Rant #1,372: Show People

You know what they say about show people, or those in show business.

They do the things they do, and they can get away with it, because they are in show business.

They act eccentrically, they give their kids weird names, they just act as if they live on a different planet than we do.

Having interviewed many show people in my time, I can tell you that probably 90 percent of them actually realize where they stand in this world, and how lucky and fortunate they have been to attain the stardom that they have.

Then there are the other 10 percent ...

I don't know if money warps their minds, or what, but they act as if they live on a higher plane than the rest of the world does.

Funny, the last time I looked, the males of the bunch put on their pants the same way I do, and heck, they go to the bathroom the same way too.

The females, I am sure, all put on their clothes the same way normal women do, and I am sure they go to the potty the same way too.

But those other 10 percent ...

The latest case in point is a sad one, if one really cares, which I don't, but I am only using this as an example of how with the celebrity can go lots of baggage.

Take the sad case of Bobbi Kristina Brown, the only daughter of singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown.

Even though her parents had talent, I guess--although let's be honest about it, they would have been fast food workers if they didn't have that talent, not too much going on in the heads there--this young lady has shown absolutely no inkling that she has any of the supposed talent her parents had/have.

She is a very rich girl, however, as her mom left her her entire estate when she committed suicide, um, passed, under very mysterious circumstances a few years back.

Well, even with the notoriety that comes with being such a high profile couple's offspring, I guess Bobbi couldn't take it.

She now supposedly has tried to off herself, much like her mother, a mother whose life and talent were consumed by illegal drugs and alcohol and abuse and heaven knows what else.

Young Bobbi was found in a bathtub the other day, face down, unconscious, which, to a certain extent, is how her mom was found just a few years back.

I am now reading that there is little or no hope that this person will live, and thus, I guess she can join her mother in whatever afterlife there may be.

No, I really don't have much sympathy or empathy for this woman, or her mother, although as usual, when suicides happen, the families are the ones who bear the brunt of the pain.

She was married, although I have heard that she really wasn't, but whatever the case, her paramour, or whatever he was, and her extended family will have to get through this.

Although like in her mother's case, this will go down as "accidental," let's be honest about it. If you want to commit suicide, or heck, if you overdose on drugs, it isn't accidental. In suicide, you want to kill yourself, so how can it be accidental? With illegal drugs, you are always taking a risk when you inhale or inject something into yourself.

When Bobbi passes, she will be lauded as an angel, someone who was just coming into her own without the shadow of her mother lurking over her, and then her life was robbed of her.

Baloney. She did this to herself, whether the official cause of death is suicide or not.

I just love how the authorities cover up celebrity cases like this, to make them sound much more melodic than they are.

She killed herself. Period.

But as I read, she ain't dead yet, so I am sure if God is looking for a miracle, here it is, on a silver platter.

I am sure there are more worthy people to bestow a miracle on, but here is one who reportedly needs one right now.

Do I pray for her recovery? Sure, if you want me to.

But honestly, those show people, they even have to go out in a blaze of glory.

Snore.

Classic Rant #18 (May 28, 2009): I Speak, But No One Responds

This was brought up by one of the people that responds to my posts--the only person to consistently make comments about what I am saying via this blog.

Yes, I guess I am venting a lot of steam in my blog. Sure, it is personal, but I do talk about general subjects that have probably touched everybody at one time or another.

However, the feedback has been minimal at best.

I have tried to expand the reach of the blog, but so far, to no avail. Maybe through you, the regular visitors to the site, you can electronically spread the word that this site is up and running and ready for comments.

Please, let me know what you think about the blog. What you like about it, what can be improved.

I have worked pretty hard on this site. I am trying to do something both fun and stimulating. But I haven't heard from enough of you to know if what I am doing is beneficial in any way.

I know that people from around the world are visiting the site. The counter tells me that the site has been visited several hundred times, and that is with minimum promotion.

So praise me, raise me, dump on me--but please let me know your opinions.

And again, thanks to those who visit on a regular basis.

Rant #1,371: Well, Flu Me Down ...

Enough about snow, at least for now ...

Not only have we received enough snow this winter for my taste, but now my family has to deal with something else, something, like the snow, that will go away within time.

My wife officially has the flu.

She has been sick for about a week, but it really hit her this past weekend.

She felt achy all over, had little to no appetite, had a rough cough, and just was physically miserable.

So last night she finally got to see a doctor, and lo and behold, my original diagnosis was correct: she has the flu.

I think that even though she has what one can call a "mild" case of it, she still has it.

She called out sick twice in the past week from work, and somehow, she worked yesterday, but now, since the doctor made his diagnosis, she will be away from work for at least the next two days, if not until next week.

We will take it day by day.

