Year in Review

I did this at the end of last year and it was well received, so I thought I would make this an annual thing.  We are just a few days away from 2013, so I will be giving what I think is the best of each month.  This year I have less to choose from.  I didn't find myself not wanting to write, but felt that if I took the time to construct better posts that there would be more substance to what I write.  Sometimes it is great to write about fun stuff, but there are also times when I want to write something that will make you think about a certain subject.  Some months I don't have a large pool to choose from so there are some weak 'best ofs' months.  Deal with it.  And, of course, there are months that have a few good to great posts and that makes it a little difficult to decide.

January:  Professionalism People! 
February:  Super Bore Sunday
March:  Who is to Blame?
April:  The Name Game  (This is my favorite post of the year)
May:  Words to Destruct By
June:  Fall of the Umpires
July:  Pop a Cap in That Pop
August:  A Year Later
September:  The Problem with Social Media
October:  There is No 'We'
November:  Basic Human Rights Protected
December:  That One Play

I'm done writing for the year, all three days that are left in it.  2013 may have more posts, may have less.  Who knows.  They will all be important to me though and I'm the only one that matters.

The Christmas Post

*Author's note: I wrote this back in 2008 and I have since made it my Christmas Eve or Christmas day post. It is simple and makes it easy for me to say that I at least wrote something for the holidays. Enjoy the day everyone. Be sure to keep the television off as long as possible and love being with family and friends.*

We are watching A Christmas Story right now, and there is nothing better in this movie than the nostalgic feel of the Christmas morning scene. More than the kids ripping apart the wrapping, it is the expressions on the faces of the mom and dad. Just the joy that they have watching their kids. 

As much as people think it is all about the Red Rider BB gun, the movie is more than that. It's about family, more than anything.

• Idolizing the father
• Having a life long understanding with your mother
• And the fighting with your brother

And the final scene of the mom and dad relaxing with the Christmas tree alight and the snow falling at night. Magic.

War on Christmas

I'm just going to put this out there before I start:  there's going to be some profanity in this post.  Mainly because I will be quoting Quentin Tarantino's classic 'Pulp Fiction'.  Well, not exactly quoting, but using an exchange from the movie and substituting some words.  

I have always thought that the idea that there was a war on Christmas was ridiculous.  I have never understood why some people do not like others saying 'seasons greetings' or 'happy holidays' instead of 'merry Christmas'.  I thought about writing a serious post about the war on Christmas and how it has gained momentum thanks to people like Bill O'Reilly, but instead I wanted to keep it light and funny.  Now, in my mind when I wrote this I pictured a Bill O'Reilly/Rush Limbaugh-esque type person going nuts after someone saying 'happy holidays' instead of 'merry Christmas'.  

I hope this brings a little smile and laughter to everyone.  If you believe that there is a war on Christmas, you're going to be offended maybe.  And I know that my job will be done.  

'Merry Christmas.'

'Happy Holidays.'

Why did you say 'Happy Holidays'?

What? 
What country are you from? 
What? What? Wh - ? 
"What" ain't no country I've ever heard of. They say 'Merry Christmas' in What? 
What? 

'Merry Christmas', motherfucker, do they say it? 
Yes! Yes! 
Then you know what I'm sayin'! 
Yes! 
Say 'Merry Christmas'! 
'Happy Holidays.' 
Say 'Happy Holidays' again. Say 'Happy Holidays' again, I dare you, I double dare you motherfucker, say 'Happy Holidays' one more Goddamn time! 

For those of you who have seen 'Pulp Fiction', you will surely now these lines I have used, if you haven't seen it, I'm sorry because you will probably have no idea what is going on here.  But the major question is, why haven't you seen the movie?  

Lions and Tigers

Watching the Detroit Lions struggle through the game last night against Atlanta, I couldn't help but draw comparisons to the Tigers from 2007 (and 2008, 2009, 2010).  Last year, the Lions made the playoffs for the first time since 1999 and gave the fan base hope that the worst was behind them.  The Tigers made it to the World Series in 2006 before missing the playoffs the next four years, once again giving fans hope.  Both seasons after the playoff year for the teams were a kick to the gut and ego.  For the teams and the fans. 

After the Lions made the playoffs last year, it seemed that everyone was high on them.  From fans to the sports talking heads to the people within the organization, they were all ready to see consistent runs into the playoffs.  And not just one and done years, but to go deep in the playoffs.  The offense is there and ready for a shootout any given Sunday, but the defense is not.  The lack of discipline and injuries week after week exposed them for what they really are:  an immature group that needs to stay focused for sixteen weeks and beyond.  Short of going out and getting free agents, they will have to build their defense through the draft.  And by the time they develop some middle of the pack draft picks, the offense will need help.  It's a vicious cycle. 

