Tiny Dancer

I have always been an Elton John fan and have even seen him several times in concert, including the time he played a cancer fundraiser for a friend of his at the Grand Old Opry venue. It was hard to get tickets to that one, but I managed it. I also saw him several times in an outdoor venue, at a joint concert with Paul McCartney, and in his early days at my college gymnasium. My favorite songs of his include "Your Song" and "Benny and the Jets." I never cared that much for "Rocket Man," but the last time I heard him in concert, he had played such a marvelous improvization of that song that I couldn't help falling love with it. I also always liked "Tiny Dancer," but never paid much attention to it. That song keeps springing up in TV and radio spots here and there, and it has reminded me what a wonderful song it is. I just heard it a few minutes ago on the soundtrack to Big Love, my new guilty pleasure on HBO. It sounded absolutely beautiful.

(Almost) Showdown at NO-K Corral

My relative, the CEO at my company, had another meltdown at me today. Got upset again about something minor. He was in my face, upset that I had done something he told me not to do. Understand of course, that what he told me not to do is part of my regular routine. I told him, "I have already done it," about 8 times. And understand that the fact that I had already done it is NO BIG DEAL. He said I was getting behind in my work, which is not true. I was caught up by mid afternoon. WTF?????? I think he had to eat crow later, when I presented him with all the stuff he said I was behind on. I can't stand it when he does gross exaggeration or distorts the truth or facts.

He just doesn't get that I juggled many more balls where I worked before and that this is NO BIG DEAL. REALLY. GET OVER IT. And I am pretty sure that when we talked last week about people being more positive in the workplace, he had no clue that I was mainly talking about HIM.

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On another more pleasant subject, I am watching the reruns of the Sopranos on A&E, and it is just as darn good as the first time.

MPRE Review

I had my MPRE review session yesterday and it went well. First off, it ended an hour and half before it said it would, so that was a good way to start off. (It left me time to go vote after it was over.)

It was a taped review, with the instructor being some lawyer out of Illinois. We got the BAR/BRI MPRE review book yesterday, as well as a fill in the blank outline. The instructor was very clear in going over the rules. The fill in the blank outline will be very helpful in studying for the exam, which is in about 2 weeks. He said the best things we could do is study that outline, do as many of the practice test as we could, and read through the MPRE book at least once.

I did one practice test last night and did pretty well. I hope to at least start on another one today.

I just wish the rest of the bar review and exam would be this easy, but I know it will not be. I talked with some of the folks from our school who took the exam last week, and they said it was brutal.

Dog Fight

The whole Michael Vick (I think that is his name) thing is horrible. I guess he is a football player. I don't know much about him! Unfortunately the one thing I do know about him is that he is involved, allegedly, with dog fighting. I have heard of dog fighting for years and hated the idea of it, and really don't like pit bulls, but I don't think I really thought about it. The videos they have been showing on the news about the dogs in the pit are terrible, horrible. But they bring to light what you are really talking about when you talk about dog fighting. They say people from all walks of life, all over the country, meet in secret to watch these things. I can't believe it. What is wrong with people? These people are evil. It makes me sick.

There are those who get upset when people have a more visceral reaction to animal abuse than people abuse. First of all, I don't really think that is true. You just have to remember the reactions people had when some of these children lately have been abducted and/or killed to realize that people had a visceral reaction about this too. I think what gets people upset is that more people tend to think of animals as things and that it is OK to abuse them or torture them. That somehow it doesn't matter. Well, it does matter. Anyone who participates in animal abuse, or watches it, is very sick. There is definitely a connection to animal abuse and people abuse. If one abuses animals, they will also abuse children. We don't have to choose which one to get upset about; there is plenty of room to be upset about both.

My Man Bill Maher

I am crazy about Bill Maher. He is my favorite comedian, but more than that, I think he is very smart about politics. (He is cute too!) I don't agree with him on everything, of course, but it is amazing how much my views match his. I loved his old show, Politically Incorrect. It was my favorite show, followed by second favorite show, Nightline. I even sat in his studio audience once for Politically Incorrect. I loved being there, despite the fact that you had to get to the studio an inordinate amount of time before the taping. I was sitting to his right, and we made eye contact during the night. I loved it!

I even like to fantasize that I had something to do with the evolution of his show. While sitting in the audience, they had cards for us to fill out about who we would like to see on the show, and I wrote, "my friends." Shortly after that, he started featuring regular people on the show--people who weren't celebrities or politicians, just average people. I really wanted to be one of those people too! Oh well.......

I hated the fact that he got booted from ABC after his 9/11 comment. He was scheduled to speak here in Nashville around that time, and that show got cancelled. It had nothing to do with anything or anyone in Nashville cancelling it--I heard that ABC made him cancel all of his appearances. I was so disappointed. I wanted to see him live again!

His new show on HBO is also very good. I wish it were on all year round, instead of being seasonal. I really like his take on things, and my sense of humor is also a lot like his too.

No charges for NOLA Doctor

Yesterday it was announced that the grand jury looking into the case of the doctor and two nurses in New Orleans accused of mercy killing is not going forward with the indictment. To me, that is good news indeed. The doctor and two nurses otherwise might have been charged with second degree murder of some elderly patients in the Katrina aftermath.

I guess if you were a family member of one who died you might want to lash out and seek vengence. But I think the doctor and the nurses did what they thought best. I can't imagine the fear that would have been facing everyone regarding these patients' fates. I haven't kept up with all of the facts, but they might have been afraid the patients would die of dehydration, lack of medical care, heat, or drowning even. What a nightmare. Knowing that this group of people, the grand jury, made this decision, gives me hope that people do have their heads on straight sometimes.

Venture Philanthropy

Venture philanthropy is a neat new business model whereby charities and investors team up to raise money to fund such things as therapies for orphan diseases. Case in point: the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. CF affects only 30,000 people in the U.S., a population too small to get the attention of drug manufacturers. CF has taken the initiative to raise money to fund its own research and early clinical trials. This helps make the research less risky for biotech companies, which can then take up the mantle and fund the research and trials at a later stage. This strategy has worked: CF now has a pipeline of drugs and therapies that look very promising.

CF is a terrible disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. Those with CF used to die in childhood; now the life expectancy is 37 years. Although this signals progress, for my friend who is in her early 30s and has the disease, it is a frightening prospect. For her, a cure can't come a day too soon.

Information on CF can be found at http://www.cff.org/. If you are so moved, please make a donation. Thirty thousand people and their friends and family will be ever so grateful.


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I am watching the pilot episode of the new show, Damages. Hmmmm, the jury is out......