The interesting thing is that the doctor said that her strain of flu probably wouldn't have been stopped by taking the current flu shot, simply because the current shot really doesn't work against the current strain of flu.

He told us that maybe 22 or 23 percent of people who have taken the shot have actually been protected against the flu this season, much like last season, so even if she took the shot--which neither she nor I took this year, or any year in my recollection--she might have still gotten sick.

Now, my wife is going to have to take it easy for several days before she gets back to full strength, because once the flu has progressed in one's body for a few days, there really isn't anything one can do to ward it off.

She can take Advil for body pain if she likes, but all told, at this point, there really isn't much she can do, except wait for the virus to run its course.

I had the flu probably about 10 years ago, right after New Year's if I recall, and it was horrible. It knocked me out for at least a week. It saps all of your body strength, and pretty much all you can do is sit there and wait for it to leave.

So, we are basically in a waiting game with this virus. My wife is a very active person, watches herself and what she eats religiously, goes to the gym on a regular basis, but at least for the next several days, her main activity will be to rest up. Netflix will be her best friend during this period.

And what of myself and our son? How do we protect ourselves against picking up with what she has?

Well, it is in our house. We have contact with her. Heck, our sleeping arrangements haven't changed.

The doctor said just wash our hands regularly, which we do anyway, and well, hope that the virus doesn't hop onto us.

So between the snow and the flu, it has really been a lousy winter. By the way, my wife was also sick with a sinus infection at the start of the year, so she is in a cycle where she perhaps isn't warding off these things as well as she once did.

I wish her well, and I hope that she has a quick recovery, I really do.

Love can fix anything, but I don't think it can help her get rid of what she has any quicker ...

Classic Rant #17 (May 27, 2009): Don't Sell Me On Cell Phones

I know that we are in the high-tech age, where information is virtually at our fingertips.

I know that it is nice--and oftentimes a necessity--to be in touch with friends and loved ones.

However, I really can't stand cell phones and what they have done to society.

It would please me to say that most people are responsible with their cell phones, but alas, I really don't think I can ever make that statement. Most people that I know (and see around me) completely misuse this privilege. They use the phone during the most inopportune times, such as when they are driving, when they are at work, when they are food shopping, and when they are attending a movie or concert.

I have a cell phone, but it is an antique. I bought it a few years ago, and it really doesn't do anything but make phone calls. It doesn't take pictures, doesn't fold into my pocket, and doesn't do the myriad other things that today's cell phones do. And I like it like that.

I rarely use the phone. It has helped me out of a couple of scrapes, especially when my old car broke down. Other than that, I pay per use, so every three months I pay a flat fee and add x amount of time onto the phone. I have more than 700 extra minutes on the phone, and I will never use this time up.

I see people not paying attention to the road or anyone around them when they are on these things. Even though in New York it is illegal to talk on these phones (and text message) when you drive, I see countless people each day on the phone when they are behind the wheel. I have also nearly had a number of accidents because people can't talk and drive at the same time.

Not only that, but people use their phones in a rude way. The other day, I witnessed a woman having an argument with someone on the phone. I mean, does anybody need to hear someone else's personal business?

What did we do without cell phones? We made calls when they were necessary, mainly at home, but if necessary, at a pay phone. We did not yak about nothing in the supermarket or while driving.

I think the phone has become the new adult toy, but people act like babies when using these things.

I wish driving penalties, in particular, were increased for those caught using these things while driving. Since the cops are basically turning their backs on those using these phones, let's make the penalties stiffer, which would certainly give them more incentive to pull someone over when they are using the phone while driving. Let's make it a $1,000 fine for using the phone while behind the wheel, and the phone gets taken away, and has to be picked up at the local precinct the cop works out of.

I don't know if that would deter people from using these phones unsafely, but I know that it would scare the heck out of me.

Rant #1,370: It Never Ends

This is hopefully the final Rant I write about snow this year, but the odds are against that.

We got hit again yesterday, but we got what was called a "wintery mix."

What that is is snow, rain, sleet and whatever else was falling from the sky at any given moment.

Mix that with heavy winds, and what you have is a complete mess.

I know a lot of people stayed home yesterday; some could actually do their work at home.

But not me.

My place of work doesn't allow for that, so I trudged in, very slowly indeed, but I did get there in plenty of time.

Some people live in areas that got more snow than anything else, so they really had to take it easy.

It took them a long time to get into work.

Anyway, at work, we still have no Internet or email--I don't remember if I mentioned that in a previous Rant--but we haven't had these tools for going on a week.

So my phone has become my best friend, and I am using it like I would my computer, sending out emails, getting replies, and surfing the 'net for whatever I need.

It has been a mess, plain and simple.

Happily, we were released early from work yesterday, and it was a real horror show getting home.

I had to clean off my car, which actually was pretty easy, but after that, I faced lots of traffic and weather conditions that were deplorable.