As a lifelong fan of Detroit sports teams, I have grown custom to disappointment.  The exception being the Red Wings who struggled when I was younger and I have little recollection of the 'Dead Wing' era as my dad called them.  Outside of the Wings, the only championships I actually remember are all from the Pistons...and I can't stand basketball.  Sure the Tigers won in 1984, but I was two at the time and as much as I would love to say I remember that year, not so much.  I want to base my sports championship memories on World Series and Super Bowl wins, not just Stanley Cups and whatever the basketball championship trophy is called. 

2013: The Year of the Re-Read

While struggling to get into Walden, I looked through the stack of books I have yet to read.  They are all books that I really want to read, but didn't find any of them interesting right now.  I went to the book shelf to see if there were any books I hadn't yet read, but couldn't find any.  Then I started to look at some of books I have already read.  Is the point of owning books to just read them once or twice then never again?  I think not.

For the next year, I will be putting the books I have not read back on the shelf and will dig into some of the books I have read already.  I grabbed seven books to start with.  Everything ranging from Hemingway to Stephen King to one of the few memoirs I have truly enjoyed.  In 2012, I made a point to read six new books and it was tough at times because I felt like I was on a time crunch to finish the books before the end of the year.  I don't want to pressure myself into finishing a set number of books.  I've said it before and will say it again, I am a very slow reader.  So whichever books I get through that'll be good enough for me this year.

It's like comfort food for the mind.  All year long.  

Finally!

For the first time since moving to Minnesota, we have gotten hit by a big winter storm.  I know that we have only been up here for just over a year, but when we did move we anticipated having snow during the winter.  And not just a few inches here and there, we were expecting it to snow and stay for the winter months.  Not only did we expect it, but we hoped for it. 

Living down in Kansas for six years, we had to deal with not have much of a winter.  The most snow accumulation we ever saw was between six to eight inches.  Not much to shake a stick at.  And it didn't stay around for very long.  We only had one white Christmas, and it was the best one of all because of the snow.  It makes everything just seem so festive.  Besides being so far away from home and tucked into the Republican strong hold that is the midwest, not having snow at winter time was the worst part about living in Kansas.  Well, that and the insanely hot summers. 

When we moved, we did not anticipate to have the kinds of winters that we grew up with.  Growing up on the door step of Lake Superior you get use to three or four feet of snow in the winter.  Lake effect snow makes for long winters and by the time March or April rolls around, you start to get a little sick of it.  Mainly because by that time all the nice white snow is gone and all that you are left with is the nasty gray snow that consists mostly of dirt and salt from the roads.  So we lowered our standards on winters and hoped for maybe a foot or two of snow, that's not too much to ask for is it?  Last year we were disappointed by the lack of snow.  I chalked it up to Mother Nature playing a prank on us.  Something along the lines of 'You think you can move north and get a winter?!  I'll show you.  BAM!  Warm winter months.  Suckers.'  She's a bitch like that. 

The weather is fickle and you cannot control it.  You can only prepare for it and react to it.  The reaction we had yesterday was that we didn't leave the house and kept the blinds open to watch the snow fall.  And did it ever.  I woke up around 8:30 (sleeping in for me) and it didn't stop for about twelve hours.  It's tough to say how much fell, but I believe the general consensus is in the range of ten to fourteen inches throughout the Twin Cities.  Now if that isn't reason enough to stay indoors and wait for everything to be cleared out, I don't know what is.  That is how we reacted to it, staying inside.  There were over three hundred car accidents as a result of the weather.  Yesterday was one of those days where if you didn't need to be outside, it was best to stay inside.  I prepared for the weather this weekend by making plans not to leave the house.  I picked up a few things from work before leaving Friday afternoon knowing that the weather was going to get bad.  The reason I did was because I didn't want to go out in it. 

That One Play

Every year, each team's fan base starts with hopes and dreams of reaching the World Series, well maybe not the Royals' fan base, but most every team's fan base.  Obviously not every team can win or even make the playoffs.  There are teams that just completely run away with their divisions, others struggle to make it to the top.  Those teams that struggle to make it to the post season seem to have a defining moment.  Either for the good or the bad.  Last year, I thought that when the Tigers got swept in the double header against Minnesota near the end of the season that it was over.  I had started to look forward to 2013 and then Chicago collapsed.  It was a bright end to a long season. 

The last two years the Detroit Tigers have not only made it to the playoffs, but have won the division.  Two years ago, won it convincingly.  Last year, not so much.  It was exciting, don't get me wrong, but it should have been a repeat of 2011.  There are two moments from both of those years that stand out in my head as a turning point towards their making the postseason.  Just that one play that put an extra spark into the team for the rest of the year.  That one play that revitalizes the fans into believing their team is going all the way that year. 

Last year it was the 'Oh Jackson!' play.  It took place at the end of August, just in time for the playoff run.  The run that took them to the American League Championship series.  They fell to the Rangers, we all know this.  It brought hope that 2006 wasn't a fluke and they had put a team together that can make several runs into the playoffs.  

