Week of February 13, Thank God It's President's Day

1) Pilates

Pilates, or "Pie-lates" if your name is Stefan, is my favorite form of exercise, one that I've stuck with for the last couple of years. I definitely feel like I've grown a little taller, recouping the bad posture I had as a kid and just years of sitting at a desk all curbed-like.

Yoga? No thank you. God bless you, yogis, but it's too hard. Pilates, on the other hand, can get hard, but there are certain exercises that just feel good. Like you know you're doing something good for your body and you feel the results as you're doing the exercise. That's instant gratification right there. Joseph Pilates, the guy who invented it, was a sickly child, suffering from rickets (rickets!!), asthma and other ailments. Meanwhile his dad had been a famous gymnast. So how do you reconcile the two? You devote your life to getting better, to studying the body and becoming stronger. To me, this background info makes a difference. When someone is plagued with something like physical incapacity at a young age, and overcomes it by inventing his own exercise techniques, you it know it can't be bullshit, right? Somebody make a documentary about this man, stat.


2) The Grammys

For the last few years I've noticed that the Grammys are REALLY GOOD. And I don't know why. The performances are always amazing, sometimes career-making, and the vibe is surprisingly laid back even if it's the most prestigious night in music. Maybe musicians are more laid back than actors (because the Oscars still manage to suck every year, but every year, I watch). Bruno Mars? Amazing, Rihanna and Cold Play? Amazing. Adele? The woman of the hour. Commercials? Awesome. What happened? I mean, who ever thought I could get inspired by a commercial for, of all things, Chipotle Mexican Grill?

3) Whitney's Star Spangled Banner

It wouldn't be right, as someone who appreciates and uses the vocal instrument, to not say something about Whitney. As my brother pointed out, it is a story of addiction. It plagues some more than others. And most of the time, there's nothing we can do about it. But what I rediscovered in all the Whitney coverage we've been seeing is her amazing rendition of the national anthem. It's honestly the best I've seen and heard. With the advent of vocal acrobatics, the anthem has become yet another ballad for vocalists to show off their prowess. It starts with the word "see". That little minor fall before the major lift on "see". God that trick annoys me and is totally overused. What I love about her version is that it is both unassuming and grand. She isn't wearing make-up, she's in a jump-suit and she looks amazing. Her vocals are unexpected and pure. She does things with her voice that are genuinely hard, not just pretend hard. Rip girlfriend 'snap-snap.'


4) Moyers on The Millenial Generation
This is just depressing. What's it gonna take for government to work again, like it did under Teddy Roosevelt, FDR and LBJ? First let's get rid of the parasites that are corporate lobbyists. They really have no place in DC. Second, let's just all collectively agree that "Trickle Down" doesn't trickle down shit. It was just a theory that well, hey everyone, was clearly proven wrong. Guess who is paying for it now? That's right, the children (who, by the way, are our future). And third, which kind of goes back to the first point, let's end crony capitalism. If we're going to be a capitalist society than let's be true to those rules. If a large corporation is going to fail, let it file for bankruptcy, or fail or whatever it's supposed to do when it stops working. It's harsher on everyone, including me, but at least it's not hypocritical. I am also appalled to learn that when individuals file for bankruptcy they cannot unload the most important debt they'll ever have, their homes and their education. Then what's the point of filing? Humiliation? Either you make capitalism pure or you use government for what it's there for, upholding the social contract, otherwise, just leave me be.  


5) The Contraception Debacle
I've been ignoring the whole contraception health care thing because, really? Still today? Don't we have other fish to fry? Yawn. But I read about it recently and was pretty annoyed by the whole debate. Companies that are "faith-based" don't want to cover birth control in benefits packages for their female employees. Obama says, hey faith-based companies, no sweat, I'll get the insurance companies to cover it, they'll be happy to do so because pregnancy costs way more to them than non-pregnancy. Faith-based companies are saying, hey wait Obama, this goes against our faith! You can't let these insurance companies be enablers of moral corruption! But here's the thing, if said faith-based companies are hiring females who want to take birth control, aren't they "hiring against their faith" too? Isn't it sort of weird to let these women into their companies if this is such a big deal to them? And what of the women? Why are companies interfering in their personal medical choices? Say these women decide to pay for birth control themselves, would this still be an issue for these companies? If so, they are passing moral judgment on the women who work for them. And what about the women and men who buy condoms over the counter? Is this not a problem? There are all sorts of logic flaws here, unless you start looking at it, pure and simple, as a women's rights issue, then it all makes sense. By getting insurance companies to cover this cost without involving the faith-based organization, it's as if the woman has decided to pay for birth control herself, so in essence, the organization is basically saying to hell with you woman and get thee to a nunnery, you are morally corrupt. This doesn't strike me as a very healthy employee-corporation relationship, now, does it.