Oscar Curse? Pah-lease!

Just weeks after Sandra Bullock won a Best-Actress Oscar for her performance in The Blind Side, rumors of discord between her and her husband, Jesse James, the man she swooned over during her acceptance speech, have arisen. It seems Mr. James engaged himself in an extramarital affair while Bullock was off filming the movie which earned her Hollywood’s most coveted award.

Of the last 10 best actress winners, 4 are divorced, 2 encountered break-ups of long-term relationships and one, Bullock, is separated. But is there an Oscar Leading-Lady Curse? Is the award Hollywood gold, but a bad-luck charm for matters of the heart?

I doubt it. Celebrities are just people who make bad decisions and, like many, don’t always choose the right mate. And excess money, fame, to the pressures to be thin, young and unaltered by time, not to mention months away from home filming movies to the mix and you have a recipe for disaster.

I am not suggesting sympathy for the rich and famous - just no excuses for lives that become complicated by outside forces. They may be different hurdles than those us common folk face, but they are problems nonetheless. I simply don’t believe in curses.

And anyway, was anyone really surprised?

House Approves Health Care Bill Amid Raucous

On Sunday night, I found myself glued to the television. No, I wasn’t watching the thrilling upsets in the NCAA tournament. I was watching Congress vote on legislation to extend health care coverage to millions of uninsured Americans.

What?

I am not sure why I found this so fascinating. Historic though it is, I understand little of the procedural rhetoric which occurred, yet I couldn’t take my eyes off the process. House democrats voted 219-212 to send the legislation to President Obama and cheered when the 216th vote, the amount needed, was cast. Republicans booed and heckled through testimony, shouting “baby killer” as Rep. Bart Stupak(D-Mich), an anti-abortion Democrat, explained his vote for the bill which supports federal funding for abortion in cases of rape, incest or danger to the life of the mother. The events had all the dignity of a wild frat party and none of the pomp and circumstance one might expect from elected officials.

Call it morbid curiosity, but I couldn’t look away.

Connecticut Considers Sunday Liquor Sales

A recent poll on CT News Junkie shows Connecticut residents are overwhelmingly in favor of liquor stores opening their doors on Sunday. Last week, legislators debated the issue, considering if Connecticut should allow liquor sales on Sundays.

Currently, Connecticut is the only state in New England that prohibits the sales of alcohol on Sunday. But why is it so important to have them open? Don’t liquor store owners deserve a day off and can’t we, as consumers, plan ahead enough to buy our alcoholic beverages in advance of Sunday.

Have we become a society so accustomed to getting everything the very moment we want it that the thought of waiting one day makes us want to rewrite state law?

Or do we just really like beer?

Time to Distrust Toyota

I was watching TV last night and saw a commercial for Toyota. Employees of the car manufacturer thank their loyal customers for standing by them while new customers explain why they are buying a Toyota.

Flash forward to this morning, when I get to work and see a Prius inexplicably accelerated on a California Highway, needing the assistance of the highway police to bring the car to a stop.

Interviewed after the incident, the driver said he would not drive the car again. He also revealed he had brought the car to his local dealership and was told the make & model of his car was not at risk for sudden acceleration under current recalls.

Oh really? It’s time to completely distrust Toyota and realize they are in business to make money and ONLY to make money. Customer safety and trust is simply unimportant to them.
Perhaps that very notion will run them into oblivion.

Lembo Speaks at Legislative Breakfast

Yesterday, Kevin Lembo of the State Office of the Health Care Advocate spoke to members of the Connecticut Association for Home Care & Hospice (CAHCH) at their annual lagislative breakfast.

The event, held in the private dining room of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, was a rousing success and lembo engaged the crowd with his thoughts on Gov. Rell's budget mitigation plan, alternatives to nursing homes and expansion of health care to the masses.

The energetic Lembo excited the audience with anecdotes about his experience and ideas for the future of home care, including nursing homes without walls.

"It just makes sense," said Lembo.

Leno Return to Late Night a Bust

Last night, Jay Leno returned as host of The Tonight Show after NBC’s experiment to move him to an earlier time slot failed miserably. Leno’s reclaiming his old job and, the network hopes, his ratings. But his return was nothing short of anticlimactic.

Leno looked like a lost puppy, uncomfortable on the very stage where he ruled late night for 17 years. His jokes weren’t funny and his opening monologue was clumsy, filled with awkward pot shots towards NBC, the network that has bent over backwards to appease him. It appears the former king of late night has simply lost his touch after being exiled to an earlier time slot that found his ratings in the gutter.

My bet is that’s where they’ll stay.

Do Accused Killers Have Rights?

The State of Connecticut is considering if Steven Hayes is being kept in inhumane conditions in his jail cell. Really?

It has been suggested that Hayes, who is accused of beating, raping and killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, is being kept in harsh confinement. Hayes is under observation after he attempted suicide on January 30th, 2010. The conditions include round-the-clok lighting, which is contributing to Hayes lack of sleep.

I wonder if he wants his pillow fluffed too. Last time I checked, a correctional facility wasn't a hotel. Hayes is locked-up because he is accused of committing a brutal premeditated crime in which nt only rocked their small Connecticut town, but the nation. Hayes lost all of his rights the afternoon he decided to bing, gag and torture innocent people, then light them on fire and leave them for dead.

I am glad he can't sleep. I don't care if he can't eat and I really resent my taxpayer dollars keeping him sustained while he prolongs the trial which will ultimately determine his fate.

He'll have plenty of time to sleep when he's six feet under.