This year, we had this play.  It also took place at the end of August, just in time for the playoff run.  It excited the entire stadium.  The team looked ready to run out onto the field and hoist Dirks up on their shoulders and carry him back for a celebratory beer.  This year, they made it to the World Series, but let's not talk about it.

Spring training is still a few months away and the Winter Meetings have concluded.  There is nothing worth while to talk about baseball wise until pitchers and catchers report.  Until that time, enjoy those two clips.  I know they make me smile over and over.  

Thanksgiving in December

We are having Thanksgiving today.  The other day I wrote about not mixing holidays, but there are exceptions.  We had to go home for my wife's grandmother's funeral.  We left the day after Thanksgiving and found no reason to cook a big meal to just let it sit in the fridge for six days and go bad.  What we ended up doing was postponing Thanksgiving until my next day off.  Which is today.  We do have some Christmas decorations up, so we have a mixed bag of holidays today.  Whatever. 

We don't really have a big dinner celebration for the holiday so it didn't feel like we missed out on having it in November as opposed to December.  That is one of the nice things about not having family in town.  You don't have to prep a big meal.  We did have a little bit of a meal on Thanksgiving.  Stuffing and rolls.  That was it.  So just a taste, but not enough to make me not want more.  And besides, it is still fall like right now.  Not like there is a ton of snow on the ground that would convince me it is wintertime.  

One positive, for my wife anyway, for having our Thanksgiving a few weeks late is that she doesn't have to watch or listen to football all day long.  Plus I don't have to watch the Lions choke away another game.  *Whimpers softly*

December Music and Decorations

As we have turned the calendar to the month of December, Christmas music has started to play all over the place.  It did not start magically playing once November ended, oh no, that would be too easy.  And it didn't even just start playing on Thanksgiving or the day after that.  Every once in a while on the radio stations, I would hear a holiday song start to play.  I say start because I refuse to deal with anything Christmas related until the month of December starts.  I am stubborn like that. 

You are not going to see me really change my opinion on the music or decorating for that matter.  I know plenty of people who start putting Christmas decorations up before the turkey is out of the oven Thanksgiving night.  Bully for them if that's what they want.  I approach holidays one at a time.  There shouldn't be any overlap.  Plus there has to be some down time with your house or apartment all gussied up.  A return to normalcy for a week or so before the whirlwind that is the last month of the year.  For all the complaining people do about the retail giants putting Christmas stuff out in October, I sure do see a lot of decorating in November.  Just an observation.  Christmas is the one holiday where we seem to go 'all out' for.  At the moment, we have three totes of decorations and that doesn't even include all the ornaments for our little tree.  

The other major change when December rolls around is the music.  For one month, the music is all upbeat and happy.  It gives me a break from the music I normally listen to which is nice to have.  No political underlying lyrics or depressing ballads or heavy metal.  I love the classics from Bing Crosby to the Rat Pack to Elle Fitzgerald.  There are some modern versions of the oldies (but goodies) which are well done too.  However, I have determined that from track one to the end, my favorite album has to be the Charlie Brown Soundtrack.  I wrote about this a little bit last year and I did some intense Christmas music listening last year, and this is what I have determined. 

I think that the best chance I have to get through this extremely busy (and often infuriating) time at work is to delve right into the season.  Surround myself with the positives and disregard the people running around buying their over privileged kids the newest technology that I cannot afford.  For lack of a better phrase, to 'go to my happy place'. 

Always Thankful

There was a trend going around Facebook where people were putting up what they were thankful for once everyday.  With it being November and Thanksgiving being in this month, it makes sense.  People covered the normal stuff:  family, friends, god, employment, etc.  They all kind of run together in my mind.  So what am I thankful for?

I'm thankful for being opinionated.  Sounds selfish, I know.  That's why I wrote it.  Opinions are like rifles, there are many like it, but this one is mine.  So why is it important?  Without it, I would not write.  I would not have this blog and would not have an outlet for the thoughts that I have.

I'm thankful for sports.  The sports teams I cheer for do not always win, but I am not a bandwagon fan, but I cheer for them anyways.  If I stopped following the Tigers after the 2003 or the Lions after 2008, what kind of fan would I be?  If anything I have learned in watching these two teams play horribly for such a long time, is that they can eventually turn it around.  The Lions made the playoffs last year (not so much this year), and the Tigers not winning the division on a yearly basis is now considered a bad season.  It use to be that if they ended at or near .500 it was a good season, but that isn't good enough anymore.  I want a World Series!  A Super Bowl would be cool too, but they are way off and there are too many good teams that need to get real bad real fast.  And of course, I am thankful for the twenty one year playoff streak that the Red Wings have.  Winning is the rule, not the exception.  

I'm thankful for my family and friends.  I love you all.  I'm not making this an emotional post, let's move on.

