here in Gainesville among the sloping roads/sidewalks in and around Westside Park. I set out not to set any personal speed records, and that was fortuitous. For there were a record 500 entrants in this race (a sell-out) and it was much, much more congested than the Melon Run I participated in two years earlier. The course was essentially the same except for the eastern leg, which was a road a little further down from the Loblolly Woods pathway used in 2010 (who knows what they did in 2011). Still, I kept a good pace in spite of the crowding (with a higher concentration of slower runners this year) and hills (my normal neighborhood training course is as flat as a board). My official finishing time was 25:45. When I finished I didn't hang around for the awards ceremony, instead speeding back home.
I thought the race went better this year than in 2010. For one, the organizers and volunteers seemed much more enthusiastic and friendly. Also the timing was changed to a chip system, eliminating the screw-ups of the past. But the packet pickup lines before the race for those who had already registered went slowly and were confusing. And the actual print-out list of the pre-registered wasn't in alphabetical order, slowing down the process considerably. Still, the race finally began and we had a good time...
I was very impressed by the post-race refreshments, with bananas, watermelon (of course), bagels, cookies, Gatorade, water, and, I'm sure, other stuff being offered. It's these little perks (or their lack) that can make (or break) an event for me. Well done, Florida Track Club!
Oh, the weather cooperated today, as much as I suppose it would this hot time of year: after all, it didn't rain. The temperature was in the upper seventies and so was the humidity, more or less. Not exactly pleasant, but I managed to get through it...
I thought the race went better this year than in 2010. For one, the organizers and volunteers seemed much more enthusiastic and friendly. Also the timing was changed to a chip system, eliminating the screw-ups of the past. But the packet pickup lines before the race for those who had already registered went slowly and were confusing. And the actual print-out list of the pre-registered wasn't in alphabetical order, slowing down the process considerably. Still, the race finally began and we had a good time...
I was very impressed by the post-race refreshments, with bananas, watermelon (of course), bagels, cookies, Gatorade, water, and, I'm sure, other stuff being offered. It's these little perks (or their lack) that can make (or break) an event for me. Well done, Florida Track Club!
Oh, the weather cooperated today, as much as I suppose it would this hot time of year: after all, it didn't rain. The temperature was in the upper seventies and so was the humidity, more or less. Not exactly pleasant, but I managed to get through it...
Happy New Half-Year, Anyway
Sometimes I get too far ahead of myself and write stuff which, although it sounds pretty good, is actually based on faulty information and/or poor mental processing (MY mental processing). Such was the case yesterday when I wrote a blog piece (which I subsequently deleted) revealing that July 3 was the median day of the year and that, consequently, one could look on July 4 as "New Half-Year's Day". Sounded great, except for a couple of things: this year, 2012, is a leap year, so it has no median day: July 1 is in the first half and July 2 is in the second. In a 365-day year, July 2 is the median day, with 182 days before and 182 following. So this year July 2 would have been the big "half-holiday", not nearly as impressive as my initial revelation.
Oh well, I can still write down some half-year resolutions anyway...
Oh well, I can still write down some half-year resolutions anyway...
Monday, July 2, 2012
Gainesville Radio Stations Speak With Same Voice
Maybe this is just a transition period, yeah, that's got to be it...otherwise, broadcast radio here in Gainesville has just made a turn from mediocre programming (at best) to insane programming. What happened?
Although Gainesviile has other radio stations on the AM dial, there have historically been two main stations in competition with each other: the privately-owned WGGG on 1230 kHz and WRUF on 850, owned by the University of Florida. Recently both have featured all-sports programming, mostly just talk but also play-by-play of certain events. That lack of diversity was bad enough, as far as I was concerned. But still, if I were in the mood for sports programming and I wasn't satisfied with what was being discussed on one of the stations, I could try listening to the other. No more, I'm afraid...
Starting about a week ago, WRUF assumed WGGG's programming, including its important ESPN Radio contract. This left the lower-power station on 1230 with a question about what type of programming it would broadcast. When I first found out about this change, I tuned in to WGGG to see what it was up to. And it turned out, nothing different!
Both WRUF on 850 and WGGG on 1230 are broadcasting identical programs throughout the day! I can't recall this sort of thing happening. Nor can I understand why. In another sports context, if a player from one team goes to join another, you're not going to see him/her simultaneously playing for both!
I'd like to see WGGG switch to another kind of programming soon, but if it does I hope it isn't another sorry conservative talk radio format as I have seen on too many stations here. How about just oldies, classical music, or even easy listening? But the current situation of identical programming with its cross-band competitor is ludicrous and pointless...
