Commercial Glitz

My taste in art and well, shall we say “interior design” is fairly quirky.  I like a lot of modern art and am, of course, enamored of the Impressionists.  And Picasso and Klee and Basquiat float my boat.  But, you know, sometimes a man needs some commercial glitz in his life.  $23 (on sale) moved this wreath from the bowels of Pier 1 to my living room wall.  It is not ironic décor by any means.  I just like it.  Get over it.

Message to LeBron

When Michael Jordan retired my worship of an individual sports figure went on hiatus.  Until, that is, LeBron James came along.  LJ is still my main man and, yes, I bought his Miami Heat jersey early on in his career and was fairly appalled when I moved to Florida and he moved to Cleveland without consulting me.  But he won my heart again when he took a totally talent-depleted Cavalier team to the finals in his first year there.  And, although it was LJ’s special prowess that certainly took them to the finals in the first place, it also served to introduce me to the eventual winners; the Golden State Warriors and, of, course, Stephen Curry.
 

Two or three weeks ago I saw a pre-game interview with Curry and he was cool and personable, which was nice, but I was also taken by what I thought was a rather handsome warm-up t-shirt he was wearing.  So, as any fan would understand, I went on-line and bought the shirt.  It is telling that I bought a Golden State Warriors’ shirt but, pay attention; it does not have Steph Curry’s name or number on it.  Don’t get me wrong, like everybody else, I’m warm to him but don’t worry, LeBron, I’ve got your back.  And your jersey.  Your jersey; not your t-shirt.  Now that’s sustainable loyalty.

Once Upon a...

Posts like this one are basically why I dropped out of Facebook.

My new mattress is notable only because I have been sleeping on a futon since, I'm pretty sure, 1971.  No, not the same one, but a string of them over the years and I was always the butt of jokes, awe and, sometimes maybe, admiration.  I truly believe they helped with genetic lower-back problems but now, once I decided it was time for a new mattress, there are more options of standard brands and, it seems like, limitless choices as to firmness, materials and looks.  Right now there seems to be a price war among the vendors of this most necessary of sleep aids and I think I've taken advantage of  sale offers that transcend the ordinary.  The marketing ploy that sent me over the edge was Mattress Firm, who screamed "76% OFF" in their television ads and store windows.  Since everybody else whispered "75% OFF" how could I go wrong?

It's a Sealy Posturepedic Ashlin 9.75" Firm Mattress and my first night was fine and I didn't fall out of bed and it didn't fall on me so, hey, so far so good!

Shrinking Circles

This is Martin Shkrell.  He is 32 and the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals. He has become a "public villain" and apparently the face of one of the deadly sins; i.e. Greed.  Turing acquired a company that made a life-saving drug that sold for $13.50 per pill, which seems to me pretty steep if you have to take them daily, or even weekly, over a long period of time.  Overnight Mr. Shkrell changed the price of this drug to $750 per pill.  Hence the greedy villainy.

Mr. Shkrell sees nothing shocking in this or even out-of-the ordinary and continues to thumb his nose at anybody who voices an objection.  Personally, what was shocking to me was that several people in my circle of friends see nothing wrong with this.  It is therefore a symptom of why my circle of friends is rapidly shrinking.
--------------------------------------------
Update 12/18/2015:  Mr. Shkrell was hauled off  to the clink in a pre-dawn arrest yesterday morning on charges of hedge-fund fraud in a "Ponzi-like" scheme.  Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.  Maybe Bernie Madoff needs a cellmate for the next couple of decades.