News

More thoughts from the news.

(1) Tired. I'm tired of hearing about people talk about Casey Anthony. I was never interested in the proceedings. I didn't follow the OJ saga either. If you know little or nothing of either, God bless you. I know less than most, probably, but more than I would like. I wish that my knowledge of Casey Anthony was zero. Our collective national interest, or, should I say morbid fascination, reminds me for some strange reason of the scripture "have pleasure in them that do." Taken out of context, of course, and not really directly relevant, but oddly interesting nonetheless. I'm not accusing anyone of taking pleasure in watching the brutally painful ordeal that Casey Anthony is undergoing, but why does it have to be so public? And why are people so fascinated by it? This article explores that question in thoughtful detail. I passed by the lunch room one day a few weeks ago, where the TV is always on, and I was completely disgusted that it was on. I watched it for maybe 90 seconds, but it was about 88 seconds too long. I am relieved that the trial is over.

(2) Surprised. The Supreme Court ruled against violent video games for youth. For a while I wasn't sure where I stood on this issue. Then I realized it's a no-brainer. If they can rate movies with an "R" for violence, why isn't there an analogous rating system for violent video games? There should be.

(3) Angry. Outraged. I was listening to NPR one morning last week and caught this segment. While well-reported and informative, there was an audio clip of gunshots, and a man crying out for help in another language. As the narrator described watching the video and seeing the person's life ebb away, I was unable to bear it. I've seen people get shot on film. But film and real life are very different hings. I don't know what the editors were thinking when they allowed that to run. We have a ratings system for film that precludes certain images from being seen by certain people. NPR will often preface reports such as this with a warning (and it did in this case). However, I usually disregard the warnings anyway as I simply turn the dial if I can't tolerate what's being aired. In this instance, I turned the dial, but it was too little too late. I am now stuck with the audio image in my brain.

(4) Intrigued. Witness the increasing number of high profile athletes using some form of elimination diets. David Zabriskie is riding the Tour de France on a nearly vegan diet. Novak Djokovic just became the first gluten-free person to win Wimbledon. I find this all very exciting. Living in a household that avidly promotes gluten-free living (in addition to other nutritional trials to numerous to count) any promotion of a greater awareness of the importance of diet is fabulous news.

(5) Bored. I absolutely hate it when I hear someone say that he or she is bored. It should be illegal to be bored. There is so much to do, so much to read, so much to experience. And yet . . . "I'm bored" is the hallmark cry of youth. But if there's one thing that bores me it's things like the upcoming Roger Clemens trial. The author of the aforelinked article thinks it's a good thing. I think it's a shame. Who cares?