Although Gainesviile has other radio stations on the AM dial, there have historically been two main stations in competition with each other: the privately-owned WGGG on 1230 kHz and WRUF on 850, owned by the University of Florida. Recently both have featured all-sports programming, mostly just talk but also play-by-play of certain events. That lack of diversity was bad enough, as far as I was concerned. But still, if I were in the mood for sports programming and I wasn't satisfied with what was being discussed on one of the stations, I could try listening to the other. No more, I'm afraid...
Starting about a week ago, WRUF assumed WGGG's programming, including its important ESPN Radio contract. This left the lower-power station on 1230 with a question about what type of programming it would broadcast. When I first found out about this change, I tuned in to WGGG to see what it was up to. And it turned out, nothing different!
Both WRUF on 850 and WGGG on 1230 are broadcasting identical programs throughout the day! I can't recall this sort of thing happening. Nor can I understand why. In another sports context, if a player from one team goes to join another, you're not going to see him/her simultaneously playing for both!
I'd like to see WGGG switch to another kind of programming soon, but if it does I hope it isn't another sorry conservative talk radio format as I have seen on too many stations here. How about just oldies, classical music, or even easy listening? But the current situation of identical programming with its cross-band competitor is ludicrous and pointless...
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Olympic Swimming Qualifying Coverage Slanted
The other day I was watching the Olympic qualifying swimming trials for the American team on the Versus Channel, which I believe is affiliated with the NBC network. They were running heat after heat, with most of the participants naturally doomed to miss out on the few available spots on the Olympic squad. In one women's heat, the announcers (and cameras) focused in on one aspirant, a favorite to get to the Olympics. But she performed poorly on the qualifying heat and missed out making the team (at least in that particular event). Instead of reporting on the unexpectedly successful swimmers, though, all the announcers could do was spotlight this one more well-known contender (even though she failed).
I wonder how someone would feel who, after all of the training and sacrifice that culminates with trying out for a spot on the U.S. Olympic swimming team, actually succeeds in a nationally-televised qualifying race...and is then virtually ignored by the announcers and cameras. I suspect, perhaps, the on-air "experts" really only know about a few of those trying out, and if someone outside the "loop" slips through, they really can't talk about them because of their sheer ignorance. So they conveniently ignore them, the way I see it. Until, I suppose, they eventually get filled in on the particulars about the new "sensation"...
I wonder how someone would feel who, after all of the training and sacrifice that culminates with trying out for a spot on the U.S. Olympic swimming team, actually succeeds in a nationally-televised qualifying race...and is then virtually ignored by the announcers and cameras. I suspect, perhaps, the on-air "experts" really only know about a few of those trying out, and if someone outside the "loop" slips through, they really can't talk about them because of their sheer ignorance. So they conveniently ignore them, the way I see it. Until, I suppose, they eventually get filled in on the particulars about the new "sensation"...
Saturday, June 30, 2012
End-of-June Monthly Running Report
Another month has come and gone, and once again I am happy to report success in my running training. I attained my 100-mile-per-month goal with a total of 109.1 miles. Also, I ran on every day in June, extending my personal record consecutive running day streak to 61. My longest run was 6.2 miles. But the hallmark for this month was my consistency, with distances within the range of 3.3 to 4.3 miles accounting for 24 of the 30 days. And I seem to doing fine with that regimen.
As expected for this time of the year, the weather is definitely turning hotter. Still, I am managing to get my runs in while the temperature is below 90. But in July, that might be problematic, unless I stick with indoor treadmill running or run earlier in the morning when the temperature is lower but the humidity is much, much higher. On the other hand, since I don't plan to attempt outdoor runs longer than five miles, the hot weather shouldn't present much of a problem as long as the air is relatively dry.
I did sign up to run (not race) in the local Melon Run in July 4, so I'll just go out there and treat my participation as a three-mile training run for that day. Who knows, maybe later that afternoon, being off from work, I might run a couple of laps around the block in my home neighborhood as well...
As expected for this time of the year, the weather is definitely turning hotter. Still, I am managing to get my runs in while the temperature is below 90. But in July, that might be problematic, unless I stick with indoor treadmill running or run earlier in the morning when the temperature is lower but the humidity is much, much higher. On the other hand, since I don't plan to attempt outdoor runs longer than five miles, the hot weather shouldn't present much of a problem as long as the air is relatively dry.
I did sign up to run (not race) in the local Melon Run in July 4, so I'll just go out there and treat my participation as a three-mile training run for that day. Who knows, maybe later that afternoon, being off from work, I might run a couple of laps around the block in my home neighborhood as well...