I'm thankful for my heritage.  Not only because it has given me a strong liver to deal with the alcohol I enjoy, but for the history of questioning authority.  Be it the Irish or the Native American in me, both groups have dealt with invaders in their homelands.  They have stood up against them, even though we all know how it ended for the Native Americans.  The Irish have the Protestants in Northern Ireland, and 'the Troubles' are well documented.  The Irish fought hard to get the United Kingdom off their island, but in the end it didn't work.  The point is, both groups fought for what they believed in.  They made their voices heard. 

The Series Predicament

Half way through Veteran's Day, I ran into an issue that I have come across time and time again.  There was something on TV that 1.) I own and 2.) It is part of a series.  So of course, while watching it, the conversation went to 'don't you own this and can watch it whenever you want?'  'Yeah, but it's on right now and I don't have to get up and put the DVD in the player.'  This happens with me and my wife.  We're petty like that from time to time. 

What was on was the mini-series 'Band of Brothers'.  It is so good, but so draining.  Let's just start with the fact that it is ten parts, each about an hour long.  I watching three parts today during my day off.  Now I'm invested to finish watching it.  Some how I'll make it.  Another way it is draining is mentally.  From beginning to end, you see these actors portray actual events.  You know that what you are watching actually happened.  All the lives that were lost or disrupted.  You really have to be in a good place yourself to start watching the mini-series and see it through to the end.  Especially if you watch several parts back to back. 

The problem I have is once I watch one part of a series, be it a movie or television series, I feel that I should watch it all the way through.  All the parts.  So it's a time consuming process.  You can't watch 'The Fellowship of the Ring' without watching the other two movies, can you?  Hell no.  You want to be the Aragorn of movie watching, see it all the way to the end.  You don't want to be the Boromir of movie watching and only get through one part of it.  I can't tell you how many times I have wanted to watch 'Star Wars' but didn't because I didn't have time to watch the entire trilogy.  And let's be honest, no one wants to watch the prequels. 

Basic Human Rights Protected

Baby steps were taken in Minnesota last night.  A proposed amendment that would define marriage as one man and one woman was defeated, 52% to 48%.  This does not legalize same sex marriage (sadly), but the first steps in the process have been taken.  The people have spoken and they seem to be fine with same sex marriage, so let's be cool and get on the bandwagon.  I just hope that Minnesota looks to the successes in Maine and Maryland as those two states voted on and passed same sex marriage laws last night.  It is more historic than electing a black President...twice.

This is an important movement that I hope one day will sweep through the country.  This is one of those movements that, looking back at it fifty years from now, I will talk about with children and grandchildren.  It'll be a 'back in my day....' type stories.  Something along the lines of this:

'Back in my day, closed minded douche nozzles wanted to prevent gay couples from getting married because they...well, it was a touchy subject because they would...well, there never was a good reason for the prevention of people getting married.  Maybe because it was something different and people cannot always handle change.  Yeah, I'll go with that.  Now go get me a beer.'  

And on another level, the voter I.D. law did not pass here.  This law is not as serious as the same sex amendment in my opinion.  Voter I.D. laws are weird.  If you register to vote, which requires a photo I.D. why would you need to bring your I.D. with you to vote?  There are arguments for the law that say it will prevent voter fraud.  There are arguments against the law the say it keeps the poor and minorities from voting because they don't always have a photo I.D.  I say voting places should have a security question chosen by the voter when they register, much like online sites have these days.  That way, when you go out and vote, it'll still feel like you are on the internet despite being out in public. 

Cut Loose, Have Fun

The presidential nominees were nice enough to do an interview on ESPN before the football game last night.  Here it is.  Now, after watching this if you tell me that Mitt Romney isn't a robot I will call you a liar.  You are on ESPN not at another debate.  Loosen the tie, relax the shoulders.  Barack Obama was having a fun interview, Romney looked like he was trying to still gain voters. 

The part of the interview that I found interesting was the question about what would you change in sports.  It's a fun question because the president doesn't really have the power to change sports...or do they?  Obama takes credit for getting the college football playoff system off the ground because that's what he saw that needed to change.  See, something fun.  Although he did say that he would like to see eight teams, not four.  So you would think that Romney would also pick something fun that the people would rally behind.  Instant replay in baseball, larger courts in basketball, deep house music playing throughout the entire sporting event, something like that.  What does he pick?  Performance enhancing drugs.  Fail.  He gets all serious and whatnot.  Everyone knows that drugs are a problem in sports.  Everyone knows that they will never be out of the sports because every single person wants and needs to find an edge.  Just deal with it. 

Another case of a person being out of touch with the world.  And I'm not saying that it is just Mitt that is out of touch with the everyday people and their sports plight.  If they had asked the vice president and vice president nominee the same question Crazy Uncle Joe would have given a Romney-like answer whereas Paul Ryan would have made some sort of connection to P90X.  Either way, politicians need to find a way to just shut off the professionalism from time to time and have a little fun with interviews.




