Miscellaneous – Page 2 – The Wayward Cynic

Mayville Man Works To Help Parkinson’s Patients

In the fall of 2005, Jim Fischer of Mayville visited a neurologist because his left hand was shaking.

The doctor surmised that it was ”because you’re in your 60s,” sending the message that things like this happen when you grow older.

Having started in his little finger, the tremors soon increased, his arm began curling inward and he lost his arm swing when walking. Soon his left leg began dragging. His wife, Fairlee, would tell him to speak louder and he wondered if she was losing her hearing. No. His voice quality was losing volume.

He used no medication for six months. Fortunately, his local physician referred him to another neurologist who ruled out other problems and diagnosed him with Parkinson’s disease, primarily a movement disorder.

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Random Ramblings

Some random ramblings to start your week with.

The series finale of Battlestar Galactica aired this past Friday on the Sci-Fi channel. The show’s 4-year run, while having its share of up’s and down’s, was some of the finest television I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. I consider it second only to The Wire in my list of all-time greatest television shows (yes, better than Lost). I’m going to avoid a recap and instead urge you add the box set of season 1 (including the 4-hour mini-series kickoff) to your Netflix queue, or run over to Blockbuster and pick it up, or order the thing on Amazon.

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Oscar 2009

Another entry in my Official Running Diary Blog Post Blatantly Stolen From Bill Simmons™: Oscar Night 2009! Huzzah! Let’s get right to it.

8:00pm: The pre-show starts, covering the red carpet. Hosted by Robin Roberts and Tim Gunn, who starts off by yammering about fashion or something, and then makes a joke about topless strippers to actress Amy Adams. Jeff turns TV off.

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Election '08 Recap

You all know what happened Tuesday night: change is finally here. GREAT to see the high turnout numbers, a sign that we had two worthy candidates for a change. Anyway, you can read exhaustive recaps and editorials from writers far more intelligent and skillful than I, so I’m gonna focus on what I seem to do best: berate the major network coverage of the festivities with my trademark sarcastic wit! Let the hilarity begin!

NBC
NBC’s graphics department must’ve just had a sizable bump in their operating budget, as they seemed determined to induce as many seizures as possible with visual aids, constantly shifting graphs and an entire green screen studio depicting a Roman senate chamber of some sort that looks like it might’ve been created by a couple of stoned out college students.

MY EYEEEEEESSSSS!!!

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Vote

It’s been a rough eight years for this country and the choice American citizens make today will have consequences for years to come, likely well after the administration of whoever wins is over. At least, let’s hope it does, because I’m not sure we can afford another status quo administration–Democrat or Republican–in the long term.

Never have I felt so empowered being able to vote in an election; this is the first time I’ve felt like there’s something truly at stake here. The past several races have featured candidates I found a difficult time tolerating, let alone embracing as a symbol of that ever-elusive “change” we’re all seemingly looking for. Both candidates in 2008 are using that buzzword again, but I feel like they both mean it this time. We get to decide who’ll have the chance to deliver it. Democracy has never felt more tangible to me. I think that’s a sentiment shared by a lot of my generation–a generation that’s nearing the time where we’ll make our mark and be able to influence the direction this country goes in. (And yes, this means kids will take over the country and put all adults in internment camps. 24/7 partytime!)

So please, get out and vote on Tuesday. Be a maverick and put that bag of Cheetos down, get off the couch and get to your local polling place. If you’ve got time to read a barely above-average blog (aw yeh), you have time to go vote. Don’t worry, I’ll have all manner of chimp video and alcohol-fueled ranting here waiting when you get back.

Intersección de la Muerte

Just a quick note — the Intersection of Death flexed its muscle once again this evening. I was driving down Colvin and saw a big crowd around one car with its back end pretty much torn off and pushed into a street sign on a corner, and the second car about 50 yards further down the road with a crumpled hood. No pictures, I’m afraid, but man alive–what is going on here? I may write a letter to my councilman. Do I have a councilman?

Tim Russert

Ugh. What a terrible way to start the weekend, with the news of NBC newsman and Buffalo native Tim Russert passing away today at the age of 58.

