Odds and Ends
Things on my mind, and now on yours.
I was reading a story online when I saw a link to another, with the provocative headline of “California state senator forced chief of staff to perform sex acts that left him injured” - and look, I try to avoid clickbait, but I was curious.
And there are SO many interesting facts here, and subsequent searches to learn more:
The State Senator is a woman, Marie Alvardo-Gil. Usually that goes the other way.
Alvardo-Gil recently switched from the Democratic to the Republican party.
This quote got me: “During their final encounter, Condit alleges that Alvarado-Gil forced him to perform oral sex in a car seat that left him with three herniated discs in his back and a collapsed hip from having to "twist and contort" his body in the confined space of the car, according to the lawsuit.” Congrats to the writer here, this paints quite a picture.
That “Condit”…? That’s the victim here, Alvarado-Gil’s Chief of Staff, Chad Condit. He is the son of Gary Condit, the former member of the House of Representatives from California, who was very much in the news during the summer of 2001 because HIS aide, Chandra Levy, disappeared after rumors surfaced about the two having an affair. Condit’s political career largely evaporated after that - and the case lost national interest after 9/11 changed everything - but was never charged.
Levy’s body eventually was found, and someone convicted of prior murders in the same area her remains were found was sent to jail - and then released after it turned out the lone witness had lied. Her murder remains officially unsolved.
That’s a LOT to get out of one little article. Also, people who go into politics might be a little … off.
I was looking around at free agents for my fantasy football teams, and I have to say I find it incredibly amusing that there are young players in the league with the first names of Marvin, Ray, and other names that feel like they are out of another generation. The Ray is Ray Davis, a running back on the Bills. Ray Davis might be the most NFL name ever, even or especially when you discover his full name is actually Re'Mahn Walter Zhamar Jamar Davis. Zhamar and Jamar together is bordering on insanity, but I’m just going to assume they mean something important to his family.
I complain a lot about — well, I complain a lot about a LOT. But one thing is about football and the pregame shows. My biggest complaint is HOW MANY people are involved.
Guys, that’s nine people. Yes, they’re not all on screen at the same time, but it’s preposterous. Or, take Thursday Night Football, NOW PRESENTED BY AMAZON PRIME!
First, I’d like to congratulate Andrew Whitworth on a Cal Ripkenesque streak of not appearing in public without wearing a hoodie under a sports jacket. But more to the point, we don’t really need Whitworth - or do we? Tony Gonzalez is also part of this, along with Ryan Fitzpatrick and Richard Sherman and host Charissa Thompson. Pregame not withstanding, the biggest interaction most folks have with them is during halftime, and these are true “football folks” who know the game. The problem is they have about four or five minutes. Gonzalez has been quoted as saying the following:
“It’s about us having a fun time. I want to see some joking. I want to see us laughing. Also, let’s get into the weeds, get a little nerdy sometimes with some stats on football. Because I think if we’re having a good time, that means the audience is having a good time watching us.”
Hm. Sherman followed up:
“We try to have a good time…We try to inform the fans. We try to entertain. As you can see, we’re good friends on there. We get along well. I don’t think we philosophically think of anything that we’re trying to accomplish per se when we’re going in there, but you put really smart people together, you put a great host in Charissa. She’s a great quarterback in getting us where we need to be, getting us in and out of spots, and she’s really entertaining and hilarious in her own right. So we just try to keep up with her.”
Bold face is my own doing, of course. Just think about this - each of these folks is paid seven figures minimum, and they don’t really have a plan, they just go and talk to each other on camera AND IT FEELS LIKE IT. More to the point, at halftime, they’re basically all trying to jump in and get one or two points across (which I get, that’s demonstrating that you actually are earning your ludicrous salary), and interrupt each other all the time. I guess it’s better than when Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders did the same in-studio, grabbing each others arms, laughing and talking over everyone else…but only just barely.
Is this the best use of funds? Wouldn’t two or three people make a whole lot more sense? With apologies to Whitworth and Gonzalez, I’d much rather watch Thompson, Fitzy and Sherm. At least I’d hear more of what they had to say.
We are watching a few shows right now, including Slow Horses (S4), Bad Monkey, and Rings of Power (S2), as well as Only Murders in the Building (S4) and awaiting starting My Brilliant Friend (S4). Of course, that’s a lot and we’re not really watching ANY of them too much as such. I remain convinced Slow Horses is one of the best shows in quite some time, and I expect to continue to feel that way about My Brilliant Friend in its final season.
And yet, it sort of feels like in the midst of all of this that there isn’t really anything on, right? How can that be? Maybe it’s just me.
What are you watching?
I was watching Tulsa King and am waiting for the new season. Great show