jmc_bks

Who at NBC decided to let Bob Costas do the commentary on the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games?  Who ever let the man have a microphone generally?  Whoever you are, you have committed crimes as television-watching sports fans everywhere.  

Now, I did not watch the entire opening, just a few minutes here and there.  He managed to insult the outfits of at least two countries as I listened (one African, one Eastern European), and also implied that perhaps the athlete who was carrying her country's flag (Venezuela) had won the position (done by text message voting) fraudulently.  WTF?  Does the man have no political sense whatsoever?  

After a couple of minutes, I turned it off, because I couldn't bear to listen, which is a shame, since the spectacle of it all was rather amazing.

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Oh, John Edwards.  I'm disappointed by the news of your affair, but not hugely surprised.  Fidelity seems to be an almost impossible thing for politicians.  Maybe it is the power trip?  You can do anything, you can have anything?  Anyway, I think Elizabeth Edwards is a very gracious woman, and I'm sorry that she won't be our First Lady.

Having said that, why are none of the news outlets noting that his adultery is actually NO WORSE than what McCain did...to both his first wife?  Because he's a Republican, his (older) adultery is somehow not relevant?   (Well, tbh, adultery doesn't matter that much to me in terms of electability -- what people do behind closed doors isn't my business, plus I expect it of politicians.  I'm a bit cynical about that, yes.  But I think the media and commentators need to be even-handed in the revilement of such behavior, please.  If it is bad for a Dem, it is bad for Rep.)  

The coverage seems out of whack, especially since Edwards is no longer a presidential candidate but McCranky still is.  

PS  Have you seen the video footage of McCranky being boggled when a woman asks him if he thinks it's fair that Viagra is covered by insurance but birth control is not?  He looks like he's been hit with a hammer, rolls his eyes, then declines to address the inequity.  'Cause Viagra probably matters to him; birth control not so much.

I'm waiting impatiently for Brockmann's novella, All Through the Night.  She's posted a link to an audio excerpt of it, read by Michael Holland.  He sounds much more like the Jules in my head than Force of Nature narrator.  There's a second audio excerpt available at Michelle Buonofiglio's Romance B(u)y the Book, too.

Baseball season is over for Balmer.  It was a slow, ugly crawl to the finish.  Went to yesterday's game, which was just bad.  Let me put this in perspective for non-fans:  we left after 6 innings.  I'd NEVER left an O's game before the ninth inning before yesterday.  I've sat through rain delays (hello, I was there for Eddie Murray's historic HR after two rain delays at nearly midnight).  It was just ugly.  Pitching by committee, they couldn't get even the Pin-Stripped second string out.  

Parking is at a premium in my neighborhood now that the apartment building down the street is nearing capacity -- the residents don't want to pay to park in "their" lot, so they park on the street.  Technically under the city code, a car can be ticketed and towed after it has been parked for 2 days without moving.  That seems a little short to me.  Most of my neighbors use their cars a couple of times a week, which is fine.   We all know each other's vehicles and have unassigned but customary parking spots.   A car has been parked in front of my house for two weeks without moving.  It's not mine, nor does it belong to my neighbors.  [I've asked.  I've also left a note, asking that they correct the heinous parking job --  they are taking up two parking spots because of how they parked.  The note hasn't moved in three days.]  I'm contemplating calling the city's parking services and having it towed.  Same thing for the Saturn across the street that hasn't been moved in two months.  Rude?