Tons of events, corporate sponsors, dedicated fans, traffic, people descending from all parts of the country and world, and lots of bright lights. Super Bowl? No, it's a political convention. I'm on my way to Denver for the DNC convention, and it feels like I'm going to a Super Bowl weekend.
I've been to Super Bowl a few times and the weeks leading up to it are always spent figuring out which events to go to, how to snag a hotel room, securing a rental car in a scarce market, and coordinating with friends and acquaintances who are going to be in the event city. This week has been no different and I'm amazed at how similar the lead-up to the two events has felt.
Former veterans of their craft are everywhere, talking heads will abound, and the real bigwigs are determined by who can get tickets to which events and parties. Sounds like Super Bowl to me.
High Tech, Low Tech, and On-line Afflictions
Technology
Getting Uninked
When I got my first tattoo at age 16, I pretty much knew I'd want it gone by the time I was 30. My rationale went like this: the year was 1995, and I figured technology was bound evolve to the point where, by the time I was that old, tattoo removal would be cheap, fast, and easy. Wrong! But I'll get to that.
The first tattoo was a star on my wrist. Not so original nowadays, but we didn't have Lindsay Lohan and Sienna Miller back then. And, sure, you have to be 18 to legally get a tattoo, but this was in the early days of Giuliani administration in New York, back when we were barely carded for anything (especially alcohol, I was elated to learn).
The second tattoo came about during my freshman year of college, and this one really marked some silly adolescent judgment on my part. I knew what I wanted it to say (and it's something so college, so 18, and so earnest that I can't even bring myself to tell friends what it means anymore, let alone HuffPost readers), but I didn't want it to be in English. Arabic, Farsi and Hindi looked too linear, Chinese felt too cliché. So, naturally, I settled on Japanese. I could have lived with the star for the rest of my life, but really, Asian character tattoos are a crime of fashion that should be punishable by law.
Anna and I
There are only certain places I can take her. She is sort of bulky;
she never orders anything. Nowhere too crowded, I wouldn’t feel right
taking up a booth with her. But at the same time, nowhere that doesn’t
have the possibility of running into someone more interesting, in case
I wanted to ditch her, or at least set her aside for awhile. Somewhere
with just enough scenic beauty to fill a background but not enough to
completely divert my attention from her.
Today I tried a new place that neither of us had ever been to, or
perhaps she had, with a former companion. La Conversation, nestled
just under Sunset on Doheny. I stared over her and people watched,
hoping to enter into a ‘conversation’ with someone I had not yet met.
I watched a beautiful older woman accompanied by her nurse and her
nurse’s son. The woman daintily forked her salad while the nurse and
her son loudly fought about his day and the nurse gulped down a
smoothie. The woman looked past her dining mates in my direction,
although her senility suggested she stared into space and wasn’t really
interested in me.
Not So Fit
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My husband Dave is a high-tech whore. He jumps on nearly every bandwagon
that touts the latest and greatest computerized gadgets. So, it goes
without saying that we’ve been waiting for the Wii Fit Balance Board,
ever since it was announced. We were one of the first people to get the
Wii and though we are currently more obsessed with Rock Band, our
excitement for this new toy/fitness product was hard to contain. Until
we started using it.
We aren’t exactly fitness freaks, but we’re not couch potatoes either.
I’m trying to put on a happy face about turning 40 this year and I have
to say this “game” is not making the transition any easier. We figured
it couldn’t hurt to try and get into even better shape, since we’re
fighting a losing battle with time. Little did we know this machine
was not on our side. In fact, a British couple is already suing
Nintendo for hurting their daughter’s feelings by telling her she’s
overweight. Denying the truth doesn’t make it go away. You can’t hide
your extra pounds on the Balance Board.
Da Tango!
This thing is so awesome. I would mortgage my soul for one of these (Satan, if you're reading this...). It may be red on the outside but the inside is all green. Since the engine is completely electric it is carbon emission free. It can legally cut lanes at blistering speeds, 0-60 in 4 seconds... thats faster then the Lamborghini Gallardo!
You and your passenger sit like F1 pilots in seats actually taken from fighter planes. The designer claims its very safe using the same roll-bar technology that NASCAR drivers use.
Still aren't impressed. Watch this...
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