Hypo

My beloved friend Jeff was a rather serious hypochondriac and he'd be convinced that every malady was life-threatening, even if it was something like a splinter. In college it would make me laugh to watch him freak out at every sneeze, sure that it was SARS or monkey-pox. He was someone who should have never been allowed to watch any medical shows or movies.
Confession: I'm a hypochondriac too. Just about the wrong things. Like when I had the whooping cough back at the beginning of 2006 I was convinced it wasn't something serious and that some orange juice and rest would cure me right up until I stopped being able to breathe (btw I just went back and read that post...it has a lot of crap in it. Kelly Clarkson, Burt Reynolds and my decision to apply to Windy Gap...wow).
But then I could have a sore throat and I'll be convinced that I'm having an allergic reaction and that my throat is closing and that I need an EpiPen right at that moment. So odd. I just don't want to live in medical fear.
I should probably find a way to balance that out, recognize the serious and the benign before my arm falls off from leprosy and I'm convinced it's just a cramp.

Conventions

So I'm a bit of a presidential political junkie...I followed the primaries and previous campaigns with a feeling akin to watching a slow wreck where I don't want to watch but can't turn my head away from it. These conventions have been an experience, that's for sure. My friend from college, Jonas, works for CSPAN and has been sending email updates from both conventions and I thought I'd share a bit of what she is witnessing. It offers up a different view.

From the Democratic Convention in Denver:

Romney showed up at the Pepsi Center in Denver this week (he was doing analysis on CNN, who by the way, has a skybox bigger than most people's houses), and C-SPAN has video of him wandering aimlessly outside the gates, waiting for someone here to let him in. Priceless.

Also, The Crowd outside of the Daily Show has been about three times larger than the crowd outside of CNN.

Oh, and FOX news put their lights too close to the sprinkler system in their Skybox. FOX was safe, because they moved all of their stuff out of the way of the water, but the Skybox below them, which just happens to belong to PBS, was mysteriously not informed of the water raining down, and it shorted out their video fiber...so they went to black, LIVE on the air.

Just a few highlights from Denver...

And from the Republican Convention in Minneapolis:

Went to a party on Monday night held by what I like to refer to as the "gray area lobby" (i.e. Liquor, Prescription drugs, and tobacco subsidiaries, as opposed to actual tobacco companies). Drinks were, of course, excellent. Four floors of entertainment in downtown Minneapolis, including belly dancing on the third floor, and a cigar porch on the second, complete with former MSNBC personality Tucker Carlson holding court, surrounded by women. Went to grab a lobster puff (to go along with my "we swear they're not cuban" cigar) and ran into Rudy "I used to be someone" Giuliani.

Also, Republican boys are creepy. One shouted at me as he walked past holding his cigar "Try it, you'll like it" in a totally lecherous way.

PS. If you were wondering why all of the "handmade signs" that the crowd is holding up at the Republican Convention look uniform and beautiful, that's because each and every sign that is in the crowd was made by a single RNC intern with a colorful sharpie... I asked her.

On Tuesday, yelled at Joe Lieberman and Andrea Mitchell (NBC) for messing up my groove...

Oh politics...you could make a bitter cynic out of just about anyone.

John McCain is Buggin'...

Oh Huffington Post, I love you for things like this...
P.Diddy's take on the Sarah Palin announcement. I have no idea why he is spinning most of this video, but it's just great. He's crazy. Just go look up Diddy's Video Blog on Youtube and you will thank me. Specifically look up "Bitchassness Alert Level Orange"

God's World

It's the end of the summer, that time when football season fires up, new habits are promised and seem possible and I develop an insatiable desire to buy school supplies. I can't help it, I really do love the smell of Staples and Office Depot. It smells organized.

This summer flew. I don't know if it flew by necessarily, but it flew...flew into messes and storms, flew into vistas and sights both breathtaking and life-giving, it soared just as it was tossed. I loved it. Late nights, lack of sleep, lots of laughter...sigh.

As we start this season of the fall, when God's World can no longer be held in the swelter, when leaves give up their chlorophyll uniforms for the more colorful undergarments of reds and yellows, it is then that I am hope.

Fall is my favorite season.

Surprising since summer was one so blessed I can hardly fathom life getting better.

"Long have I known a glory in it all
But never knew I this:
Here such a passion is
As stretcheth me apart,--Lord, I do fear
Thou'st made the world too beautiful this year..."
(E.St.V.M, portion of "God's World")

Nobody Does it Like Kathy Lee

Any time a political figure looks, sounds and essentially is Kathy Lee Gifford and that fact is pointed out to me....well, good day to you sir. Well Done, Michael Ian Black. Seriously, read it. Funny. Way to go, McCain.