But it'll never happen.  

Vote, Cause Murrrrrrica!

Tomorrow is election day.  An important day mainly because of the presidential election, but also congressional, senatorial, and local.  I have always felt that the local and state elections are a bit more important because they have a more direct impact on the people.  At the national level, the politicians just argue that the other side of the aisle is wrong and don't get nearly enough accomplished. 

I stand by the thinking that if you don't vote, you cannot complain about the outcome.  Your argument is invalid if you are too lazy to get out of the house one day out of the year and participate in the democratic process.  Whether you vote Republican, Democrat, or third party as long as you do it that is fine.  In 2008 (the last presidential election), the national voter turnout was 61.6 percent.  Looking at Minnesota in that same year, the turnout was 77.8 percent.  In 2004, those numbers are 60.1 percent (national) and 78.4 percent (Minnesota).  Both sets of numbers can be found here (2008) and here (2004).  I did not live in Minnesota those two elections, but living here now, I like the fact that I will be part of a state that has such a great turnout every four years.  The main question I have is with the options we have now, can the turnout numbers start to increase this year?  Options that are out there are include early voting and mail in voting.  You don't even have to leave your house if you don't want to anymore!  

Even if you do not vote for the two major parties, voting third party still gets your voice heard.  That is how you start the conversation to get things changed.  As more and more people get disenfranchised with the parties in power, they turn to the third parties.  Even if these third parties do not get into power, if they continue to get more votes, true politicians will take notice and start to work for these people to bring them back into the fold.  Or at least they should.  That's how change happens, or at least how it should happen.  Bringing change should be the new normal. 

Halloween Movies

It's Halloween.  Time for tricks and treats and scary movies.  But not all Halloween movies are scary.  Some are just plain fun.  I like both equally.  Back in high school, my brother and I made it our focus to watch all of the Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street movies.  Back then they were scary, now I see them as cheesy slasher films. 

Some of my favorite Halloween/scary movies are as follows (in no particular order):

• Texas Chainsaw Massacre (scariest movie I have ever seen)
• The Addams Family
• Clue
• The Blair Witch Project
• 28 Days Later
• Jesus Camp
• Dead Snow
• Corpse Bride
• It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (duh!)  

And I'm sure that if I were having a discussion with others there would be some more movies that would come up, but these are some that come to mind.  One thing that I have shied away from with horror movies is what I have come to call 'torture porn'.  When the 'Hostel' and 'Saw' movies came out, a new type of horror movie came to be.  The movies have a small plot and lots of blood, not my thing.  I watched the first 'Saw' movie and it was good, but when they started a franchise I stopped.  I saw the previews, I heard the reviews and it did not interest me at all.  If I see a scary movie, I want to be scared I don't want to be grossed out.  A couple of weeks ago, I watched 'Cabin in the Woods'.  A great new horror movie.  It had a great plot, humor, and just enough blood/gore not to distract from what was going on in the movie.  

Have a great Halloween everyone!  Go watch a great scary movie.  

There is No 'We'

This afternoon, I was talking with another employee and he had asked me if I had seen any of the Viking's game before coming to work.  With football, I only have one team, the Detroit Lions.  Other sports, baseball and hockey, I will watch and follow the Twins and Wild just because this is where we live.  I can't stand the NFC North opponents of the Lions.  Yes, they might be better from time to time (i.e. most of the time), but you will never see me take time out of my day to watch them.  Regardless, I caught the score on the radio on the drive to work and told him what it was about forty five minutes ago.  This person was walking past us and spouted 'twenty one to fourteen, we won!' and continued on her way.  And I thought to myself, she said 'we'.  I try my best not to use the word hate, but I hate when people say that.  'We won the championship two years ago.' or 'We beat the hell out of our rival last night.'  Listen, unless you have gotten a paycheck from a sports organization or you are an alumni of a school, you have no right to use the collective term 'we' when referring to a sports team.

I know that the die hard fan will argue until they are blue in the face about this point, but they are wrong.  The athletes are the ones making the plays, putting their health on the line from time to time, to entertain the masses.  They deserve to use the term 'we'.  The owners who put up the cash to put the team together deserve to use the term 'we'.  The general managers and presidents who make the trades and draft the players are allowed to use this term.  Alumni from colleges or retired players who proudly played for a team for the majority of their career can use 'we' without being chastised by me.  But the minute some lazy, beer swigging, sofa surfing, never played the sport but gloats when the team wins and doesn't support them when they are losing, mother fucker starts to use the term 'we' I lose it.

It is the sense of entitlement.  I have always supported my teams, but have never claimed to be a part of them.  Even when the Lions went 0-16.  Even when the Tigers lost 119 games.  Even when the Red Wings were the Dead Wings.  Even when the Pistons were...well, I never really liked basketball.  The fact that the Pistons are still around is pretty amazing.  Go them!  I have no recollection of ever using the term 'we' when talking about the sports teams I follow.  I don't say 'yeah, we went undefeated in '97 and were national champions' when talking about the Wolverines football team.