Friday, June 29, 2012
ACA Unexpectedly Ruled Constitutional by SCOTUS
As was the case with many other observers, yesterday's United States Supreme Court ruling upholding the 2010 Affordable Care Act, in particular its mandate provision, completely threw me off guard. I expected this Roberts Court, which never sides with the regular guy against the rich and powerful when the latter's financial interests are in play, nevertheless did just that by a 5-4 vote. The four justices on the more liberal side (Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagen) went for upholding the law while three of the predictably hard-rock right-wing pro-business justices (Scalia, Thomas, and Alito) were for striking it down. This left Chief Justice John Roberts, expected all along to side with his arch-conservative colleagues, and the "wild-card" perennially deciding vote, Justice Anthony Kennedy. I saw no reason for Kennedy to change his pro-big-business ways on this case, and I had given up on Roberts long ago as just a "robe" rubberstamping everything Scalia said. So no, I didn't think the ACA had a snowball's chance in hell of not being ruled unconstitutional by the court because of its mandated coverage provision. And it turns out I was completely right about Kennedy. But Roberts' vote? That's what astonished me (and many others).
John Roberts, like the court's conservative wing, dismissed the claim that Congress had the constitutional right to pass the mandate due to the Commerce Clause. Frankly, I agreed with him about his skepticism of the argument that an individual not buying something was an act of interstate commerce and thus gave an opening for the federal government to impose the mandate to purchase health insurance. Instead, Roberts broke with his right-wing colleagues by holding that the mandate was constitutionally valid rather as a tax, implicitly upholding it (and thus the core of the law).
Suddenly, Chief Justice Roberts has become the unexpected star of this "show". I had been very disappointed in him for his first few years on the high bench as he appeared to be towing a very biased ideological line. But with this decision, he seems to be returning to what he stated during his confirmation hearing when he used a baseball analogy to describe the appropriate role of the Court: the Supreme Court isn't supposed to be a player. Instead its proper role is akin to that of an umpire, calling balls and strikes. He did a pretty good job of umpiring with this case, although I still think he has some work to do with his political impartiality...
My objection to the mandated insurance clause of the bill was that by simply being alive, one became obligated by law to purchase private health insurance. That didn't sound constitutional or democratic to me, but rather fascist. I still have problems with it, but I also understand that simply raising taxes to pay for the program instead of this mandate (the fine for a violation thereof is a de facto tax anyway, according to the Chief Justice) would never have passed Congress. So we're left with this law, which is at least a less-than-ideal improvement over the previous situation...
John Roberts, like the court's conservative wing, dismissed the claim that Congress had the constitutional right to pass the mandate due to the Commerce Clause. Frankly, I agreed with him about his skepticism of the argument that an individual not buying something was an act of interstate commerce and thus gave an opening for the federal government to impose the mandate to purchase health insurance. Instead, Roberts broke with his right-wing colleagues by holding that the mandate was constitutionally valid rather as a tax, implicitly upholding it (and thus the core of the law).
Suddenly, Chief Justice Roberts has become the unexpected star of this "show". I had been very disappointed in him for his first few years on the high bench as he appeared to be towing a very biased ideological line. But with this decision, he seems to be returning to what he stated during his confirmation hearing when he used a baseball analogy to describe the appropriate role of the Court: the Supreme Court isn't supposed to be a player. Instead its proper role is akin to that of an umpire, calling balls and strikes. He did a pretty good job of umpiring with this case, although I still think he has some work to do with his political impartiality...
My objection to the mandated insurance clause of the bill was that by simply being alive, one became obligated by law to purchase private health insurance. That didn't sound constitutional or democratic to me, but rather fascist. I still have problems with it, but I also understand that simply raising taxes to pay for the program instead of this mandate (the fine for a violation thereof is a de facto tax anyway, according to the Chief Justice) would never have passed Congress. So we're left with this law, which is at least a less-than-ideal improvement over the previous situation...
Thursday, June 28, 2012
कल: A Suspicious Word
In studying some Hindi recently, I came across an intriguing word: कल (kal),
which translates into either "yesterday" or "tomorrow" depending on
its context. Initially, I thought that this was pretty strange that a
word could essentially mean its own opposite according its usage. Then,
this morning I looked at the header for an article in the local section
of my newspaper The Gainesville Sun: "Suspicious pawn shop owner foiled
theft, officials say." Well, it wasn't quite 6 AM when I glanced at
this, so naturally I read it wrong in my bleary-eyed sleepiness. After
all, I tend to, justified or not, associate the idea of "pawn shop
owners" with "suspicious people", i.e. people meriting suspicion from
others. But no, the news here was that the owner was suspicious of
someone else and foiled a theft.
