A Few Things
-I’m hearing a lot of talk lately about certain nations possibly boycotting the Beijing Olympics this summer. This is, of course, because of the recent violent protests in Tibet that have resulted in about 140 protesters (so far) losing their lives. I have mixed feelings about this call to boycott. While I find the Chinese government’s treatment of the whole Tibetan situation to be deplorable and certainly censurable and worthy of protest, I still feel for the athletes that would be affected by a boycott.
Of course, no nation has had the gallantry to pull out of the games altogether as of yet but it may indeed happen. French president (and noted drunk public speaker) Nicolas Sarkozy has said that he still hasn’t ruled out boycotting the opening ceremonies of the games, which is kind of an empty gesture if you ask me, but at least it allows the athletes to compete while still making a statement. Surely, economic sanctions would make a much bigger statement but that isn’t likely to happen.
My concern for the athletes is that some of these people have trained their entire lives for the Olympics and sometimes the window of opportunity to acchieve the gold is so small that a four year delay is not viable for them. It would be a shame for all their dedication to go to waste.
You’d think that China’s laundry list of human rights violations would have factored in the International Olympic Committee’s decision to allow Beijing to host the games, but I guess it was overlooked for obvious economic reasons, as usual.
The Olympics have a long history of exposing political undercurrents, from Jesse Owens defying Hitler’s propaganda of Aryan racial superiority by winning four golds in the 1936 Berlin games to the USA’s boycott of the 1980 games in Moscow because of (ironically enough) the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. These games seem poised to be no different.
-Meanwhile, in Luca news: I’ve been running myself to the point of certain incapacitation as of late. I’ve really stepped up the abuse on my body in a last desperate attempt to get fit. But as painful as it has been, I gotta say that it seems to be working. I’ve lost a bit of the beer belly and I’m actually (gasp!) developing some muscle mass.
I’ve been running about 25-30 miles a week for the last three weeks and have also been lifting weights with much more tenacity. Needless to say, I make it through the day with the help of Excedrin (and if cortisone shots were an option, I would certainly be sticking myself with needles as well). I don’t know how well my knees will hold up in the long run, but I hope to keep rolling.
-1/3 of the cast of Saved By The Bell currently hosts dance competition shows on television. Elizabeth “Jesse Spano” Berkley is hosting the insanely titled Step It Up And Dance on Bravo and Mario “A.C. Slater” Lopez hosts MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew. I have nothing to add to this, except that I’m pretty sure that this is a sign of the apocalypse.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Of course, with moves like these, we should have seen it coming:
Sexy.
Deuteranopia Is Not My Only Burden
It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update on the going-ons in my life so here we go:
–First and foremost, while running the risk of jinxing myself, I should tell you that I’m anxiously waiting to be interviewed for an internship at Paste Magazine. If you’re not familiar with this publication you should check out an issue or their really cool website. I don’t even need to stress how cool this would be for me; it would be the first job I’ve ever had that actually has anything to do with what I studied in college.
The internship would be either in the Marketing/Business or the Editorial department. It would pay close to nothing but the experience and contacts I would make there would be priceless. And how could they not hire me after the internship is over? I’m adorable.
They emailed me today to let me know that I should go in for an interview. I really, really, really hope I get this. You should hope for this as well.
–I’ve been running a lot lately and lifting weights. I guess it’s my last (and perhaps first) attempt at getting fit. I am seeing quite a difference in my body after just a short time so I’m actually sticking to it. I’ve already lost quite a chunk of the belly fat I’ve been nursing over the last…oh, I don’t know, ten years or so and I’m actually building up muscle. I know, shocking! This shit actually works.
I’m doing it five times a week for about an hour or so, hopefully I won’t burn out. I’m setting small goals for myself to keep me motivated and I guess my first is to run a 5k comfortably and at a good pace. I feel like I’m almost there already. I just hope my knees don’t give out since I’ve had problems with them in the past due to old basketball injuries.
–In other bodily news, I’m losing my eyesight. Not like the whole way or anything, I’m not going blind (hopefully, although I’m already colorblind). However my eyesight has gotten exponentially worse in the last few months. I have a hard time focusing on text that is more than three feet away from me and my eyes get fatigued while driving at night. I’m also seeing the words I’m typing right now in a bit of haze and I haven’t even been drinking (much)!
This is all a recent development as I’ve always had reliable eyesight and I must admit I’m very resentful that my eyes have given up on me so early. Yes, I haven’t treated them in the best manner with all the tv watching and endless hours staring at computer screens, but I figured they would carry me at least into my thirties.
Now I’m faced with the daunting task of getting my eyes checked and eventually getting glasses. Contacts aren’t an option as I would rather carve my name into my thigh with a rusty knife than have to touch my eyeball. That’s just not happening. Adrienne told me that I look like a sexy professor with glasses on so I’m not too worried after all. Then again, it is her job as my girlfriend to lie to me to protect my fragile ego, so she can’t be trusted.
–At least I can be thankful that I don’t have restless leg syndrome because that might lead me to a severe gambling debt. Have you seen this? Adrienne brought it to my attention after she heard it on a tv commercial. And after some research we found out that apparently a side effect of Mirapex, a medication that eases the symptoms of restless leg syndrome (RLS), is a rise in compulsive behavior. However, they take it a step further by singling out compulsive gambling as the main form of adverse behavior.
First of all, I’m not yet convinced that restless leg syndrome is an actual medical condition, even though Adrienne swears her mother has it. And then you throw in compulsive gambling as a side effect and I’m left to assume that restless leg syndrome is the body’s own deferral system against OCD and by taking Mirapex you’re merely transferring the fixating anxiety from your legs to your head. Is this a good trade off? I think not. You may lose some sleep with RLS but at least you’ll still have a roof over your head at the end of the day.
If you have RLS please don’t take Mirapex. Just calm the fuck down. Or just smoke some weed before bed; it’s less expensive and far safer.
All right, good night my sweet babies. Sleep the shit out of tonight for tomorrow is another day.
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