No Politics Post

For a change from my recent posts, I'll take a break from politics. Once in a while I do things other than surfing the net and watch talking heads on TV. For example, last night I went to see Santana at the White River Amphitheater. In spite of its beautiful setting, with great views of Mt. Rainier, and its good layout for concerts, it's not one of my favorite venues. For one thing, it's about 30 miles south of here, so the drive is a bit of a pain, but the main thing is that the concessions are run by the same folks who operate the concessions at Safeco field. $8.50 beers and all that. And then to add insult to injury, they won't let you have a beer in your seat. (Rumor has it that some middle-aged Parrotheads (Jimmy Buffet fans) went wild and trashed the place some years ago in a drunken spree) In any case, I went there with some friends and had a good time, but no beer. The first two-thirds of his concert was relatively new music, but the last third was all his greatest hits. Good stuff!

On Friday night I went to see Tropic Thunder and was thoroughly entertained. It's an outrageous spoof of semi-washed-up Hollywood stars trying for a mega-hit Vietnam war movie. It's gruesome and bloody, with lots of explosions and every special effect in the book. But mixed in with the bood and guts and teenage adolescent toilet humor is some pretty good acting, especially by Robert Downey, Jr. playing a black soldier, and Tom Cruise, playing a ruthless Hollywood mogul.

And now for a back update. To review the situation, I've had a sore back since I woke up on the morning of August 9th in Edmonton. Since then, I've cancelled the my attempt on Mt. Rainier, I've been to a massage therapist, a regular doctor twice, a chiropractor a half-dozen times, a physical therapist, and last Friday, an orthopedic doctor. All to no avail. The last time I went to see my regular doctor, he told me that if I find out what the problem is to let him know. He said he might learn something. So much for my faith in the medical profession! Tomorrow I'm going to a naturopathic clinic and will likely get some acupuncture. If it works for my mom, maybe it will work for me. I can only hope.