"Suspicious", like कल, is one of those words whose context can drastically change its meaning. In Hindi, one needs to either read the appropriate verb tense form to determine whether "yesterday" or "tomorrow" is indicated or get a sense of the intended meaning from the surrounding text. Likewise, I'm "suspicious" that something very similar holds true for my English example. But I am a native speaker of English and still have a problem with "suspicious" and its ambiguity. I wonder if native Hindi speakers feel the same about कल...
"Suspicious", like कल, is one of those words whose context can drastically change its meaning. In Hindi, one needs to either read the appropriate verb tense form to determine whether "yesterday" or "tomorrow" is indicated or get a sense of the intended meaning from the surrounding text. Likewise, I'm "suspicious" that something very similar holds true for my English example. But I am a native speaker of English and still have a problem with "suspicious" and its ambiguity. I wonder if native Hindi speakers feel the same about कल...
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Debby Lingers, Drops Load of Rain Over Area
I did not anticipate this current tropical storm, Debby, hanging around and dumping so much rain. In fact, the expert meteorologists didn't either, blowing one forecast for its trajectory and movement after another. First it was predicted to veer westward and eventually hit Texas around Houston. Then that model was scrubbed in favor of the idea that it would move north into Georgia and merge with a frontal system, speeding up in the process. Instead, though, the damned thing just stayed stationary for about three days, dumping flood-level rains over the panhandle...and my Gainesville. But...
Apparently, we have been spared catastrophic flooding around Gainesville by dint of another previously developing problem: chronic drought, which had pretty much parched our ground dry. Yes, there is a lot of standing water around right now as it keeps on and on with the rain. But I look at a nearby drainage ditch and see its water level far below what I've seen on many other occasions when the rainfall was more consistent, if not as intense, over the span of weeks. So the soil has a long, long, way to go before it's saturated. In fact, I have a prediction...
I predict that, before August rolls around, they'll be lamenting the drought we're back in, probably accompanied by scattered brush fires sending noxious smoky haze over us. Why can't we instead have a "normal" summer? Seems like, if memory serves me correctly, we did have one back in 2003...
Apparently, we have been spared catastrophic flooding around Gainesville by dint of another previously developing problem: chronic drought, which had pretty much parched our ground dry. Yes, there is a lot of standing water around right now as it keeps on and on with the rain. But I look at a nearby drainage ditch and see its water level far below what I've seen on many other occasions when the rainfall was more consistent, if not as intense, over the span of weeks. So the soil has a long, long, way to go before it's saturated. In fact, I have a prediction...
I predict that, before August rolls around, they'll be lamenting the drought we're back in, probably accompanied by scattered brush fires sending noxious smoky haze over us. Why can't we instead have a "normal" summer? Seems like, if memory serves me correctly, we did have one back in 2003...
Monday, June 25, 2012
Baseball Sheds Other Sports' Distractions
Well, suddenly I find myself without basketball, and so baseball has finely shed the distractions of other sports and I can now concentrate on it. But not as far as ESPN is concerned, for I know better about how they run their shows...
The obsessive, often hysterical commentators on that channel can't get enough of talking about LeBron James right now. One was visibly ANGRY that Miami had won the championship and that the evil James had his moment of glory. After the interest in this topic begins to fade, I have no doubt that the talking head-cases on ESPN will get back to the sport at hand, as far as they are concerned: razzing Tim Tebow and in the course of doing so, complaining that everyone is talking about such an untalented backup quarterback. But I think I have one way to filter out at least some of this crap...
If an ESPN "talk" show features people sitting around a behind a counter, then although the discussion may be at times unbearable, there at least stands the chance of someone coming out with something interesting that reflects professional journalism. On the other hand, if there is no special guest present and they are just sitting back in their comfy cushiony chairs, I say quick, change channels! All you will get from this type of forum is a lot of garbage.
But I just want to follow baseball right now. It is strange to see the Phillies struggling in the National League East while the erstwhile cellar-dwelling Nationals are setting that division on fire with their incredible pitching rotation. I like how my Yankees are doing, especially how they are able to compensate as well as they have for the absence of their legendary-but-injured relief closer Mairano Rivera. But although New York is out in front of the American League East, that division is very tight from top to bottom.
