Well Google apparently isn't very fond of paying the advertisers that posted adds on this blog. The way the advertising program worked is that I set up an account with Google AdSense, they take key words from my blog and post adds on my site based on those key words and I get paid a small amount of money per click on the ad. I guess I was in violation of some policy because Google forced me to stop running ads and closed my AdSense account. When I started monetizing this site, my goal was to make enough money to go to the Steelers Christmas Eve game in Pittsburgh. After earning almost enough money to get there, my account was closed and the money was refunded to the advertisers. I am not aware that I was in violation of any policy. I will be appealing Google's decision, but I'm not optimistic. Anyway, you won't be seeing ads on this blog anymore. You won't see this blog at all anymore. I'm going to close it and start a new one. More details to follow tomorrow. Thanks to all my readers.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Soaked in Bleach
Today marks the 20th year since Nirvana's Nevermind album hit the shelves. This affords me the opportunity to put the political banter aside and write about my favorite time in this generation. I still remember watching the Smells Like Teen Spirit video for the first time. My mom screaming over Kurt's voice to turn down the volume. I was a huge Nirvana fan. Had all the albums, tee shirts, ripped jeans, Converse All-Stars, long hair.....that album was probably the reason that I learned how to play the guitar years later. I also remember that April morning when a utility worker found a body, minus the head, of a 27 year old rock star in the garage behind a suburban Seattle house. A rock 'n roll icon was dead.....again. (why can't we keep those guys around for more than 27 years?) When I got home from school that day, I sat in my parents basement with the lights off and listened to the Nirvana Unplugged album. I remember feeling sick to my stomach. I remember feeling like Kurt was in the room with me. I remember thinking that I wouldn't ever feel like this again. That moment will stick with me forever. Now that it's 20 years later and I look back, I think of what it would have been like without Nirvana, without the mosh pits, Converse, flannels. I think I would have learned the guitar eventually anyway, I think if it wasn't that teenage angst music, it would have been something else. I think that if Nirvana didn't rock the mainstream, someone else would have. But I'm not sure any of the other grunge rock bands of the time had the conviction to break out and put Seattle on the map the way Nirvana did. The truth is that Nirvana wasn't the first grunge rocking band. There was an entire scene of grunge rock that had been around for a decade before Nirvana had the cover of Rolling Stone. So what was it that made Nirvana so unique, so fascinating, so cool. I'll tell you, and if you're a fan you might want to stop reading. It's because they were cute. Nirvana had the Beatles edge. They were goofy, fun to watch, socially unpredictable. They shocked our hearts and minds with Christ Novecelic's tremendous bass toss on the VMA's (which lead to 6 stitches), the french kiss on SNL, the guitar beatings, drum temper tantrums and eventually of course Courtney Love. Obviously the music rocked like crazy, but without the social impact, Nevermind may have never changed the face of music. (and it helped having the best drummer of this or any other generation....and the only cool person that ever came out of ohio.)
The Nevermind album's influence was so powerful that it still has an impact on what we call "rock 'n roll" today. Bands like Nickleback, Stained, All That Remains, Seether, Blue October....all have a Nirvana undertone to them. They all follow Nirvana's melodic instrumentals and loud, sometimes incoherent, lyrics.
I could go on to discuss Nirvana's influence after the Nevermind album, but that's a whole other blog.
So today I solute the Nevermind album and hope that the next generation of rock 'n roll can match up to the standard set by the album that changed the world.
The Nevermind album's influence was so powerful that it still has an impact on what we call "rock 'n roll" today. Bands like Nickleback, Stained, All That Remains, Seether, Blue October....all have a Nirvana undertone to them. They all follow Nirvana's melodic instrumentals and loud, sometimes incoherent, lyrics.
I could go on to discuss Nirvana's influence after the Nevermind album, but that's a whole other blog.
So today I solute the Nevermind album and hope that the next generation of rock 'n roll can match up to the standard set by the album that changed the world.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Bottles and Cans, just clap your hands
Believe it or not I'm going to link American politics, music, film and professional wrestling together in this post. My idea is to show you the canned ideas that America has produced in the past 1/2 century and how these pigeon holes have decreased our inspiration and creativity.
In the 1960's America exploded with idealism and creativity. We were involved in a political revolution. We learned how to protest, expand voter registration, really get the core ideas of the country in place with the masses. Remember that our country was founded on the idea that the citizens make the decisions. Sure it's a republic more than a democracy, but the "idea" was to make sure that the plight of the masses was heard and adhered to. We also embraced change more than in any other time in American history. Seeing as how I wasn't alive yet and the 60's weren't taught in public school, I base my knowledge of this important time on the things I've learned through music, movies, books and wikipedia. All in all, the country rallied around a few ideas that were the keystone in creating this more perfect union. And while no one in Washington cared about the protests, it had a significant impact on our future. Some of you may have noticed that I have referenced the JFK assassination a few times already in my blogging. I mention it again because I feel that that was a turning point in our country. It was very personal, very tragic and very indicative of the times. JFK was a terrible politician. He did what he thought was right. Didn't care about what his advisers told him about the Cuban Missile Crisis, apologized to the citizens of the country after the Bay of Pigs fiasco, wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of the Vietnam, really wanted to change things for the better using core values of creativity and leadership. He was killed for some reason. By someone. But I can sure as hell tell you that it wasn't Lee Harvey Oswald. But after Kennedy was killed, Marin Luther King was killed, RFK dead (again allegedly by someone with no ties to anyone or anything). These are people with creative and innovative minds. Strong minds that could have changed things for the better. Music was essential in the 60's. Hendrix, Joplin, The Dead, The Beatles...the list could go on forever. These are people that created what they thought was cool and the masses rallied around them. What happened to that? Did the creative spirit in Americans disappear? Let's look into the timeline.
Over the next few decades we saw Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush. We also saw the cold war, Watergate, the introduction of cocaine, heroin and crack to popular American culture, we were introduced to North Korea, the middle east, sitcoms and professional wrestling. All of these situations were conceived through creativity and innovation. Popular or not, positive or not, these became the foundations of what to do and what not to do. In some cases we were forced into a situation that required immediate and positive heroics. And some of those immediate responses are the ones we cringe at today. But they had to be done and they were done. More and more I see less and less of these heroics. When people say "it took an act of congress to get that done...." they're not speaking metaphorically. What happened to genuine leadership. Doing stuff even if it meant we may be doing it wrong. I'm going to back track a bit here. When FDR came into office the campaigned with a positive attitude that he would cut spending and bring the country back to glory. When he was in office, through trial and error, he discovered that actually increasing spending was better for long term growth. He actually spent more than we knew could be spent. We reelected him like 15 times. What they don't teach you in public school is that he screwed up way more than he got it right. He put into place a bunch (nice specificity I know) of policies that he didn't know if they were going to work or not, but he knew something needed to be done. Now I turn to my philosophy on life: If you do something, something gets done. If you do nothing, nothing gets done. In that statement I mean that even if what you do is wrong or unpopular or you get hurt, at least something came from it. Whether the idea was successful or not, you've learned. You either know it will work and do the same thing again, or you know it doesn't work and you can try something new. I don't see this philosophy anywhere anymore. We've become so interested in planning that we've taken away the spirit of doing. Anyone who has worked in a compliance department in a major corporate company will tell you that this is called "paralysis by analysis."
So, back to the point. After we tried a number of things in popular culture and politics, we learned what works and what doesn't work. Since we've learned what works, we're sticking to it. How many TV shows are based off of shows that became popular? How many survivor like shows are out there? How many Two and a Half Men type sitcoms do we need, how many NCIS? How many Simpsons episodes did it take to create Family Guy, American Dad, South Park? When the Backstreet Boys entered the mainstream, how long did it take for Nsync and 98 Degrees to break the charts? When Nirvana broke into the mainstream how long did it take for Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains to follow? That's what we've done. We've created cookie cutter houses, communities, politicians, music, movies, TV shows even football teams. Everyone knows that there is no negative publicity. That's why every rap star gets in trouble with the law as soon as he releases his first single. That's why Paris, Brittany, Lindsey, Christina all have mug shots and pics of their bare coochies getting out of limos. You think those pics are accidents? No. That was discovered as an excellent way to gain publicity for free and sell more stuff. Sure it's to the chagrin of American teenagers who idolize these music stars, but someone (after trying things that didn't work) discovered that this was a great way to increase business, profits, market share. We even apply to colleges, get scholarships, jobs, promotions the same way. We follow the success and failures of past creators to depend on how we succeed ourselves. So, that's the idea. Someone else has already created a formula for success. There's no need to try anything new, risky or innovative. The money points to one idea, one way of doing things and one ideal ending.
My point is this: no one in politics shows creativity anymore. There is a script that democrats and republicans follow to get elected. They need to appeal to the movers and the shakers; i.e. people with money. Republicans have to speak about family values, national defense, lower taxes. Democrats have to speak on healthcare, education, higher taxes for the uber wealthy. It doesn't matter what else is mentioned. Speaking on those issues for those respective parties is what wins. Throw the idealism, creative thinking and innovation in the gutter. Follow the formula.
If you want to get elected, write a popular show, create a hit album, direct a movie or become a professional wrestler follow the formula. Someone else has already done it wrong for you.
In the 1960's America exploded with idealism and creativity. We were involved in a political revolution. We learned how to protest, expand voter registration, really get the core ideas of the country in place with the masses. Remember that our country was founded on the idea that the citizens make the decisions. Sure it's a republic more than a democracy, but the "idea" was to make sure that the plight of the masses was heard and adhered to. We also embraced change more than in any other time in American history. Seeing as how I wasn't alive yet and the 60's weren't taught in public school, I base my knowledge of this important time on the things I've learned through music, movies, books and wikipedia. All in all, the country rallied around a few ideas that were the keystone in creating this more perfect union. And while no one in Washington cared about the protests, it had a significant impact on our future. Some of you may have noticed that I have referenced the JFK assassination a few times already in my blogging. I mention it again because I feel that that was a turning point in our country. It was very personal, very tragic and very indicative of the times. JFK was a terrible politician. He did what he thought was right. Didn't care about what his advisers told him about the Cuban Missile Crisis, apologized to the citizens of the country after the Bay of Pigs fiasco, wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of the Vietnam, really wanted to change things for the better using core values of creativity and leadership. He was killed for some reason. By someone. But I can sure as hell tell you that it wasn't Lee Harvey Oswald. But after Kennedy was killed, Marin Luther King was killed, RFK dead (again allegedly by someone with no ties to anyone or anything). These are people with creative and innovative minds. Strong minds that could have changed things for the better. Music was essential in the 60's. Hendrix, Joplin, The Dead, The Beatles...the list could go on forever. These are people that created what they thought was cool and the masses rallied around them. What happened to that? Did the creative spirit in Americans disappear? Let's look into the timeline.
Over the next few decades we saw Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush. We also saw the cold war, Watergate, the introduction of cocaine, heroin and crack to popular American culture, we were introduced to North Korea, the middle east, sitcoms and professional wrestling. All of these situations were conceived through creativity and innovation. Popular or not, positive or not, these became the foundations of what to do and what not to do. In some cases we were forced into a situation that required immediate and positive heroics. And some of those immediate responses are the ones we cringe at today. But they had to be done and they were done. More and more I see less and less of these heroics. When people say "it took an act of congress to get that done...." they're not speaking metaphorically. What happened to genuine leadership. Doing stuff even if it meant we may be doing it wrong. I'm going to back track a bit here. When FDR came into office the campaigned with a positive attitude that he would cut spending and bring the country back to glory. When he was in office, through trial and error, he discovered that actually increasing spending was better for long term growth. He actually spent more than we knew could be spent. We reelected him like 15 times. What they don't teach you in public school is that he screwed up way more than he got it right. He put into place a bunch (nice specificity I know) of policies that he didn't know if they were going to work or not, but he knew something needed to be done. Now I turn to my philosophy on life: If you do something, something gets done. If you do nothing, nothing gets done. In that statement I mean that even if what you do is wrong or unpopular or you get hurt, at least something came from it. Whether the idea was successful or not, you've learned. You either know it will work and do the same thing again, or you know it doesn't work and you can try something new. I don't see this philosophy anywhere anymore. We've become so interested in planning that we've taken away the spirit of doing. Anyone who has worked in a compliance department in a major corporate company will tell you that this is called "paralysis by analysis."
So, back to the point. After we tried a number of things in popular culture and politics, we learned what works and what doesn't work. Since we've learned what works, we're sticking to it. How many TV shows are based off of shows that became popular? How many survivor like shows are out there? How many Two and a Half Men type sitcoms do we need, how many NCIS? How many Simpsons episodes did it take to create Family Guy, American Dad, South Park? When the Backstreet Boys entered the mainstream, how long did it take for Nsync and 98 Degrees to break the charts? When Nirvana broke into the mainstream how long did it take for Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains to follow? That's what we've done. We've created cookie cutter houses, communities, politicians, music, movies, TV shows even football teams. Everyone knows that there is no negative publicity. That's why every rap star gets in trouble with the law as soon as he releases his first single. That's why Paris, Brittany, Lindsey, Christina all have mug shots and pics of their bare coochies getting out of limos. You think those pics are accidents? No. That was discovered as an excellent way to gain publicity for free and sell more stuff. Sure it's to the chagrin of American teenagers who idolize these music stars, but someone (after trying things that didn't work) discovered that this was a great way to increase business, profits, market share. We even apply to colleges, get scholarships, jobs, promotions the same way. We follow the success and failures of past creators to depend on how we succeed ourselves. So, that's the idea. Someone else has already created a formula for success. There's no need to try anything new, risky or innovative. The money points to one idea, one way of doing things and one ideal ending.
My point is this: no one in politics shows creativity anymore. There is a script that democrats and republicans follow to get elected. They need to appeal to the movers and the shakers; i.e. people with money. Republicans have to speak about family values, national defense, lower taxes. Democrats have to speak on healthcare, education, higher taxes for the uber wealthy. It doesn't matter what else is mentioned. Speaking on those issues for those respective parties is what wins. Throw the idealism, creative thinking and innovation in the gutter. Follow the formula.
If you want to get elected, write a popular show, create a hit album, direct a movie or become a professional wrestler follow the formula. Someone else has already done it wrong for you.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
oh snap
In lieu of current events, I feel that I have to say something about the Jobs Bill. First of all I think it's awesome that the President has noticed that 1 in 6 Americans are living below the poverty line. First, I think we all need to understand what "living below the poverty line" really means. If a family of 4 makes less than $22,350 in joint yearly income, then they are considered impoverished. Ok, If you make $23,000 and are trying to raise a family of 4, according to our government (that ALL Americans pay for) you're doing just fine. This as in all things context is key. So let's take a look at how many tax paying Americans are included in the poverty stricken population. About 15% of Americans are living below the poverty line. Doesn't sound like much, right? How about this: 45 Million people. Think about how many people do you know? Chances are that 15% of them are flat broke. And I'm not talking about flat broke like, "do you have any beer on special?" flat broke. I'm talking about flat broke like, "should I buy this medicine, or this milk" broke. Call me an idealist, but I can't imagine that there are kids out there who's dream it is to be on welfare when they get older. I can see second grade career day now: "What do you want to be when you grow up Dennis?" "I want to be the starting center fielder for the Boston Red Sox." "What do you want to be when you grow up little Billy?" "I want to be on the welfare!"
It's in our spirit to do something positive with our lives. When do we abandon that spirit? Give up? Start becoming "takers" instead of "givers?" At some point in our lives I think we begin to feel that we have been defeated. For some it comes earlier than others, but it happens to the best of us. What matters at that point is how we deal with it, regroup, replan, continue on in a global economy. This failed spirit is what has happened to the American dream; and never has it been more prevalent than today. The recession continues, however it seems that politicians are having no problem filling their campaign war chests. The poverty percentage grows, however high priced retail stores are having trouble keeping shoes and clothes in stock. The American dream flutters in the wind, public schools crumble, 1 in 6 children are born into poverty, Americans' stomach's ache with the pain of a country that has turned a blind eye; yet we continue on. Through the valley, through the darkness, through the storm. Who is speaking for the weakest among us. I know I don't. But then again I'm just a blogger with no importance whatsoever. (Kulifay has wider circulation than me...so sad). I think we're still waiting for a progressive candidate to speak of the people, by the people and for the people. Oh wait, we have one? He's in the White House? The President who has pledged to protect our national interest? Ok. So, he's going to save the day. The Jobs Bill. I can only speak for myself (and for the record I don't live below the poverty level), but I really think that the Jobs Bill isn't going to do a damn thing for me.
Of all this "jobs" talk has once again taken us away from what really happened to get us here. The bottom fell out of the market a few years ago, everyone laid off workers so the fat cats could still get their Christmas bonuses and take their families to Switzerland for skiing lessons. Then they realized that they didn't need all the workers they had before. Now that they've laid off so many workers and Americans are begging for jobs, they can pay one person to do the work of two people for half as much. Fat Cats are happy (10% of Americans) and the regular Joe's (the remaining 90%) work crap jobs for sh*t pay....and blog about it. So now that jobs are going to save our national interest and restore our faith in government (just kidding), what will we do to prevent giant American corporations from making efficiency a key component to success? It wasn't that long ago Saturday Night Live did a sketch about a guy with an office job who did nothing but stand by the coffee machine all day and bug his caffeine crazed coworkers. Should we have been working to save that guy's job?
I guess my point to all this is that we don't need to create mindless jobs to get American's back to work. We need to create industry. Give American's actual work to do. Build. Create. Accomplish. You can't blame American corporate executives and owners for wanting to create efficiency and take advantage of the high unemployment rate. that's what they do...the same way you can't blame a dog eating the garbage that you left out. he's just being a dog.
So the conclusion: corporations are dogs. politicians are pussies. oh snap.
It's in our spirit to do something positive with our lives. When do we abandon that spirit? Give up? Start becoming "takers" instead of "givers?" At some point in our lives I think we begin to feel that we have been defeated. For some it comes earlier than others, but it happens to the best of us. What matters at that point is how we deal with it, regroup, replan, continue on in a global economy. This failed spirit is what has happened to the American dream; and never has it been more prevalent than today. The recession continues, however it seems that politicians are having no problem filling their campaign war chests. The poverty percentage grows, however high priced retail stores are having trouble keeping shoes and clothes in stock. The American dream flutters in the wind, public schools crumble, 1 in 6 children are born into poverty, Americans' stomach's ache with the pain of a country that has turned a blind eye; yet we continue on. Through the valley, through the darkness, through the storm. Who is speaking for the weakest among us. I know I don't. But then again I'm just a blogger with no importance whatsoever. (Kulifay has wider circulation than me...so sad). I think we're still waiting for a progressive candidate to speak of the people, by the people and for the people. Oh wait, we have one? He's in the White House? The President who has pledged to protect our national interest? Ok. So, he's going to save the day. The Jobs Bill. I can only speak for myself (and for the record I don't live below the poverty level), but I really think that the Jobs Bill isn't going to do a damn thing for me.
Of all this "jobs" talk has once again taken us away from what really happened to get us here. The bottom fell out of the market a few years ago, everyone laid off workers so the fat cats could still get their Christmas bonuses and take their families to Switzerland for skiing lessons. Then they realized that they didn't need all the workers they had before. Now that they've laid off so many workers and Americans are begging for jobs, they can pay one person to do the work of two people for half as much. Fat Cats are happy (10% of Americans) and the regular Joe's (the remaining 90%) work crap jobs for sh*t pay....and blog about it. So now that jobs are going to save our national interest and restore our faith in government (just kidding), what will we do to prevent giant American corporations from making efficiency a key component to success? It wasn't that long ago Saturday Night Live did a sketch about a guy with an office job who did nothing but stand by the coffee machine all day and bug his caffeine crazed coworkers. Should we have been working to save that guy's job?
I guess my point to all this is that we don't need to create mindless jobs to get American's back to work. We need to create industry. Give American's actual work to do. Build. Create. Accomplish. You can't blame American corporate executives and owners for wanting to create efficiency and take advantage of the high unemployment rate. that's what they do...the same way you can't blame a dog eating the garbage that you left out. he's just being a dog.
So the conclusion: corporations are dogs. politicians are pussies. oh snap.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Top 5's
Haven't smoked at work in 14 days! I've had a few smokes in the evenings when I have a few drinks. The cravings are still apparent, but the gum is helping.
In other personal life news; Evelyn has had some sporadic sleeping patterns lately. I'll walk around with her in my arms, bouncing and singing to her and she falls asleep; as soon as I put her down, she's awake. She smiles at me as if to say, "gottcha again sucka!" While I've been walking around and bouncing, I've had plenty of time to think by myself. One thing I've been doing to stay awake on my feet is to make a top 5 list of things that I would want if I were on a desert island; movies, books, music, meals, etc. Also, random lists of best categories in film. Yes, I stole this idea from "High Fidelity," but I'm pretty sure people were making top 5 lists before that film was released. Anyway, what I've found is that most of my favorite things have been so played out that it wouldn't do me any good to have them on a desert island. For example, I've known all the words to the Nirvana Nevermind album since I was 12 years old. what the hell good is it going to do me to listen to it again and again forever? With that in mind I've here are some lists of interest (in no particular order):
cds:
1. Metalica with the San Francisco Symphony. - super hard rock with an orchestra. awesome combination.
2. The Eminem LP. - one of the most fun albums ever made
3. Beatles' White Album - just shear genius
4. Alice in Chains Unplugged - I love the soft grunge (probably a contradiction in terms like real artificial butter, or military intelligence)
5. Nirvana In Utero (I had to throw one Nirvana album in there)
movies:
1. Goodfellas - Scorsese is great and I think this is his best work.
2. Boondock Saints - some of the best characters in cinematic history
3. Super Troopers - best slap stick comedy of our generation
4. Citizen Cane - just an awesome story and told with an artful hand
5. Major League - the comedy in this film is organic.
fight scenes (one on one):
1. Rocky 1 (Rocky vs. Apollo) - I'm not defending myself for putting 4 Rocky movies in here. Deal with it.
2. Rocky 2 (Rocky vs. Apollo)
3. Rocky 3 (Rocky vs. Mr. T)
4. Rocky 4 (Rocky vs. Ivan Drago)
5. Family Guy (Peter Griffin vs. The Chicken) it's not a movie, but I could watch that battle forever.
Comedians:
1. Dane Cook (just kidding Fay)
1. Eddie Murphy
2. George Carlin
3. Denis Leary
4. Lewis Black
5. Lewis C.K.
Presidents:
1. Abraham Lincoln
2. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
3. Theodore Roosevelt
4. Harold Truman
5. John Fitzgerald Kennedy
(should probably throw John Tyler in there....although I don't know of one legislative or military accomplishment that he achieved in his 4 year term, it would be cool to sit down and talk to the man.)
Best Battle Scenes:
1. Gladiator
2. Beauty and the Beast
3. Braveheart
4. Saving Private Ryan
5. Star Wars Episode 4
Best One-Liners:
1. "nice catch Hayes. Don't ever f*ckin' do it again." - coach Lou Brown
2. "What's with today, today?" - Lucas
3. "Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Mr. Ferris Bueller
4. "Get busy livin, or get busy dyin." - Red
5. "Some mother f*ckers always trying to ice skate up hill." (Jared added, "some aint.") - Blade
While Evelyn continues to try my patience, I'll continue to update my lists. I'd love to have any thoughts you may have. Also, any suggestions for further lists.
In other personal life news; Evelyn has had some sporadic sleeping patterns lately. I'll walk around with her in my arms, bouncing and singing to her and she falls asleep; as soon as I put her down, she's awake. She smiles at me as if to say, "gottcha again sucka!" While I've been walking around and bouncing, I've had plenty of time to think by myself. One thing I've been doing to stay awake on my feet is to make a top 5 list of things that I would want if I were on a desert island; movies, books, music, meals, etc. Also, random lists of best categories in film. Yes, I stole this idea from "High Fidelity," but I'm pretty sure people were making top 5 lists before that film was released. Anyway, what I've found is that most of my favorite things have been so played out that it wouldn't do me any good to have them on a desert island. For example, I've known all the words to the Nirvana Nevermind album since I was 12 years old. what the hell good is it going to do me to listen to it again and again forever? With that in mind I've here are some lists of interest (in no particular order):
cds:
1. Metalica with the San Francisco Symphony. - super hard rock with an orchestra. awesome combination.
2. The Eminem LP. - one of the most fun albums ever made
3. Beatles' White Album - just shear genius
4. Alice in Chains Unplugged - I love the soft grunge (probably a contradiction in terms like real artificial butter, or military intelligence)
5. Nirvana In Utero (I had to throw one Nirvana album in there)
movies:
1. Goodfellas - Scorsese is great and I think this is his best work.
2. Boondock Saints - some of the best characters in cinematic history
3. Super Troopers - best slap stick comedy of our generation
4. Citizen Cane - just an awesome story and told with an artful hand
5. Major League - the comedy in this film is organic.
fight scenes (one on one):
1. Rocky 1 (Rocky vs. Apollo) - I'm not defending myself for putting 4 Rocky movies in here. Deal with it.
2. Rocky 2 (Rocky vs. Apollo)
3. Rocky 3 (Rocky vs. Mr. T)
4. Rocky 4 (Rocky vs. Ivan Drago)
5. Family Guy (Peter Griffin vs. The Chicken) it's not a movie, but I could watch that battle forever.
Comedians:
1. Dane Cook (just kidding Fay)
1. Eddie Murphy
2. George Carlin
3. Denis Leary
4. Lewis Black
5. Lewis C.K.
Presidents:
1. Abraham Lincoln
2. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
3. Theodore Roosevelt
4. Harold Truman
5. John Fitzgerald Kennedy
(should probably throw John Tyler in there....although I don't know of one legislative or military accomplishment that he achieved in his 4 year term, it would be cool to sit down and talk to the man.)
Best Battle Scenes:
1. Gladiator
2. Beauty and the Beast
3. Braveheart
4. Saving Private Ryan
5. Star Wars Episode 4
Best One-Liners:
1. "nice catch Hayes. Don't ever f*ckin' do it again." - coach Lou Brown
2. "What's with today, today?" - Lucas
3. "Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Mr. Ferris Bueller
4. "Get busy livin, or get busy dyin." - Red
5. "Some mother f*ckers always trying to ice skate up hill." (Jared added, "some aint.") - Blade
While Evelyn continues to try my patience, I'll continue to update my lists. I'd love to have any thoughts you may have. Also, any suggestions for further lists.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
aaaahhhhhhgggggggghhhhhaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!
ok. so I down played the intensity of this struggle just a bit. It's now been 9 days since I've started the journey towards a non-smoking lifestyle. There have been some ups and downs over the past few days. A couple really cool things happened over the weekend. First, I was out of work for 2 days in a row and I didn't need to sneak away from the family periodically to suck down a cigarette. Second, I was able to take the money I saved from not smoking and spend it on Gracyn at the Matthews' City annual fair. I bought her a train ride, a pony ride and a few trips around a bounce house, along with ice cream and funnel cake. So that was pretty sweet. As we walked around the festival atmosphere I found myself smelling smokers all around. And in some cases looking down my nose at them. I would think things like, "get that nasty smoke out of here. this is a family event." then I would almost immediately think, "your such an asshole. a few days ago you'd be standing right next to that dude." So, all in all it was a great weekend. I had a bunch of cravings, but nothing I couldn't handle....and the girls kept me busy enough. My cravings are exponentially multiplied by boredom. Say what you will about being a father, but boring it is not.
Tuesday rolled around and the first morning back to work was tough. A cup of coffee, piece of gum. Good to go. But around noon, my boss got all pissy with me about something inconsequential. It shouldn't have bothered me, and probably wouldn't have if I were able to walk outside and take a break with my dirty little buddy. But alas, I sat at my desk, bit my lip and went about my day. I chewed the crap out of a few pieces of gum, so much so that I thought I was going to get sick on account of excess nicotine. But I got through it. Kept my head down for the rest of the day and made it through with no smoking. whew, that was close. Wednesday was a better day at work, super busy. Still had some cravings, still wanted nothing more than to walk outside for a break, still fighting my natural instinct to inhale fire. Made it through.
A few things I've noticed so far: Obviously I'm breathing better. No more wheezing, labored breathing, easier to fall asleep. I've also started coughing up some funky colors. I guess it's some of the tar and other crap that I've been inhaling for so long. It's weird to stop smoking and then start coughing. Hopefully my lungs will clean themselves out and the coughing won't last too long.
I'm fighting a craving right now. I'm sitting here at 6am and kind of forcing out this blog. Ordinarily I would take a break, walk outside, have a smoke and think about what to write next. But here I am; just fighting through it to the chagrin of my creative writing style. I find that in situations like this, it's better to stop writing, step back, take a break, stop thinking about it for a few minutes, let your mind take you some place else. then come back when you're ready and dig in. But this time I'm going to force through it.
While I'm fighting, did anyone see the republican debate/rally last night? The republican field is ridiculous. There's only one guy that could have a chance in hell against this incumbent democratic presidency (any incumbent democratic presidency). Mitt Romney. He is a solid candidate, but it baffles me that the Rhinos can't find a single warm bodied representative that matches up better than the former Massachusetts Governor. His most challenging opponent is Rick Perry; a guy who makes the Marlboro man look like a pussy. Perry seems like the kind of guy to take snake bite shots, start a bar fight and then get out of the there before everyone else gets arrested. A fun guy to hang with, but not exactly Presidential material. He actually seems like every democrat's dream opponent. A charismatic debater like Obama (since he's starting to show some new-found candor) would wipe the floor with a guy like Rick Perry. The rest of the field used their air time to tell us once again that no matter who wins the republican nomination they must get Obama out of office. There's a new concept. Come on folks. Tell us something new. Everyone says "I'm going to create jobs. I'm going to save the economy. America is about freedom." blah blah blah blah. How can you create jobs, support the troops, save the national economy and cut taxes all at the same time? here's the short answer: you can't. Something's got to give ya'll. Instead of hearing what the candidates are going to create to save the country, I want to hear what the candidates are planning to get rid of in order to cut the national deficit, save social security, bring the troops home and put Americans back to work. These people have simply got to be more smarter than what i am. So where's the plan? Come up with something. I'll be waiting with ballot in hand. Once again I say that I'm writing my own name in on my ballot. And once again, I suggest that you do the same.
Craving has passed. Now to the rest of the day. Wish me luck!
Tuesday rolled around and the first morning back to work was tough. A cup of coffee, piece of gum. Good to go. But around noon, my boss got all pissy with me about something inconsequential. It shouldn't have bothered me, and probably wouldn't have if I were able to walk outside and take a break with my dirty little buddy. But alas, I sat at my desk, bit my lip and went about my day. I chewed the crap out of a few pieces of gum, so much so that I thought I was going to get sick on account of excess nicotine. But I got through it. Kept my head down for the rest of the day and made it through with no smoking. whew, that was close. Wednesday was a better day at work, super busy. Still had some cravings, still wanted nothing more than to walk outside for a break, still fighting my natural instinct to inhale fire. Made it through.
A few things I've noticed so far: Obviously I'm breathing better. No more wheezing, labored breathing, easier to fall asleep. I've also started coughing up some funky colors. I guess it's some of the tar and other crap that I've been inhaling for so long. It's weird to stop smoking and then start coughing. Hopefully my lungs will clean themselves out and the coughing won't last too long.
I'm fighting a craving right now. I'm sitting here at 6am and kind of forcing out this blog. Ordinarily I would take a break, walk outside, have a smoke and think about what to write next. But here I am; just fighting through it to the chagrin of my creative writing style. I find that in situations like this, it's better to stop writing, step back, take a break, stop thinking about it for a few minutes, let your mind take you some place else. then come back when you're ready and dig in. But this time I'm going to force through it.
While I'm fighting, did anyone see the republican debate/rally last night? The republican field is ridiculous. There's only one guy that could have a chance in hell against this incumbent democratic presidency (any incumbent democratic presidency). Mitt Romney. He is a solid candidate, but it baffles me that the Rhinos can't find a single warm bodied representative that matches up better than the former Massachusetts Governor. His most challenging opponent is Rick Perry; a guy who makes the Marlboro man look like a pussy. Perry seems like the kind of guy to take snake bite shots, start a bar fight and then get out of the there before everyone else gets arrested. A fun guy to hang with, but not exactly Presidential material. He actually seems like every democrat's dream opponent. A charismatic debater like Obama (since he's starting to show some new-found candor) would wipe the floor with a guy like Rick Perry. The rest of the field used their air time to tell us once again that no matter who wins the republican nomination they must get Obama out of office. There's a new concept. Come on folks. Tell us something new. Everyone says "I'm going to create jobs. I'm going to save the economy. America is about freedom." blah blah blah blah. How can you create jobs, support the troops, save the national economy and cut taxes all at the same time? here's the short answer: you can't. Something's got to give ya'll. Instead of hearing what the candidates are going to create to save the country, I want to hear what the candidates are planning to get rid of in order to cut the national deficit, save social security, bring the troops home and put Americans back to work. These people have simply got to be more smarter than what i am. So where's the plan? Come up with something. I'll be waiting with ballot in hand. Once again I say that I'm writing my own name in on my ballot. And once again, I suggest that you do the same.
Craving has passed. Now to the rest of the day. Wish me luck!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
not too bad
so far so good. actually, quitting smoking hasn't been as hard as i thought it would be. I'm only on day 4 and I've cheated a couple times due to alcohol induced peer pressure. but I've gone 3 full days at work with no smoking and I woke up this morning without a craving at all. However after cooking breakfast, cleaning the kitchen, changing 3 diapers, feeding a crying baby and making a grocery list, I need to chew a piece nicotine gum. It doesn't sound so impressive "3 full days at work with no smoking." but it's a milestone for me. I have used smoking as an excuse to take minor breaks from work ever since I have been in the workforce. I've never known another way to work. My days have been based around 2 hour intervals. I make plans for the next two hours or the next few tasks that need done. Then I say to myself, "ok, after I get this done, I'll smoke a cig, and decide what need to be done next." In the past 3 days I've had to change the mind set instilled in me over the past 18 years. Not exactly an easy transition. So what have I done to accomplish the first 3 days? I've kept busy. I started assigning myself smaller, less complicated tasks. I do one thing at a time and then move on to the next. It actually makes the day go by a little faster. I also stopped reading/watching/listening to the news. Granted I have no idea what's going on in the world, but maintaining my encyclopedic knowledge of the world's happenings became very stressful. I'm sure that the republicans are still trying to figure out which tax-cutting, moose-killing confederate will be accepting their nomination. And I'm sure the democrats in the White House are still trying to figure out what the hell their doing there in the first place. Still wars in the middle east, booming economic times in China, Greece falling apart, Gadhafi missing, Lindsay Lohan on trial, Christina Aguilera naked, Transformers 3 at the top of the movie charts and Lil Wayne pissing Kulifay off. If I'm wrong about any of that, you can just take it as proof that I haven't looked at a news feed in 4 days, if I'm right, you can take it as my genius foreseeing the future with clarity and focus. So I haven't watched the news, I'm staying busy, what else? I'm eating less. Yeah, you heard me. I find that whenever I eat, I want to smoke immediately after. So, if I don't eat....or eat smaller meals, I don't feel the need to let the nicotine settle my stomach. My girls have been very patient with me. I can tell that Jackie is biting her lip sometimes because she knows I'm already hanging on by a thin thread. But that's it for now. I'm sure it's going to get more complicated with my fantasy football draft on monday and the nfl regular season starting next weekend....especially the steelers vs. ravens game next sunday. but I'm just going to keep taking it a day at a time.
So I feel good today. We'll see where it goes from here.
So I feel good today. We'll see where it goes from here.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
a better day
no tobacco products of any kind yesterday!
tonight is going to be a challenge. I'm going out with a couple of buddies to watch the Steelers vs. Panthers game. we will be drinking. I'm sure they will be smoking. I'm planning on taking a cigar with me to smoke at the tail gate in the hopes that the cigar will keep me from smoking cigarettes....we'll see how that turns out. As you read this, you're probably thinking, "there's no way. he'll never do it." well I'm going to give it a shot and damn it I want to prove you wrong (I know it's you Kulifay....you broke my heart....you broke my heart.)
I was thinking about this blog yesterday and wondering if it will get any readership from the American tobacco companies. I also thought about the fact that there has never been a television show (that i know of anyway) that has tackled this particular addiction. That seems weird to me. There are shows about every other type of addiction. Heroin, alcohol, crack, meth, rock eating, sex, I saw one where a lady was addicted to eating dryer sheets. What the hell? But no shows about nicotine addiction. I recall the movie "The Insider" (Al Piccino/Russel Crow - based on the true story of a tobacco industry whistle blower). In this movie the whistle blower takes the science of nicotine addiction and brings it to the public eye. but not before facing a series of indictments, testimonies, changes of venue, lawsuits, counter-suits and threats to both himself and his family. It was a touching story about how one man can stand toe to toe against a billion dollar industry. The tobacco companies employ more lawyers and private-i detectives than the entire US Congressional delegation. (i'm not sure if that's true, but it sounds good). This is probably the reason that there has never been a single conviction against big tobacco. Think about that for a minute. Even with hundreds of thousands of people dying every year from illness related to their product, they have never had to pay a single dollar. This seems like an open and shut case to me: If they do not know that their product is causing death and disease, they are criminally negligent; if they do know, they're simply criminals. And yet never one win against the tobacco companies. Can you explain that?
tonight is going to be a challenge. I'm going out with a couple of buddies to watch the Steelers vs. Panthers game. we will be drinking. I'm sure they will be smoking. I'm planning on taking a cigar with me to smoke at the tail gate in the hopes that the cigar will keep me from smoking cigarettes....we'll see how that turns out. As you read this, you're probably thinking, "there's no way. he'll never do it." well I'm going to give it a shot and damn it I want to prove you wrong (I know it's you Kulifay....you broke my heart....you broke my heart.)
I was thinking about this blog yesterday and wondering if it will get any readership from the American tobacco companies. I also thought about the fact that there has never been a television show (that i know of anyway) that has tackled this particular addiction. That seems weird to me. There are shows about every other type of addiction. Heroin, alcohol, crack, meth, rock eating, sex, I saw one where a lady was addicted to eating dryer sheets. What the hell? But no shows about nicotine addiction. I recall the movie "The Insider" (Al Piccino/Russel Crow - based on the true story of a tobacco industry whistle blower). In this movie the whistle blower takes the science of nicotine addiction and brings it to the public eye. but not before facing a series of indictments, testimonies, changes of venue, lawsuits, counter-suits and threats to both himself and his family. It was a touching story about how one man can stand toe to toe against a billion dollar industry. The tobacco companies employ more lawyers and private-i detectives than the entire US Congressional delegation. (i'm not sure if that's true, but it sounds good). This is probably the reason that there has never been a single conviction against big tobacco. Think about that for a minute. Even with hundreds of thousands of people dying every year from illness related to their product, they have never had to pay a single dollar. This seems like an open and shut case to me: If they do not know that their product is causing death and disease, they are criminally negligent; if they do know, they're simply criminals. And yet never one win against the tobacco companies. Can you explain that?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)