I appreciate the teams and their efforts and never claim to be a part of that.  I'm just part of the fan base.  I am one of the reasons these professionals go out and play the game.  To be entertained.  To spend my hard earned money so they can make their hard earned (even if it is too much) money.  I don't know if it is because I never heard the term 'we did...(fill in the blank)' growing up and it wasn't engrained in my brain or if I know that there is a division between the fans and the players.  Either way, people need to stop doing this.  It drives me up the wall. 

Time Apart

This time last week, I was spending the days with my in-laws.  They came for a quick visit here in the Twin Cities before flying out to Colorado Springs to see my brother in-law.  My wife went with them.  Family time is always great.  I had to work, so I am still in Minnesota.  I have never objected to her wanting to spend time with her family, that's just not how a marriage should work.  Besides, it gives me time to watch a ton of sports, drink a bunch of beer, and walk around in my boxers (you may think I kid, but I do not).

One thing I have always thought that makes a great marriage or relationship work is the ability of those involved to be able to spend time apart.  Everyone should want to see their partner whenever they want, but there also has to be individualism in the relationship.  Everyone needs their space from time to time, and their partners need to understand that.  I haven't gone anywhere this past week, but have enjoyed the time to myself.  I've had two responsibilities:  go to work, feed and water the cat.  That's it.  Whenever I am left to my own devices, I have some great routines set up (sad, I know).

There are three big meals that I cook early on in the time by myself:  spaghetti, goulash, or chili (depending on the season).  The recipes I have are all from my mom, so they were written to feed a small army, or one grown man four or five times in a week.  Once that domestic chore is done, guess what, I don't have to cook anymore if I don't want to.  If the grill is set up, I usually partake in some Man Grilling Time (or MGT).  The other food oriented thing I do is treat myself to one night out.  Tomorrow night, the Detroit Lions are playing the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football.  That's why I waited until the last night to go out.  I find a sports bar and drink some beers, eat some not so healthy but oh so delicious bar food, and watch some sports.  I feel that doing this in a sports bar is acceptable.  If I were to go to a place like the Olive Garden, it would be weird.  Everyone stares at the person eating in a restaurant all by themselves.  In a sports bar, it's okay.

The other thing I do, and this may seem small and insignificant, is watch movies.  There are only a few television shows that I watch, but I love movies.  I've taken these times apart to watch an entire series (from 'Alien' to 'LOTR' to 'Star Wars') or new movies.  This week, I watched 'A Serious Man' and 'Cabin in the Woods'.  Both I would recommend.  There are also the records that I listen to.  There is just something about listening to an LP that makes me happy.  Yes they are big and bulky and you have to flip them over, but there is a soul in each record.  The music is different on a record as opposed to a CD or the digital version.  

If I am going to be home by myself for a week or so, I always take advantage of the freedom to watch what I want, cook what I want, listen to what I want.  And I think everyone should take this approach.  Your partner may be on their vacation, but you also get a vacation.  Even if you still are home. 

Sweep!

And your 2012 American League champions are the Detroit Tigers!  Gave myself goosebumps just typing that. 

The Tigers are peaking at the right time, now they have to not get rusty like they did in 2006.  Go get 'em Tigers. 

Six Pack of Books

I have finished my six books that I set out to read through the year.  While I feel great for reaching my goal, it's just six books.  Although it did lower the stack of unread books on the bookshelf, this isn't some huge accomplishment.  Having a goal of reading through just six books isn't the largest of goals, but it was for me because I don't read quickly.  What I feel best about is that these books were not all novels, three of them were history books.  Heavy reading well worth it based on the topics.  

The last book I read, Suttree by Cormac McCarthy, was extremely depressing.  I've read books that have had sad moments when you put it down at the end of the night and just want to cry yourself to sleep or wonder how you can avoid such a situation, but this book....the entire time I was reading it, I felt really down.  Maybe it was the way McCarthy painted the situations, he has such a great way with words.  Don't believe me?  Read 'The Road'. 

I think that the one scene in the book that just got to me was four characters sleeping in an abandoned car and starting a fire on the floor boards just to keep warm and make it through the night.  You can just see this old rusted out car with no windows, no wheels, remnants of seats.  You can picture four grown men huddled on the floor of this car and being okay with the situation because they don't know a better life.  I finished that part of the book and didn't read for about two weeks.   

As with all of McCarthy's books that I read, it was a good book just really tough to get through.  I need to find something light and fun to read now.  I still have seven books that I haven't read, but I may try to find an old favorite.  As long as it isn't 'The Jungle', the most depressing book I have ever read.  EVER! 