It took me well over an hour to get home--at my estimation, only the fourth time in the nearly 19 years I have been working at this place that it has taken me an hour or more to get home.

And when I got home, I wanted to back into my driveway, because heaven literally knew what we were going to further get from the sky.

It was tough with all the ice, but I managed to back the car in ... and then I see my son come out with a shovel, and I knew that I would not escape this day without doing some cleaning of our sidewalks, something that I really hate to do.

So the two of us did the best we could--there was an insane amount of ice underneath the top snow--and then we finally were done.

I did some work at home, and then I was done.

I was zonked yesterday, fell asleep at around 7 p.m., woke up to watch some WWE wrestling, and then went to bed about 10 p.m.

I had had enough, and today, I have had enough.'

The good thing is that there is one warning sign that the warmer weather is on its way.

Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Florida an Arizona in a few days.

Can summer be far behind?

I tell myself that, over and over, as I life another shovel-full of snow.

Rant #1,369: More, More, More

Yes, more snow..

I can't take it as this point.

We must have gotten a few inches, but I have to say that we were prepared for this one.

We were told that it was a guarantee we would get snow today, probably mixed with rain and sleet later on.

Right now, it looks like snow.

Now, do I go to work or do I say home for at least part of the day?

This is not to be taken lightly in my house.

My wife is sick, has been sick the entire weekend. I think she has the flu, a mild case of it, but she was really struggling this weekend.

My parents live in the same house, and they are both 83 years old. 'Nuf said on that one.

My son is home, still without a job.

Well guess what? He will have a job today, and that is shoveling snow.

He is the only one who can do it.

And that is because I probably will go into work today, clean off my car in the next hour or so and leave for work early.

I have no idea what the forecast is now, because our living room television has been knocked out by the storm.

I will probably watch the news online through our Verizon online service, but I am currently charging up my tablet computer.

I can't stand this weather at all. I have really had it up to my ears with the white stuff.

You might like it--in particular, if you don't have to shovel it--but I absolutely hate it, hate it with a passion.

There really isn't much more to say.

I could care less about the Super Bowl, saw the Knicks win yesterday during an afternoon game on TV, helped my son reboot his computer, and had a boring weekend.

And the snow has not perked me up at all.

I simply hate the snow, hate shoveling snow, hate driving in the snow.

I hope it is warmer--and nicer--where you are.

Right here, it might look nice, but it is a bit depressing.

There is no snow predicted for the remainder of this week, but this current system is supposed to be here through early tomorrow.

Woe is me, and woe is all of us who have to contend with this garbage again.

And February has just started ...

Classic Rant #16 (May 26, 2009): No YES On Dish Network

As I have mentioned previously, I am a huge Yankees fan. One of my great pastimes is to watch the games on television, as I will do tonight as the game versus the Texas Rangers is on a local, non-pay channel in New York.

My problem is that as a Dish Network subscriber, I can't get the Yankees' YES channel.

For whatever reason, Dish Network does not carry the YES channel, has no intention to do so, and has stated so since the channel was created several years ago. When the channel was first made available, and it became apparent that Dish Network was not going to carry the channel, I voiced my disapproval to the satellite provider. By the way, Dish Network does carry the Mets' SNY channel, but will not carry the Yankees' station.

They claim that it would cost subscribers too much, because they would have to offer it as a regular sports channel as opposed to one that people would simply order if they wanted it. Supposedly, that is how it has been offered to Dish Network, and the satellite provider has balked at such a deal.

I enjoy Dish Network. The price is less than Direct TV, and at least with the package I have, you do get a lot of channels (of course, most of them you don't need, but anyway ...).

Well, another season, another washout with Dish Network and YES.

They have never explained to me or anyone else why they would not offer the channel as an add-on, one that subscribers could pay for if they wanted it. Heck, the offer Playboy Channel that way, and if one wants it, one pays extra. Why not for YES?

I have a sneaking suspicion it has to do with Direct TV's supposed "satellite exclusive" on certain channels and events. Dish Network simply does not feel the need to challenge this exclusive, which I find perplexing. Among other channels, we can't get the MLB channel either, probably for the same reason. There are also various football packages that are exclusive to Direct TV.

Of course, I could switch to Direct TV, but I would rather fight than switch, even if I am punching a bag that doesn't exist.

I would think that Direct TV's monopoly on certain channels would be illegal. A few years back, I even contacted then New York Governor Elliot Spitzer's office about this, to no avail (I don't know where Spitzer was at the time, perhaps watching the Yes channel with one of his friends).

So, another year, another year without the Yankees. I just don't think this is fair, especially since I am more than willing to pay for the channel as an add-on.

Funny, I can get Chicago Cubs games, but as a New Yorker, I can't get Yankees games. It just does not make any sense.