My Sick Mind

One of the satisfying aspects of writing this blog is finding out what sorts of things elicit reactions from people. I thought that casting soccer in a negative light would lure a few roaches from under the cabinet. Some things are just too easy. Soccer fans are extremely self-protective, and when their game is under attack they rush to its defense. One reader encouraged me to contract a stomach virus and choke on my own vomit. Thanks for reading! Actually, it was not only an essay questioning the viability of soccer in America; it was also the damnation of spending taxpayer dollars on a sports arena. Academic economists have not found statistically significant relationships between various measures of economic growth and stadium construction, in spite of what pro-sports politicians like Ed Rendell would have you believe. The greater consequence is called the Substitution Effect, where consumer dollars are transferred from one activity to another, so the net effect of anything new is ...

Wow. Professional soccer is coming to Philadelphia. We don't actually have a team name or even a stadium yet, but it's coming. After New Jersey's legislature wisely rejected a proposal for funding, Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell decided to dedicate $47 million of state money toward this thing. Additional money was provided by the people who pay to cross the bridges into Pennsylvania by the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA). $47 million for soccer while the country is choking on it's own vomit. Here's the way it's being promoted on their official web site : Picture this: It’s April of 2010 and it’s time for Philadelphia’s Major League Soccer franchise to make its long-awaited debut at the stunning 18,500-seat soccer-specific stadium along the historic Chester waterfront. Picture this: The stands are completely packed and the Sons of Ben are chanting in unison. Picture this: The players and coaches walk through the tunnel and onto the field to be greete...

Besides all of the obvious historical ramifications of Obama-mania, the underlying benefit is that we no longer have a president who makes us want to deny that we know who he is. Like the drunk uncle or that cousin who is constantly in jail, we don't have to stutter and stammer when someone asks about him. Bush wasn't our president unless we had to answer a question on a civics exam. Now (pinch me) we have a guy who we can actually look up to and respect. I'm guessing that the heads at the White House have been on a media-induced swivel, which may have prompted this event: WASHINGTON – After the flub heard around the world, President Barack Obama has taken the oath of office. Again. Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the oath to Obama on Wednesday night at the White House — a rare do-over. The surprise moment came in response to Tuesday's much-noticed stumble, when Roberts got the words of the oath a little off, which prompted Obama to do so, too. Don't worry,...

I'm too old and cynical to get worked up over a lot of things that excite the masses. Sports have taken on an entertainment aspect that allows me to approach them like a movie or TV show. I don't allow myself to get down if the home town team loses. I figure that Donovan McNabb doesn't care if I have a bad day at work, so I shouldn't care if he does. I can get happy, like I did over the Phillies winning the World Series. That's a mood elevator and I'm all for that. I don't boo the home team and never allow losses to affect my attitude. I have enough problems without compounding them with angst over the Eagles losing another NFC championship game. That same cynicism rules my feelings over politics, too. I vote in every election and always have firm opinions over my choices, but I seldom expect big changes to come from having my favorite candidate win. It seems like I've heard every promise for a better life and I can't point to any of them making a...

Another thing comes to mind when I reminisce about my hospital experience. They went through a lengthy question and answer session over my medical history, which is completely understandable. However, once they got to the "what other pills or medications are you taking?" part, I went into my extensive vitamin and supplement routine which includes: Flax seed oil capsules Red Yeast Rice Vitamin C (Ester-C) Creatine Chewable fiber tablets and a Vitamin and mineral supplement. They seemed to know what vitamin C was, but had to ask me to spell some of the others. I take the flax seed oil because it has Omega 3 oils, which are good for my cholesterol (and fish oil capsules repeat on me) as well as the Red Yeast Rice, which alone is responsible for dropping my number from 22o to 160. I realized midstream that they didn't know what either one of these things are, and the reason is that they aren't made by Pfizer, Glaxo or Merck. Their world begins and ends with prescriptio...

On those rare occasions that I'm forced into hospital, I come away with a renewed take on our medical system that I would guess that the people inside the system have either ignored or become numb to over the years. I also learn a few things about myself. They're big on pain medications in the hospital. One of the first questions they asked me was, "On a 1 to 10 scale, how much pain are you in?" I told them "4," which was honest. Mostly, I'm a "1 or 2" most days, so the sore hand was only a notch or two above normal. Almost immediately, they gave me 10 milligrams of Percocet and later an I.V. pain med that I didn't ask for but would like to have more of. I still felt the pain, but I no longer cared and the room took on a new dimension. I guess the reason they like handing out pain meds is that a numbed patient is a happy one, and the less they hear from us the better for them. Pancreatitis Man in the bed next to me must have asked for a ...

Here. Have respect for your opponent. Which is the cool part about blogging. We always have our legacy to fall back on. The Eagles made a valiant effort but fell short, as they often do. The story around here on Monday will be about how Donovan McNabb almost never runs the team to a two-minute victory. They were 7 points down with 2:45 to go and failed at four attempts. That's the story in the end. In fact, they lost the game in the first half. We tend not to focus on the first part of anything, tending to lean on the second part. In the second part, they had a chance, but the gap they left themselves with made the second half almost insurrmoutable. Now comes the off-season where fans will debate the future of the quarterback and coach. That's half the fun. The other half is going to a Super Bowl.

Friday was an interesting day. I went to work as I normally do, but as the day progressed I noticed that my right thumb was swollen and there was a red blotchy thing at the center surrounding a small cut. I figured it was a splinter, since my stairway at home is wood and it's so cold that I could have picked one up and not felt it. As the day wore on, it got redder and more swollen. Finally, around 10pm I figured that (a) my regular doctor doesn't have office hours until Monday (b) I don't know what this is, since it had dawned on me that it wasn't a splinter and (c) I have health insurance. So, at the encouragement of a friend, I gathered myself and walked into the Emergency Room - just like on the TV show. It turned out to be a bacterial infection called Cellulitis , and they gave me an Intravenous antibiotic, but that wasn't enough. What I thought would be a routine ER visit (if there is such a thing) turned into a two-day hospital stay. They said it can't...