• Guns, Germs, and Steel:  The Fates of Human Societies
• Tell All
• Damned
• A Little Matter of Genocide:  Holocaust and Denial in the Americas from 1492 to Present
• Suttree
• Founding Brothers:  The Revolutionary Generation

Higher Calling

Hamza and Husain Abdullah are making headlines this year in the football world.  Not because of their play, but because they are not playing.  They have both decided to sit out the entire 2012 season in order to travel across the country and speak at mosques and eventually both will be making a pilgrimage to Mecca.  They are not the biggest names in the league, they haven't had the most illustrious careers, they are just there.  Playing the game they love and collecting paychecks.  Both are aware that sitting out this year may mean the end of their careers, but they both seem to be okay with it. 

This isn't the first time they have made headlines when it comes to their religion and profession.  Each year they observe Ramadan in which they do not eat or drink for thirty days during the daylight hours.  In an interview from 2010, Husain said: 

"I'm putting nothing before God, nothing before my religion.  This is something I choose to do, not something I have to do. So I'm always going to fast."

This is great for them, their family, and their faith.  They were brought up a certain way and they haven't let football get in the way of that upbringing.  They are being solid pillars within the Muslim communities across the country.  The thing is, this doesn't seem to be a huge story in the sports world.  I only caught wind of it because there wasn't much on early Sunday morning and I stopped to watch Outside the Lines on ESPN.  As I was watching I couldn't help but think of how big a deal this would have been if it had been a huge name in the sport.  The Abdullah brothers have decided to step away from the headlines and the hundreds of thousands of dollars to do what they thought was right.  What they knew they needed to do for their own personal and religious reasons. 

 One player that is lauded for his outspoken religious devotion is Tim Tebow.  Everyone knows that.  Now imagine him putting his career on hold to do mission work for an entire year.  What would ESPN do?!  They wouldn't be able to cover the daily Tim Tebow happenings.  And, just throwing my opinion out there, his leaving the NFL for a year to do that missionary work would be a huge deal because he is a Christian, not because he is a great player.  He is a good athlete, not a good player.  The Abdullah brothers' decision doesn't garner much attention partly because they aren't big name players, but I also think that partly because they are Muslim.

Let's be honest, that last statement is a fact.  Despite the fact that Islam is the second most popular religion in the world, there is an obvious stigma in this country.  No matter how far away from 2001 we get, there is always going to be that second thought in peoples' minds that they connect the religion with an attack, WHICH IS WRONG BY THE WAY!  And there is no way to tip toe around the issue, so that's all I have to say on the subject. 

Back to Back

The Detroit Tigers won tonight.  Important because this led to their winning the American League Central Division.  Important because this is the second year in a row.  Important because they did what everyone expected them to do.  There were points near the end of the season where everyone, even the die hard fans, were wondering if they were going to be able to catch the Chicago White Sox.  They did so, but they also got help.  Help from those White Sox they chased the majority of the year because they collapsed.  Not an epic collapse, but you know, a collapse that makes everyone happy. 

The only thing that would have made tonight better would have been if they won in Detroit.  Now they need to focus on playing fall baseball.  They need to tighten up because their defense is scary bad from time to time especially when the infield has to range left or right.  This is what the fans wanted.  This is what they got. 

Congratulations Detroit Tigers!  Central division champions of 2012. 

Between history and HISTORY

Miguel Cabrera is on the cusp of history.  Four games away from greatness.  If the season ended today, he would be a triple crown winner.  Something that hasn't happened since 1967.  This feat, to me, is the second hardest thing that can be achieved by a Major League baseball player.  The most difficult being a .400 season (last accomplished by Ted Williams in 1941).  It all hinges on whether or not Josh Hamilton, with whom Cabrera is tied for home runs, hits another home run and moves ahead in the statistical category.  And whether or not Joe Mauer stays behind him in the average category.  I'm not going to write anymore about whether or not he will do it, I'm going to look at this situation from a different angle.  Triple Crown or World Series.  You only get one, so what's it going to be?

This question of which would you rather see, your team win the World Series or a player win the Triple Crown, came to my mind last week when I read a tweet (shameless plug, follow me @Litzner) that a fan would rather see their team make the playoffs instead of a player on the team winning an individual award.  It was geared more towards an MVP/batting title/Cy Young type award.  I think that if you polled any fan, they would want this.  Everyone wants to see their team be the best.  I would rather have seen the Tigers win the World Series last year instead of Justin Verlander winning the Cy Young and MVP.  That's just how I am.  I'm a selfish fan.  That's not how it works, reality had a different plan last year.  Verlander solidified his spot as the top pitcher in the game right now.  He ended up with the hardware and the Tigers didn't get the ring.  Any normal year, a fan would rather see World Series rings on the players' fingers and the end of the year award in another team's trophy case.  

