Ho...Hum

Since I was sitting in a very comfortable chair, had nice copy of The Economist to leaf through between plays and an eclectic jazz mix played in the room, I remained in front of the TV after the Ohio State Buckeyes late in the third quarter exteneded their lead over the Michigan Wolverines to 30 points.  No longer able to stand the boredom

"And such talk, as they say, is cheap."

From the "Bulls-Eye" Department:

Linked below is Ted Koppel's recent Washington Post Op-Ed piece in which the reigning heavyweight journalism champ delivers a pinpoint knockout blow regarding the Keith Olbermann situation and what it signifies for the big picture of cable and internet journalism.  In an inspiringly well-written analysis, Koppel cites

Depth Perception

But first this message: 




          It is a common misconception among novice pool players that closing one eye while executing a shot results in greater accuracy.  The opposite is, in fact, true.  Having two eyes as apposed to one provides depth perception, an attribute of vision easily deemed necessary to excelling at billiards. 
During my two years at Nicholls State University, located in the deep south of Louisiana, I developed into a decent pool player.  The dorm building I lived in, Zeringue Hall (I hadn't been there a month before I swiped the 3-dimensional aluminum "Z" from the front of the building.), had a free table in the lobby, which was rarely not in use.  The table's surface was warped 6 different ways.  It was generally not decided until during a given game whether

Football Helmet Impact Measurement Tech

Here's a very interesting article from today's New York Times by Alan Schwarz on the HIT system, an electronic device that measures and records force and location of helmet impact in football players.  North Carolina University leads the way in utilizing the technology:


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/06/sports/ncaafootball/06helmets.html?_r=1&ref=sports




 "That's it, baby!  If ya got it..."  (I felt compelled.  Hhhhawww.  Do I hear an echo?)
.

Charlie Don't Surf

"Duplicity--the refuge of the weak and the cowardly."

                                --Joseph Conrad

          I'm concerned that in the long run, this gentleman will not receive proper literary due outside of Poland and maybe San Francisco.  It is quite possible that, had I never seen Apocalypse Now, based on Joseph Conrad’s short story, Heart of Darkness, or hadn’t attended the University of Toledo for a total of 2 quarters, the gifted author may have never appeared on my reading list radar.  One of the two instances in which I recall the title and author being mentioned was, of course, in reference to the movie.  It was in some obscure interview with Francis Ford Coppola, the director of the award-winning film.              
          I was strictly a news reader until the last couple of years.  I would read 80% of the front section of the New York Times in one sitting.  It’s like a current history lesson and you will see items in it that you won’t see anywhere else.  Then, for some not clearly identifiable reason,I switched to mainly reading books, originally planning to

From the "Where Would We Be Without Them?" Dept.

"Your reasonableness is poisoning my fear."

                        -- Stephen Colbert

          What a great message by the sanity advocates today.  It looked like a nice cross-section of Americans there on the Mall.  Cheryl Crow and Kid Rock playing with The Roots??  What more could you ask for?  Such scenes always remind me of a very cool song about a coast to coast adventure based on hope.  (If Elvis covered it, it must be good, right?) I think it was in the Ken Burns' PBS documentary about the history of the blues in which

Media Coverage of Hidden Brain Damage Mounts

Recently Deceased College Football Player Diagnosed with CTE

J. Paul Zoccali

            Former University of Southern California standout and professional ranks surface-scratching offensive lineman, Chris Brymer made a seemingly graceful transition from a brief, journeyman’s professional football career to founding his own mortgage company.  He then gradually slipped into a delusional state, which started with severe bouts of paranoia involving his wife before progressing to his making claims that he can control the weather and spending most of his workdays staring out his office window watching birds.  As outlined in Peter Jamison’s in-depth SF Weekly article, “Head Case,” Brymer’s story, which will likely become a watershed case in the study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, recently took a decisive turn.  After months of living on the streets of San Francisco, Brymer is currently charged with four counts of felony assault stemming from an altercation at a soup kitchen allegedly including a racial epithet.

Late Night Looney Tunes

          When Conan O'Brien first walked onto The Tonight Show stage last summer, true fans of O'Brien and his cerebral, sometimes silly, sometimes profound, always sharp humor, knew something was wrong. For weeks, I kept telling myself it was the backdrop that surrounds his lanky frame during his monologue. The cartoonishness of the semi-translucent, sky-blue field with a muted glittery outline of a symmetrically choppy Pacific, flat-bottomed clouds, and a skyline silhouette that wouldn't seem out of place in a children's book is quite a

Memo to John McCain: Keep Your Eyes on Your Own Paper

J. Paul Zoccali

Sarah Palin's Speech

          If you think Sarah Palin isn’t up to the speech-making aspect of being a vice-presidential candidate, take heart. John McCain’s got her back. As the Alaska Governor confidently delivered her speech accepting McCain’s offer to join him on the Republican ticket for the upcoming presidential election, Senator McCain, standing to her right and slightly behind her, occasionally cast his proud, fatherly gaze in the direction of her notes. In fact, during the opening remarks he checked out those notes 3 times before Ms. Palin did once. This went on sporadically throughout the address, with McCain sometimes

Alex Cried, "Wolf!"

J. Paul Zoccali

Time/Date: 10:00am, July 30, 2008

Channel: MSNBC

Full Screen Text: BREAKING NEWS

Anchor-person, Alex Witt: We’ve got some breaking news for you! 

Me: Oh, no. Not another school shooting; or flood; or bridge collapse; or terrorist attack, or…

Text at Bottom of Screen: BREAKING NEWS

Video: Aerial shot of plane at JFK Airport terminal.

Alex Witt: Passengers’ bags are not making it onto flights at JFK airport!

Me:  Huh? Breaking news? I missed the conclusion of Sanford and Son for this? How will I ever know whether or not Fred really had the big one?  Has Commissioner Gordon been notified?

          MSNBC Morning Anchor, Alex Witt tripped into the story with a tone of urgency nearing Minneapolis bridge collapse level – not quite Columbine level, but greater than,