I guess we're getting closer and closer to the All-Star game, something about which I care next to nothing. As a matter of fact, to be perfectly honest about it, I don't really care all that much about the standings and how "my" teams are going, even the Yankees. For my interest in this game is more on the situational level, with me in from of my TV watching the pitcher face the batter in the context of that particular inning. Not even the overall score of the game at hand compares to that, as far as I am concerned...
The obsessive, often hysterical commentators on that channel can't get enough of talking about LeBron James right now. One was visibly ANGRY that Miami had won the championship and that the evil James had his moment of glory. After the interest in this topic begins to fade, I have no doubt that the talking head-cases on ESPN will get back to the sport at hand, as far as they are concerned: razzing Tim Tebow and in the course of doing so, complaining that everyone is talking about such an untalented backup quarterback. But I think I have one way to filter out at least some of this crap...
If an ESPN "talk" show features people sitting around a behind a counter, then although the discussion may be at times unbearable, there at least stands the chance of someone coming out with something interesting that reflects professional journalism. On the other hand, if there is no special guest present and they are just sitting back in their comfy cushiony chairs, I say quick, change channels! All you will get from this type of forum is a lot of garbage.
But I just want to follow baseball right now. It is strange to see the Phillies struggling in the National League East while the erstwhile cellar-dwelling Nationals are setting that division on fire with their incredible pitching rotation. I like how my Yankees are doing, especially how they are able to compensate as well as they have for the absence of their legendary-but-injured relief closer Mairano Rivera. But although New York is out in front of the American League East, that division is very tight from top to bottom.
I guess we're getting closer and closer to the All-Star game, something about which I care next to nothing. As a matter of fact, to be perfectly honest about it, I don't really care all that much about the standings and how "my" teams are going, even the Yankees. For my interest in this game is more on the situational level, with me in from of my TV watching the pitcher face the batter in the context of that particular inning. Not even the overall score of the game at hand compares to that, as far as I am concerned...
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Tropical Storm Debby Soaking My Area
Right now I am sitting huddled in my living room, avoiding the continuous heavy rains outside. Tropical Storm Debby, currently centered in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico just west of north central Florida, is one of those asymmetrical systems whose most intense bands of rain are on one side. Florida's side, with almost the entire state under water right now. The Tampa-St. Petersburg area is now getting the worst band, but I'm afraid this one is headed our way.
Originally, the computer models most favored by the meteorologists indicated that Debby would slowly move westward and eventually hit Texas around Houston. But now another set of models shows it instead moving into Florida. Slowly. With lots and lots and lots of heavy rain. So today and tomorrow that's what we will get. And that's O.K., but I would have preferred this not to be happening on my days off from work!
Originally, the computer models most favored by the meteorologists indicated that Debby would slowly move westward and eventually hit Texas around Houston. But now another set of models shows it instead moving into Florida. Slowly. With lots and lots and lots of heavy rain. So today and tomorrow that's what we will get. And that's O.K., but I would have preferred this not to be happening on my days off from work!
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Congrats to Heat, Help Sonics Find Way Back Home
The Miami Heat won their NBA championship playoff series against the Seattle Supersonics by handily defeating their opponents in the fifth game 121-106. It was a great team effort, with the bench being a big factor in the victory. Much is being made of the fact that LeBron James finally won a championship. That must be an awful burden to place on someone: you'd better win it all or you're a loser (and if you do win we'll hate you anyway). But that was the same kind of label that Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki was saddled with until his team won the championship last year. I couldn't care less that James left Cleveland for Miami, or that the Heat were an assembled, artificial team. Well, if they were, than so were the Boston Celtics a few years earlier. But I didn't hear the negative outcry against them for this that has been so vehemently directed against Miami. Last year I rooted against Miami because I was tired of LeBron James giving up in the middle of games and showing poor sportsmanship toward opposing teams. He has certainly come a long way and matured a great deal. I wish him only the best.
As for the Supersonics, it is a shame that they lost their way and got stuck playing in a place like Oklahoma. I'll be happy to help them find their way back home, though, with my Google Maps feature. But even if they just go west until they run into the Pacific Ocean, and then turn right and keep going in a generally northward direction hugging the coast, they're bound to run into western Washington state. And I bet the good folks up there would then be only too glad to guide their returning hoops heroes back home to Coffeetown...
As for the Supersonics, it is a shame that they lost their way and got stuck playing in a place like Oklahoma. I'll be happy to help them find their way back home, though, with my Google Maps feature. But even if they just go west until they run into the Pacific Ocean, and then turn right and keep going in a generally northward direction hugging the coast, they're bound to run into western Washington state. And I bet the good folks up there would then be only too glad to guide their returning hoops heroes back home to Coffeetown...
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