My Sick Mind

What now, that the Olympics is over? NBC ran a two-page ad in the Inquirer this morning with little photos of all their prime-time shows, seemingly to remind us of all the stuff we missed over the past 16 days. Alas, no curling reality programs for the fall lineup. On Sunday night, they abruptly left the closing ceremonies to rush us to "The Marriage Ref," another one of those so-called reality shows where celebrities watch people doing things and make jokes about what is happening, then suggest ways to improve their lives. Alec Baldwin is one of the panelists. The day I have to submit myself to listening to Alec Baldwin tell me what is wrong with my life is the day I will have exhausted all of my social resources. He's the one who should be the subject. But right there, in the middle of something, Bob Costas jumped in and said: "We're back in an hour with the Closing Ceremony party from Vancouver. Nickleback and Avril Lavigne are among the acts that will be pe...

I went to see "Avatar" last night. Not just any "Avatar," mind you - the 3-dimensional IMAX version, which, I was told was the only way to see it, which was correct. Although, I found myself taking the glasses off a few times during the film to see what it looked like. It's kinda blurry. First, it's one Hell of a movie. You'll find yourself wondering "How did they do that?" while you're wondering what else is going on. There is some stupid dialogue, but we're willing to look past that in order to get to the root of the issue, which is the death of our little blue marble. I heard a few comments about how it's an allegorical tale of man's destruction of the rain forest and how we are a 'use and abuse' society ... and, yeah, that's true. I saw it at the Tropicana in Atlantic City, and afterward, an attendant at a rest room asked me, "Whose side were you on?" as though there could be a different side. I told ...

Contrary to what you read in the newspaper or see on TV, there are a lot of different sports being played at the winter Olympics. It's more than just skiing, speed skating, hockey and figure skating. Those are the sports that get the prime time air, but there are others being broadcast on MSNBC and CNBC during the "off hours" that are kind of cool too. One of them is curling . Yes, curling. The game the Beatles played in "Help" has been an Olympic sport since 1998, and I remember that I enjoyed watching it four years ago and I'm enjoying watching it now. I'll admit to not knowing the nuances and intricacies of the sport, but watching it helps me learn. Strange, but true . The game has come a long way since Foot and Algernon and The Beatles played the game in 1965. It's played on fancy ice sheets with modern brooms and stones now, and almost none of them explode. Although, if they had a chance of an explosion it might get the games in prime time. ...

I have a day off work today, thanks to several American presidents, for whom the day is dedicated. Mostly though, it's a day for selling stuff. Five years ago I purchased an automobile on this day and I'm proud to say it's still running. The interesting thing about Presidents' Day (if there is an interesting thing about it) is that the day is meant to honor all presidents, even the lousy ones. It's quite the holiday that doesn't distinguish between creeps, scoundrels and incompetents and says, "Nice job guys! Even though some of you sucked." I could spend the day watching the daytime coverage of the Winter Olympics. Or not. It strikes me as a big attention grab. People that we don't see for 4 years are all of a sudden in the public eye and they seem determined to bicker, complain and otherwise shine a light on themselves whether we like it or not. A snowboarder named Nate Holland is complaining because the other snowboarders' pants are too ...

The Winter Olympics . Or, as the snobs would say: The Games of the XXI Olympiad. Great, another sport with Roman numerals. That's 21 I think. It's cold in some parts of the world (and some parts of the United States ) and there are people who know exactly how to ski and fire a weapon or how to jump off a big ramp wearing skis or to waddle cross-country on ... skis. Here, not so much. Our skiing is limited to going on expensive vacations, going downhill on something they call a "black diamond course" and retiring to the chalet for beers and medical attention. We wouldn't know a luge if it crashed into us, and now everybody will know what a luge is. Imagine lying face-up on a sled being pulled by a car at a high rate of speed and randomly tossed from side to side and the only way you can stop yourself is to hit something or continue sliding until you come to a stop. It sounds like something you'd give a kid for his birthday if you really hated the kid. Nodar ...