I watched an entire 60 minutes episode. I am as surprised as you.

I found myself watching 60 minutes last Sunday. This was completely by accident: I was doing a mindless task and needed to watch/listen to something. What's on at 7pm on Sunday? Well, 60 minutes has been running at that particular time for 38 years.

My dad was a huge 60 minutes watcher, so I grew up watching 60 minutes. With its prominent newscasters Mike Wallace and Dan Rather, 60 minutes was entertaining, informative, and sometimes filled with intrigue. Pre-internet, it was hard to find unusual stories. More often than not, they were brought to you. 60 minutes built its reputation on aggressive journalism and sensational stories. It was also anchored by a cantankerous old man: Andy Rooney. I grew up without grandparents (I had none by the time I was 7), so I felt Andy was my own personal grandparent telling me how things were better in olden times and how present society/culture was just confusing. He had the bushiest eyebrows.

I haven't watched 60 minutes in years. With the advent of the internet, finding news stories is easy. As I grew older, I realized what I unconsciously liked most about 60 minutes in my early years. I prefer my news brought by a certain perspective: a grizzled, hardened, and truth-seeking perspective. With any type of journalism, it is hard for a journalist to withhold their own notions while reporting. The good know when to hold back their opinion. However, the best are those who slightly impart their knowledge while simultaneously drawing out their interviewee. When I have caught 60 minutes over the years, I've been disappointed with the stories, the journalists, and the reporting. They focused on too many stories in 60 minutes. The interviews were subpar. After hearing about the Benghazi debacle, my disappointment with 60 minutes just increased. The childhood luster of 60 minutes was definitely nonexistent.

So imagine my surprise when I was intrigued by an entire 60 minutes episode last Sunday. There were only 3 stories and each appealed to me. The first was a story about a shooting at a high school. Children should feel safe at school, but that is never the case these days. As was pointed out by this story, there are so many school shootings that perhaps this one didn't nationally register. I didn't remember it. The story revolves around the high school football coach who literally chases the shooter outside the school grounds. However, he is so traumatized by the deaths he wasn't able to prevent that he eventually has to the leave the high school he kept safe. The second story is about the best living art forger. I had never even heard of the guy! As a person who makes it a point to wander through museums, I found this story fascinating. The art forger, Wolfgang Beltracchi, claims some of his paintings still hang in prominent museums. Finally, the third story was an interview with Liam Neeson. This is the first interview which he discusses his wife's, the actress Natasha Richardson, accidental death. These days Liam Neeson is a preeminent action star, but he fully admits to keeping busy as a coping mechanism. It made my heart ache and I am grateful to him for sharing his story.

I watched the entire hour of 60 minutes and didn't once think to change the channel. The stories kept me intrigued with emotions ranging from sadness, complete disbelief, and empathy.  It was close to the 60 minutes I remember from my youth. Perhaps nostalgia will encourage me to watch another episode sometime soon.

Some thoughts about Bob Costas' eye

When I tuned into the Olympics Sunday night, I almost laughed when I saw Bob Costas' eye. Of course I had heard about it, but I hadn't seen it in action. Mostly I just couldn't believe he was valiantly trying to host the Olympics because his eyes were only going to get worse.

As a person who once had pinkeye and who knows quite a bit about vision, I can divulge some things about Costas' eye infection. He probably has a viral infection because I assume he has tried every type of antibiotic possible. The fact his pinkeye was only spread to one eye was temporary, it is pretty impossible to contain viral pinkeye to one eye. It was only a matter of time before it spread to both eyes. The worst thing about viral pinkeye...it takes a long time to recover from it. I'm talking about at least 5 days, probably a week. Also viral pinkeye, though not painful, does require you to rest your eyes. This is the hardest part. You don't realize how much you rely on your eyes until you can't use them. When I had pinkeye, I just sat on the couch, closed my eyes, and listened to the tv. It was beyond boring.

I'm glad Costas has finally stepped down from his Olympic hosting duties. The next couple of days will probably be super frustrating for him and he has my sympathy. But perhaps with all things that shock us into realizing our vulnerability, he will never take his eyes for granted again. My wish is for everyone (at least those who tuned into Olympics and watched Costas' deteriorating eyes) to take better care of their own eyes. Wear sunglasses whenever you are in direct sunlight. Consume beta-carotene any way possible. And (I'm venturing a guess here) don't open your eyes while showering in foreign countries.

For the love of hockey

The 2014 Olympics are upon us. It was 4 years ago my hockey obsession began and looking back, it has been at best a very whimsical relationship. I'll start at the beginning.

Growing up in San Diego, there are only professional football and baseball teams which means a dearth of a winter sport. You can actually survive on just football and baseball. The football season starts with preseason in August and ends with SuperBowl in February. Baseball season begins with spring training in March and ends with the World Series (a really arrogant name btw) in October. I never watched basketball growing up and when I tried to get into it later on in life, I realized how much it just annoyed me. Why? There are three main reasons. First, there are way too many points. You can reach up to 100 points in a game! Second, it really isn't a team sport. Superstar athletes are integral to winning. There is no "sum is greater than the parts" thread in basketball which to me is key to sports watching. Third, referees have way too much control/power over the game. These three reasons would only matter to a football/baseball sports fan. Because there are three specific reasons, I just can't get over them to enjoy watching basketball. I do watch some March Madness, but other than those magical weeks (which now include Warren Buffet's 1 billion offer on the perfect bracket), I just avoid basketball.

So what is the perfect winter sport to watch? It is, beyond a doubt, hockey. I used to work in a lab with a Canuck fan and a Avalanche fan. So when the 2010 Olympics came upon us, it was on. Everyday, there were hockey debates and as a sports fan, listening to them was a revelation.  There were discussions about line changes, shootouts, hot/cold goaltenders, and everything inbetween. Since it was the Olympics, the games were broadcast everyday and I found myself immersed in all things hockey. There a couple of things to really love about hockey. The first, it is sport made for HD television. It looks amazing on tv. Second, the games are only an hour and half long with two timeouts. Nothing against football or baseball, but the minimal three hour effort to watch those games can be time-consuming. Third, mostly personal reason, there is a honor code about hockey. The players and fans hate when referees interfere with the game. The players regulate the game themselves which sometimes leads to game drama and fights (hockey really is two sports in one). Hockey is the antithesis of basketball which really is one more reason for me to like it.

After the 2010 Olympics, I tried to get into hockey more. As a new hockey fan, I set out to find myself a team. Of course, the easiest thing to do was to become a Kings fan. However, I didn't like their uniforms because they were too "Raiders-like." I just couldn't. Also, when can you ever pick a team without any predisposition? I also needed to pick a winning team to cheer for because trust me, as a Chargers and Padres fan, I deserved it. I mildly followed hockey (not easy in SoCal) and tried to pick a team I wouldn't regret. So of course what happens next? The Kings win the 2012 Stanley Cup (which really is the best sports trophy). Not to mention, they had the best entrance song. I guess when I say my relationship with hockey has been whimsical it is because I haven't really committed to a team. I'm an outside looking-in hockey fan which is all my fault. Though, I do give the Chargers and Padres their due.

So this makes me super excited for Olympic hockey. I have a clear-cut team which is really necessary if you are a sports fan. I'll probably watch most of the games and just immerse myself in hockey. I'll even watch women's hockey which apparently is the best hockey rivalry. Who knew? After the Olympics, we will all know.