Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Goes Off

Another day, another startling revelation surrounding Toronto mayor Rob Ford.

Weeks ago, Ford came to attention of international media for his bumbling antics and roly-poly figure. While his "drunk Uncle" routine made him the butt of late-nite comedians' jokes, it soon became clear that there was more to the story.

Like Breaking Bad's Walter White, Ford's persona has become ever darker and more bizarre with each new revelation. Rumors of drug use heightened as local police revealed that they had videotape evidence of Mayor Ford's smoking crack cocaine with known gang members. After weeks of repeatedly denying the charges, he finally admitted to his drug use when confronted with irrefutable evidence.

But even his confession was marked by an odd line of defense. At the press conference earlier this week, wearing a characteristically wacky necktie, he blamed his crack cocaine use on judgement impaired by "a drunken stupor". More than one cable TV news crew has speculated jokingly what a shame it is that Saturday Night Live's, Chris Farley isn't around to lampoon Mayor Ford. Yes. What a shame. If only he hadn't died tragically of…you know…a drug overdose, we could've all had a good laugh.

All of which brings us to today's latest revelation. A tape has surfaced that shows Ford going off like De Niro's Al Capone in the Untouchables. Maybe the context is missing here, but it's hard to look at that and honestly say that this man should be running the fourth largest city in North America. (WARNING: strong, but slurred, language.). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcPD7tzcU60

Maybe the oddest part to the whole Rob Ford saga is his reputation's resilience when it comes to bad news. Since the allegations of drug use surfaced, his poll numbers among Toronto residents have actually gone up. Whether he survives these latest bombshells politically is up to the voters. Surviving them physically is up to him.

Worst Congress Ever Tops itself

“They didn't break me. I broke myself.”

-Max Brooks, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

As we enter the second week of the U.S. government shutdown, polls show that although most citizens still blame the GOP lead House of Representatives, they're more than willing to spread the blame around.

How we reached the point where handful of renegadeTeaParty Rupublicans, lead by junior Texas Senator Ted Cruz, could bring the entire U.S. government to its knees shows just how broken the system is.

With the Budget ceiling deadline coming up on Oct.17th, the stakes for reaching an agreement have never been higher. Failure to raise the debt ceiling to pay off money already spent would likely result in a huge disruption to the world economy. In fact, because the stakes are so high, few believe that even the most dysfunctional Congress ever would dare cross that line. We'll know soon enough.

Syria's Assad: Between Iraq and a Hard Place

“Perhaps, when we remember wars, we should take off our clothes and paint ourselves blue and go on all fours all day long and grunt like pigs. That would surely be more appropriate than noble oratory and shows of flags and well-oiled guns.” -Kurt Vonnegut 'Cat's Cradle'

As the second entry in my 'ruthless despot' series, I hereby present Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

It seems like only yesterday that South Korea's Kim Jong Un was grabbing all the headlines for his nuclear threats against the west and his nearby neighbors. But no sooner had ambassador Dennis Rodman defused the situation there, than, like a endless game of Whack-a-Mole, another dictator pops up to grab the world's attention.

Already, just a few weeks after Assad's military launched a sarin gas attack on his own people, here in the U.S., the media's focus has shifted more toward domestic budget issues for the time being.

Let's hope the latest UN/Russian/US plan to destroy Syria's chemical weapons doesn't go up in smoke and the middle east can get back to it's conventional mayhem.

Diana Nyad's Swim for the Ages

Somewhat lost amid last week's Syrian shuffle was the news that long distance swimmer Diana Nyad completed her swim from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida, a 110-mile swim through shark and jellyfish infested waters, without the use of a protective shark cage, a feat unmatched by anyone previous, let alone someone who recently celebrated their 64th birthday.

The 53 hour-long ordeal took its toll, both physically and mentally on Nyad. Besides contending with jellyfish stings, seawater intake, and nausea, the monotony of the trip led to hallucinations. Along the way, as the hours passed, the voice of her favorite artist, Neil Young, played in her head and in a semi-dream state, imagined that she was swimming toward the Taj Mahal.

The swim was her fifth and, as she made clear before setting out, final attempt. When she emerged, understandably dazed and exhausted, to greet her well-wishers, she had three inspirational messages for the crowd:

1. We should never give up.

2. You're never too old to chase your dreams

and

3. It looks like a solitary sport, but it takes a team.

As a postscript, it should come as no surprise, in those post-Lance Armstrong era, that skeptics and naysayers are now surfacing to pee in Nyad's proverbial pool. Some have noted that, according to progress logs, her swimming speed nearly doubled along one stretch. While her team attributes the boost to favorable currents, the skeptics believe she must have been pulled along for a while by a support boat. Other open water swimmers criticized her use of a special jellyfish repellent swimsuit and mask, saying that it violates strict guidelines known as the English Channel rules.

Whatever details emerge in the coming days, there's little argument that Nyad's achievement is remarkable regardless of the details and as in every controversy, believers will continue to believe and skeptics will continue to have their doubts.

Google Glasses for the Masses

If the oracles at Google are to be trusted, it's poised to be the next big thing. And before continuing, yes, I know it's called Google Glass, not Google GlassES, however I opted to take some creative liberties to make for a catchier meme.

So what does it (they) do? According to Glass evangelists , its power is limited only by software developers' vision. In this initial release, Glass will primarily be a means of interfacing with the internet and all its glory in a more intuitive, hands-free way. But whether it will be a hit with the general public is an open question, especially when it's already been the subject of ridicule on Saturday Night Live and received scathing pre-release reviews like this and this.

New high tech gadgets, especially one involving wearable fashion statements like eyewear, will have to be doubly desirable in terms of functionality to overcome the glaring "dork factor". If the Segway couldn't catch on, despite all it's pre-release buzz and luminaries including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to gush that "cities will be built around this device", it's not too surprising that the public is a bit more skeptical of pre-release hype nowadays.

Google plans to release the first version of Google Glass to consumers in early 2014 at a cost of just under $1,500. Lines are forming now.