Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Lifting Weights and Conducting Batons -- Both Can Be Dangerous

When I write about the idiots I see on the news or in the newspaper, sometimes I have to think twice about it.

For example, I heard about a guy lifting weights that dropped the thing on his neck as he was bench pressing. It took seven hours of surgery, and they feared he wouldn’t be able to talk again.

I thought about writing a piece where I say I wish most people that were big weight lifters didn’t talk. You ever hear some of them? It’s like listening to Andrew Dice Clay.

But then I found out this was a student playing football at USC or something. And, you can’t fault a kid that’s working hard and is probably pushed hard by his coaches.

So I thought I’d make fun of the conductor, who fell 14-feet from a stage in Florida. I figured, I made fun of Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. Why not make fun of the classical music folks? I’m sure they get injured a lot less, too. It’s not like a violin player gets his eye poked out playing Vivaldi or something. So I got to jump on this now.

Apparently, there was a movable orchestra pit. It was the opening night of the opera, which this conductor had written. Now, that to me, is impressive. Usually those conductors just twirl those sticks around, and really, who are they fooling? They aren’t doing a damn thing.

David Ott fractured nine vertebrae, broke his ankle, and dislocated his shoulder (I’m wondering if a person can conduct with a broken shoulder…or if they have problems with their rotator cuff, the way baseball pitchers do).

One thing this guy has going for him that most people in a hospital bed don’t. Instead of flipping the channels and wondering why Jerry Springer is on two different stations…he can write his next opus.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Gonzo Report: Three nights of Mission Bayfest bring bliss

“This is a top-notch production.”
Next Article

The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings

City staff blames owners for raising rents

When I write about the idiots I see on the news or in the newspaper, sometimes I have to think twice about it.

For example, I heard about a guy lifting weights that dropped the thing on his neck as he was bench pressing. It took seven hours of surgery, and they feared he wouldn’t be able to talk again.

I thought about writing a piece where I say I wish most people that were big weight lifters didn’t talk. You ever hear some of them? It’s like listening to Andrew Dice Clay.

But then I found out this was a student playing football at USC or something. And, you can’t fault a kid that’s working hard and is probably pushed hard by his coaches.

So I thought I’d make fun of the conductor, who fell 14-feet from a stage in Florida. I figured, I made fun of Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. Why not make fun of the classical music folks? I’m sure they get injured a lot less, too. It’s not like a violin player gets his eye poked out playing Vivaldi or something. So I got to jump on this now.

Apparently, there was a movable orchestra pit. It was the opening night of the opera, which this conductor had written. Now, that to me, is impressive. Usually those conductors just twirl those sticks around, and really, who are they fooling? They aren’t doing a damn thing.

David Ott fractured nine vertebrae, broke his ankle, and dislocated his shoulder (I’m wondering if a person can conduct with a broken shoulder…or if they have problems with their rotator cuff, the way baseball pitchers do).

One thing this guy has going for him that most people in a hospital bed don’t. Instead of flipping the channels and wondering why Jerry Springer is on two different stations…he can write his next opus.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The Good Samaritan

Next Article

P.B. Rec Center – no coaches, no whistles, no uniforms

The center of my heaven is at the corner of Diamond and Gresham
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader