It’s hard to get my Mom to shut up. However, when in the middle of a week where I had multiple tests and an array of papers do I managed to do just that.
No I don’t have any secret method to share with all of you. Lets just say that even throughout everything going on, I had just recited the trials and fates of all my hometown sports teams, professional and college, from memory as well as listing off a couple stories my Mom didn’t know about. She was shocked. She shouldn’t have been. The writing was on the wall when as a kid I was always stealing the sports section and checking the box scores on my favorite teams. It should have become clearer when she learned that in high school I ditched a day of school and caught a ride with a friend up to Boston for the Red Sox World Series parade in 2004. Not an easy task seeing as I was at a boarding school in Connecticut at the time. Needless to say, sports have become a major part of my life. Most friends look at me like I’m crazy when it comes to the level of passion and devotion I give to my friends. The truth is, I can’t follow a team for 162 games (baseball), or 82 games (basketball and hockey), or 14 weeks (football) with out falling in love with a team. The worst is baseball where with the long season and the almost daily games you can start living and dying by each pitch.
Now while this might seem like just another crazy fan rant, the truth is that I’m strangely not the only person to feel this way. Even though it seems I might be the only person at SMU that feels this way. Sports here have about the intensity and fun of a little league match where you don’t know any of the kids. The passion is practically non existent from both fans and players. Perhaps it’s the small school, perhaps it’s the fact that everyone is so busy. Perhaps it’s simply that neither the students nor athletes care. I stopped counting the number of times I saw athletes out drinking and complaining about coaches and workouts. I stopped going to games because they just simply lacked energy. I’m not saying this is true across the board, occasionally there was a basketball game that brought back some of that energy I’ve lived and died with over the years. Even the hyped inter-league sports, also known as the Greek sports league, is rather dull as most players drink before or during games. Great social event, bad sporting event. What do you think it would take to turn this around? A winning season from a team? The fans would need to provide some inspiration. A school that fed to the big leagues? Not likely to change seeing as only one person was drafted from SMU in the recent NFL draft. And it was a kicker. Compared to similar schools like TCU (their football team alone is ranked 7th in the nation and had 5 members drafted into the NFL this year alone, and don’t get me started on how good their baseball team is, or their two-peat champion equestrian team), SMU is certainly lacking something. What do you think it is?
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Write Well not Good
Since 2003 I’ve been reading weekly columns by Bill Simmons, The Sports Guy. A Boston native with a heart for comedy and, well, Boston sports, he constantly writes whimsically about his experiences writing from a fans perspective rather than from a reporter's. He’s become a cult favorite and one of the most read authors on ESPN.com.
Why though? Perhaps simply because he’s a good writer.
Since the dawn of time there has always been good writers and bad ones, just these days it seems the distance between the two has been growing at a drastic pace. With the dawn of reality TV shows, bad writing has almost become habit as an ignorant audience gobbles up celebrity magazines and trashy novels at an astounding rate. Surely no one is going to be awarding TV shows like the Hills and Real Housewife’s of Orange County SAG awards. (Also if you don’t think these shows are scripted, watch next time for how specific conversations always take place in front of cameras and people just so happen to all be at the same place all the time.) In general the public has embraced this form of reading, which has given way to just plain bad writing.
TV shows such as House, Lost, and Heroes survive due only to the fact that they’re so well written. While I can’t stand Lost or Heroes, I respect the creative integrity that is put into each episode. I respect the time that Bill Simmons puts into his columns to make them fun to read. I respect authors who can capture emotions and build plots such as the playwright Eugene O’Neill or the writer Tim O’Brien. To often now, slapped together books that are poorly written gain notoriety because they “reflect our present youth culture” (yes a direct quote about Twilight from an unnamed college student).
It’s time to start finding books that we can celebrate because they’re well written. Not because their draining our culture by making us dumber.
And yes I realize the irony in having a bad writer in college write a post on this issue. But would you really listen to an established writer complaining no one was reading his work?
Why though? Perhaps simply because he’s a good writer.
Since the dawn of time there has always been good writers and bad ones, just these days it seems the distance between the two has been growing at a drastic pace. With the dawn of reality TV shows, bad writing has almost become habit as an ignorant audience gobbles up celebrity magazines and trashy novels at an astounding rate. Surely no one is going to be awarding TV shows like the Hills and Real Housewife’s of Orange County SAG awards. (Also if you don’t think these shows are scripted, watch next time for how specific conversations always take place in front of cameras and people just so happen to all be at the same place all the time.) In general the public has embraced this form of reading, which has given way to just plain bad writing.
TV shows such as House, Lost, and Heroes survive due only to the fact that they’re so well written. While I can’t stand Lost or Heroes, I respect the creative integrity that is put into each episode. I respect the time that Bill Simmons puts into his columns to make them fun to read. I respect authors who can capture emotions and build plots such as the playwright Eugene O’Neill or the writer Tim O’Brien. To often now, slapped together books that are poorly written gain notoriety because they “reflect our present youth culture” (yes a direct quote about Twilight from an unnamed college student).
It’s time to start finding books that we can celebrate because they’re well written. Not because their draining our culture by making us dumber.
And yes I realize the irony in having a bad writer in college write a post on this issue. But would you really listen to an established writer complaining no one was reading his work?
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The fall of the Newspaper
Welcome to the slacker generation. Gossip rules the world. People who sit in the pajamas all day and own 12 cats can determine the outcome of the nation. This is the future of our journalism world. Networking sites have made us lazy and relaxed in the idea that we can always get quality information from a source or friend that we've met. People assume that their contact is all they need even when strong journalism skills are sometimes needed. The Sports Guy, a popular sports critic, has even started picking up on the problems that transition has given us in newspaper reporting. Observing on something as normal as an injured basketball player Bill Simmons, the Sports Guy, claims:
"I grew up reading Bob Ryan, who covered the Celtics for the Boston Globe and remains the best basketball writer alive to this day. Back in the 1970s and early '80s, he was overqualified to cover the team. In 1980, he would have sniffed out the B.S. signs of this KG story, kept pursuing it, kept writing about it, kept working connections and eventually broken it. True, today's reporters don't get the same access Ryan had, but let's face it: If 1980 Bob Ryan was covering the Celtics right now, ESPN or someone else would lure him away."
This clarifies the path that newspapers have started down in recent years. Writers and editors have left for higher paying jobs at internet sites in recent years. This has drained the the quality of the newspapers as well as given a higher quality to the more immediate and faster paced internet sites. The detrimental effect of failing newspapers is the sort that has not yet been seen in both economical, political and journalistic since the start of written press. The fall of the newspaper is something that will affect us all in ways that we will only truly realize after it is gone.
"I grew up reading Bob Ryan, who covered the Celtics for the Boston Globe and remains the best basketball writer alive to this day. Back in the 1970s and early '80s, he was overqualified to cover the team. In 1980, he would have sniffed out the B.S. signs of this KG story, kept pursuing it, kept writing about it, kept working connections and eventually broken it. True, today's reporters don't get the same access Ryan had, but let's face it: If 1980 Bob Ryan was covering the Celtics right now, ESPN or someone else would lure him away."
This clarifies the path that newspapers have started down in recent years. Writers and editors have left for higher paying jobs at internet sites in recent years. This has drained the the quality of the newspapers as well as given a higher quality to the more immediate and faster paced internet sites. The detrimental effect of failing newspapers is the sort that has not yet been seen in both economical, political and journalistic since the start of written press. The fall of the newspaper is something that will affect us all in ways that we will only truly realize after it is gone.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
"But I Really Do Have An Evil Twin..."
Imagine you have an evil twin.
He constantly gets you in trouble and you have been arrested before and have your prints and DNA now on record with police.
Now imagine your evil twin pulls a multimillion dollar jewelry heist at one of the countries national landmark stores. He slips up however and accidentally leaves behind a glove with some DNA in it.
However your genetic markers are so close that you and your twin can't be told apart by your DNA and are therefore let go. This is due to a hole in the law that says a single person must be definitively placed at the scene of the crime, not to people. However, since your release the police plan to monitor your movements and actions closely.
Sounds like a plot line for an Ocean's Fourteen movie right? Wrong.
This is the real life story of two German twins who successfully pulled off a multimillion dollar jewel heist and will never see the inside of a jail cell for their crime.
This brings to question, just how many criminals are we letting slip through the cracks and should we be punishing our criminals more severely? The twins did have a record and managed to still escape punishment for this crime. What do you think should be done?
He constantly gets you in trouble and you have been arrested before and have your prints and DNA now on record with police.
Now imagine your evil twin pulls a multimillion dollar jewelry heist at one of the countries national landmark stores. He slips up however and accidentally leaves behind a glove with some DNA in it.
However your genetic markers are so close that you and your twin can't be told apart by your DNA and are therefore let go. This is due to a hole in the law that says a single person must be definitively placed at the scene of the crime, not to people. However, since your release the police plan to monitor your movements and actions closely.
Sounds like a plot line for an Ocean's Fourteen movie right? Wrong.
This is the real life story of two German twins who successfully pulled off a multimillion dollar jewel heist and will never see the inside of a jail cell for their crime.
This brings to question, just how many criminals are we letting slip through the cracks and should we be punishing our criminals more severely? The twins did have a record and managed to still escape punishment for this crime. What do you think should be done?
Monday, March 16, 2009
Advertising...Everything
Advertising is today's most influential form of communication.
It accounts for billions of dollars of spending every year which in turn generates many more billions into the pockets of those who advertise. Ads are judged during the Superbowl, Brands are catapulted into our heads on buses and trains, and the average American can expect to see most metropolitan roads littered with billboards.
With so many messages out there it seems everyone and everything is being promoted.
The USA Government is no exception. Their promoting Marriage.
I'll let that sink in.
It is a true wonder that this initiative is being continued in our current economic state. While the Obama administration continues to furiously work to block bonus money going to AIG executives and other workers, it seems odd that they would spend money on developing an advertising campaign for a traditional institution such as marriage. (To even party lines, the initiative was first developed and passed by the Bush administration.) While perhaps the divorce rate is higher than it was during the crusades, the threat of death from the church is no longer prevalent in our community which means marriage is viewed in a very different way. However the advertising campaign isn't targeting divorce. Or issues such as gay marriage. It's solely about getting married. One reporter, Sharon Jayson, said it was merely a declaration of "research suggests a bevy of benefits for those who marry, including better health, greater wealth and more happiness for the couple, and improved well-being for children". Those are the reasons we're spending a six-seven digit big chunk of money on promoting. Happier lives. For those of us still dealing with the economic problems in the real world, it seems our government is still figuring we'll just pay for the bail outs latter.
It accounts for billions of dollars of spending every year which in turn generates many more billions into the pockets of those who advertise. Ads are judged during the Superbowl, Brands are catapulted into our heads on buses and trains, and the average American can expect to see most metropolitan roads littered with billboards.
With so many messages out there it seems everyone and everything is being promoted.
The USA Government is no exception. Their promoting Marriage.
I'll let that sink in.
It is a true wonder that this initiative is being continued in our current economic state. While the Obama administration continues to furiously work to block bonus money going to AIG executives and other workers, it seems odd that they would spend money on developing an advertising campaign for a traditional institution such as marriage. (To even party lines, the initiative was first developed and passed by the Bush administration.) While perhaps the divorce rate is higher than it was during the crusades, the threat of death from the church is no longer prevalent in our community which means marriage is viewed in a very different way. However the advertising campaign isn't targeting divorce. Or issues such as gay marriage. It's solely about getting married. One reporter, Sharon Jayson, said it was merely a declaration of "research suggests a bevy of benefits for those who marry, including better health, greater wealth and more happiness for the couple, and improved well-being for children". Those are the reasons we're spending a six-seven digit big chunk of money on promoting. Happier lives. For those of us still dealing with the economic problems in the real world, it seems our government is still figuring we'll just pay for the bail outs latter.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Style and Shots
Our struggling economy has left people wanting more for their money. That means convenience is at a premium. One area in particular which is in demand is the beauty market. In an economic downturn, people want to feel pretty or look good due to the fact that they otherwise may feel unstable in their life. So stores begin to bundle goods for consumers.
This has left us with many stores offering many services at once as a full package so that amount consumed can be maintained at a lower price. Years ago I heard a comedian giving advice say "You probably never want to get a hair cut from Joe's and Janet's Salon and Bait Shop". Apparently some people missed that memo as a friend sent me this advertisement outside a local bar:
Just a friendly reminder to those going out this weekend and looking for a quick makeover at the same time.
Thank you struggling economy.
This has left us with many stores offering many services at once as a full package so that amount consumed can be maintained at a lower price. Years ago I heard a comedian giving advice say "You probably never want to get a hair cut from Joe's and Janet's Salon and Bait Shop". Apparently some people missed that memo as a friend sent me this advertisement outside a local bar:
Just a friendly reminder to those going out this weekend and looking for a quick makeover at the same time.
Thank you struggling economy.
Serious Gambling
When you gamble, especially at a professional level, your always playing the odds. The odds of getting 21, landing on black, or getting a royal flush (it's 1 out of 649,740 if you were wondering).
What if you could find out the odds on the biggest gamble in your life?
Your marriage ending in divorce.
Betsey Stevenson, an acclaimed economist with a Masters and PhD from Harvard, has created a "Divorce Calculator" using census data and other variables of correlating data to determine the likelihood of a divorce. The little data cruncher has been picked up by divorce360.com and has caused much debate over it's validity and usefulness.
Some would like to remain blissfully ignorant to the future, while others are running to figure out after how many years of marriage they will be parting ways with their significant other. The question is should this really be something that we as a culture are embracing so candidly? Assuming divorce and breaking the bonds of love is merely a numbers game?
The calculator can be found here and the research and data used to create the calculator here.
What if you could find out the odds on the biggest gamble in your life?
Your marriage ending in divorce.
Betsey Stevenson, an acclaimed economist with a Masters and PhD from Harvard, has created a "Divorce Calculator" using census data and other variables of correlating data to determine the likelihood of a divorce. The little data cruncher has been picked up by divorce360.com and has caused much debate over it's validity and usefulness.
Some would like to remain blissfully ignorant to the future, while others are running to figure out after how many years of marriage they will be parting ways with their significant other. The question is should this really be something that we as a culture are embracing so candidly? Assuming divorce and breaking the bonds of love is merely a numbers game?
The calculator can be found here and the research and data used to create the calculator here.
Goodbye Capitalism
Stabilizing the economy is one thing. Controlling the economy is quite different. For years the government has used a laissez faire approach, with the general rule being to not set rules and allow capitalism to run it's course.
Well that time is over.
Earlier this month Obama took the first steps in having the government run the companies that it has bought shares in declaring no executive can earn more than $500,000 a year and a permanent freeze on all bonuses. An executive position before hand could look at 8-9 figure salaries per year and now at a small figure of six the question is just how is this gonna effect the quality of the people running these companies. The government should be looking to attract some of the best and the brightest to reform these companies in hope of stimulating the economy. Instead it seems they've hung a sign around our countries most profitable businesses, businesses that we've spent hundreds of billions on to rescue, telling executives that the private sector is where to make money and enjoy the capitalist ideals that we've all enjoyed.
The plus side on this move is that we are now not spending millions of tax payer dollars on executive salaries. This won't be much consolation when the companies go under and the money is lost anyways. Which will happen if the best and the brightest go to firms in the private sector away from government control and compete with the companies we've bailed out. Thus a move focused only on the short run idea of looking good in the public's eye can possibily kill over a trillion in GDP potential.
Welcome to the new Government business where making money is only good if it's profiting the government and not the general good.
Well that time is over.
Earlier this month Obama took the first steps in having the government run the companies that it has bought shares in declaring no executive can earn more than $500,000 a year and a permanent freeze on all bonuses. An executive position before hand could look at 8-9 figure salaries per year and now at a small figure of six the question is just how is this gonna effect the quality of the people running these companies. The government should be looking to attract some of the best and the brightest to reform these companies in hope of stimulating the economy. Instead it seems they've hung a sign around our countries most profitable businesses, businesses that we've spent hundreds of billions on to rescue, telling executives that the private sector is where to make money and enjoy the capitalist ideals that we've all enjoyed.
The plus side on this move is that we are now not spending millions of tax payer dollars on executive salaries. This won't be much consolation when the companies go under and the money is lost anyways. Which will happen if the best and the brightest go to firms in the private sector away from government control and compete with the companies we've bailed out. Thus a move focused only on the short run idea of looking good in the public's eye can possibily kill over a trillion in GDP potential.
Welcome to the new Government business where making money is only good if it's profiting the government and not the general good.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Causes and Effects
Your past shapes your future. Not really sure who said that first, might have just made it up, but it certainly is true.
When I was 6 I met Gary Hall Jr. He was the badass of USA Swimming with gold medals and headline making antics to back himself up. For the next 12 years I devoted myself to swimming. I started on a local USS team and quickly learned discipline and time management skills I wouldn't have picked up anywhere else. Driven and determined I pushed myself through school always looking to conquer the next hurdle or demand more from myself. The people I met through the sport led to lifelong friends, experiences and even jobs.
When I stopped swimming I looked back on who I had become and was astonished to find the way I had grown up. A stubborn kid determined to push themselves past the norm, I knew how to apply myself and had grown into an adult.
In one way or another, every action, choice, and experience has formed and shaped me to be the person I am today. I've grown from a wild child, to a stubborn teenager, to an actual adult who can look back and be happy about the life they've had and where they are today.
When I was 6 I met Gary Hall Jr. He was the badass of USA Swimming with gold medals and headline making antics to back himself up. For the next 12 years I devoted myself to swimming. I started on a local USS team and quickly learned discipline and time management skills I wouldn't have picked up anywhere else. Driven and determined I pushed myself through school always looking to conquer the next hurdle or demand more from myself. The people I met through the sport led to lifelong friends, experiences and even jobs.
When I stopped swimming I looked back on who I had become and was astonished to find the way I had grown up. A stubborn kid determined to push themselves past the norm, I knew how to apply myself and had grown into an adult.
In one way or another, every action, choice, and experience has formed and shaped me to be the person I am today. I've grown from a wild child, to a stubborn teenager, to an actual adult who can look back and be happy about the life they've had and where they are today.
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