My Sick Mind

It's tough to be a sports fan. Especially if you're sleep-dependant and you're trying to watch games and show up for work on time. My standard answer for almost every question I am asked is either "television" or "money." Sometimes it's both. OK, most times it's both. But the point is that television and money dictate policy for just about everything, and sports is not only the exception but the rule. It's playoff time, and the games have odd start times. Times like 7:57, 8:19 and 4:19 are common. One might wonder why, unless they know the secret "television" answer. The games have those unusual start times because TV ratings are counted in quarter-hour increments. When games start at those times, viewers are counted for the quarter hour before and after the actual time, so TV gets credit for a half-hour, even if the game is delayed by rain, earthquake, fire or flood. Advertising rates are dictated by ratings, and televis...

In a follow-up to yesterday's essay about the problems with finding quality entertainment, I present one about the problems of finding quality representation - or at least the problem with finding quality people for whom to vote. To wit: WILMINGTON, Del. – Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell of Delaware on Tuesday questioned whether the Constitution calls for a separation of church and state, appearing to disagree or not know that the First Amendment bars the government from establishing religion. The exchange came in a debate before an audience of legal scholars and law students at Widener University Law School, as O'Donnell criticized Democratic nominee Chris Coons' position that teaching creationism in public school would violate the First Amendment by promoting religious doctrine. Coons said private and parochial schools are free to teach creationism but that "religious doctrine doesn't belong in our public schools." "Local schools do ...

It isn't always easy to find quality entertainment. If you want to see "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Dexter," or "Weeds" you have to pay for a premium cable channel in addition to what you already pay for cable television. If you want to listen to the radio without the interruption of commercials you have to pay for satellite radio, a prospect that fills me with dread. In order to find music that isn't mainstream or built for the masses, you have to seek it out like primitive man searching for food. It's an arduous task. Those things can be mentally exhausting, and for most people they don't want to bother, which is probably why trash entertainment is so popular. Just lie back and let it consume you. It is likewise difficult to find a good film, especially if you do not live in a large metropolitan area where such so-called "art house" theaters exist that show films that are indeed called films and not movies. You also have to ha...