Russert was proud to be from Buffalo, and took every opportunity to make sure everyone knew it. He’d declare his support for the teams at the end of his Meet the Press telecasts, often holding up jerseys or donning hats of his hometown Bills and Sabres. More than his sports fandom, he was a tireless and fervent supporter of this city, a city that’s had more than its fair share of heartache and economic upheaval. His enthusiasm for Buffalo broke through the constantly maintained stereotypes of Buffalo being a Rust Belt ruin far past its prime with year-round blizzards and ice storms, a town where there’s nothing to do. He knew better, and made sure everyone watching and listening to him knew it.

One of the things I’ve come to appreciate even more about Russert over the years is the objectivity and integrity he’s shown in his role as Washington bureau chief for the NBC News and host of Meet the Press every Sunday morning. Like any Buffalonian, he surely has strong opinions of his own, but he kept them to himself in the course of his work, and did his very best to ensure both sides of any argument got their equal time. He’s also not one to put up with the political bullshit we see so often these days, both from politicians and many members of the media itself. If a politician didn’t respond to his direct questions with direct answers, instead meandering all around them with political doublespeak, he’d just ask it again and again, ensuring that he’d get an answer or the politician’s deflections became obvious enough to make their character clear.

Buffalo has lost more than just a native today, Russert was part of the very fabric of this city and the potentially bright future it now has thanks to enthusiastic citizens who love this region and want to see it prosper. I can think of no better way to honor him than to continue working toward that goal of prosperity, and taking an active role as a citizen to make Buffalo a city that we’re proud to live in now and for our childrens’ futures. In a different, more specific way, I think he’s given everyone a greater appreciation for their fathers in light of the two books he’s written, and for this to happen on Father’s Day weekend makes it all the more tragic, but meaningful.

Chalk up another one…

Yet ANOTHER accident at the Intersection of Death™ a few minutes ago, in what is undoubtedly the deadliest of cross streets in North Buffalo: Colvin Avenue and Sanders Road. I’ve lived in my current apartment since July of 2006, and since then I’ve seen or heard roughly fifteen accidents there. Yes, FIFTEEN! And those are only the ones I was actually at home for.

The Intersection was mentioned in one of my True Stories of Buffalo, NY a while back (which is overdue for another, by the way), which may be a more enjoyable read than this current post: read on.

This was a relatively low-key entry in the logs for the Intersection, as neither driver called the cops, and there was no yelling as they exchanged their insurance information. Very disappointing for my fellow tenants and I. Not to worry, there will undoubtedly be another accident in the very near future, ripe with all manner of cursing and hysterical flailing. Stay tuned…

Check out past accidents here. (Don’t get too freaked out; no one’s ever been hurt or killed there, that I know of.)

Bruce Springsteen 3.7.08 Review

venue: HSBC Arena
main set: The Ties That Bind, Radio Nowhere, Lonesome Day, Be True, Gypsy Biker, Magic, Reason to Believe, Night, Because the Night, She’s the One, Livin’ in the Future, The Promised Land, I’ll Work for Your Love, Working on the Highway, Devil’s Arcade, The Rising, Last to Die, Long Walk Home, Badlands
encore: Buffalo Gals, Girls in Their Summer Clothes, Thunder Road, Detroit Medley, Born to Run, Dancing in the Dark, American Land

Bruce Springsteen and his E-Street Band graced a snowbound downtown Buffalo with a rollicking good time last Friday night, managing to unite fans of all ages in rock-n-roll euphoria for two hours of sheer enjoyment. A show like this makes me realize how much I’m missing out by focusing so intently on all things Pearl Jam. I’ve seen fourteen of their shows, all the while missing out on the other acts I love, even when they come into Buffalo. U2, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Neil Young, even Metallica. They’ve all played memorable shows in the area the past couple of years, and I’ve made the mistake of not attending any of them. No more!

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Oscar 2008

Oscar Due solely to my wildly successful Super Bowl running diary, I thought I’d go back to the well for one on everyone’s favorite awards show/liberal political showcase, the Academy Awards!

7:52pm I’m catching the tail end of Barbara Walters’ annual special, interviewing Harrison Ford. The highlight was a word association question from Walters, asking him to say the first word that comes to his mind as she names his movies. American Graffiti: “BEER.” Well done, Dr. Jones.

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