This year is different.  Each year, there is a World Series winner, there is an MVP, there is a Cy Young winner, there are Gold Glovers and Silver Sluggers.  In the entire history of the game, there has been a Triple Crown winner just fifteen times.  This can be a once in a lifetime occurrence for fans of the game.  Granted, the last one was 1967, so not that long ago, but still fifteen years before I was born.  I've seen the Tigers make it to the World Series in my lifetime (win it once).  This isn't the normal Triple Crown talk you hear just after the All Star game.  Someone who had a great first half and only to fade afterwards.  No.  This is a legitimate chance.  Less than a week to go.  I would give anything to see this feat.  I would be broken hearted if the Tigers didn't make the playoffs and a serious run at the World Series.  But if they had a Triple Crown winner on the roster at the end of the year, I would be okay with that.  Besides, there is always next year and they are just going to be better with the return Victor Martinez.

Would you want to see your team win it all or have a player become just the sixteenth person in the history of the game to win a Triple Crown?  One's the blue pill, the other is the red pill.  Which one are you swallowing?    

Different Paths

If all roads lead back home, why continually take the same ones?  If you go some place and are in no hurry, why not find an alternate road to get back home?  Is it exciting and adventurous?  Not really.  It's just something to do. 

Earlier this week, I cashed in on the thirtieth birthday present my wife got.  We both did something of a grand gesture for each other because we reached that milestone in our lives.  I took her away for the weekend into Minneapolis and we went and saw a play and just relaxed.  The weather wasn't the best, but then again it was in January so you always take your chances.  And she surprised me with a once in a lifetime opportunity for my birthday.  I got to drive a tank!  That is not the point of this post though, the point is that it was just an hour and a half away and there were several routes that I could take to get there and back.  So why take the same highway there and back? 

I had to make sure I was there on time, so I took the most direct route there.  Just two highways.  It wasn't all that fun.  There was nothing special about the drive.  Just bad drivers, gas stations, and fast food.  On the way back, I took a different route which took me through the two lane highways that twist and turn through a little bit of countryside with small towns of five or six hundred people.  Corn fields, trees along the road, and cattle pastures.  Part of the drive for me that makes it fun is the surroundings.  Going through these small towns that won't ever change.  I can always envision myself living in one of these towns in a different life.  But I also realize how much you can miss living in these small towns along the highway as opposed to living in a larger city or metropolitan area, so I will just stick with the big city living. 

While driving through these towns, I have an urge to stop at the local diner that sits along main street.  It's a picture in my head of Americana.  But part of the reason I don't ever do it is because I would hate to ruin that image.  I would hate to walk into one little diner and see how depressed it is because no one other than the locals eat there.  I would hate to see the person who has worked there for the last twenty years because they never 'got out'. 





That's the danger of an ideal image, it can be ruined in an instant. 

The problem with social media

Remember back in the day when sites like Facebook and MySpace were getting started and it was fun?  Remember when it was just about posting your thoughts, pictures, and funny jokes? Remember when you found out about a party that a friend was setting up because of these sites?  Remember when it was not about stating what companies you like or posting those stupid little pictures with witty statements on them?  Remember when it wasn't about politics?  I miss those days. 

Back in 2004, Facebook was starting to take off.  I was a senior in college.  I wasn't really interested in sitting in front of a computer and looking at what everyone else was doing.  I was interested in, you know, graduating college.  If I had just been starting out in college, I'm sure I would have jumped on the bandwagon.  As it turned out, I had to go back and check this, I started my account two years after Facebook was established.  I have often thought about just up and deleting my account, but there are some good aspects to it. 

Staying connected with family and friends.  The main point is to stay up on the doings of those you care about.  Or at least it was.  Now it's about these stupid little games and sharing other peoples' photos, not your personal pictures you took on a vacation or your plans for the weekend.  I would even take all the stupid personal statuses that are so vague that you know a person is fishing for comments.  You know what I mean.  'I just don't know what to do anymore...'  That kind of thing.  Very junior high-ish.  I stay on Facebook to keep up with family, not to get the most comments on statuses.  I do my best to limit the amount that I share of other peoples' stuff.  Unless it is relevant to me. 

It use to be that there are things you shouldn't talk about at work.  Politics, religion, and sex.  I say 'use to be' these things because that line appears to be gone.  I feel that this guideline should hold true to social media.  Those topics are what drive wedges between friends and family.  Unless you hold the same view, it just gets tricky.  This year we have a presidential election and there are so many links and pictures and 'information' from both sides of the aisle flooding the site.  It's aggravating.  I find myself just rolling my eyes and scrolling to the next story.  It's hard to find actual interaction between people.  I know I wrote about this just a few months ago, but I feel that people just don't understand the problem with it all. 

So after all that, why do I continue to use Facebook?  It's easy to delete your account.  Other than the reasons I have already stated, I keep it because of the past.  I look back at some of the old posts and older pictures that I have been tagged in.  It makes me smile when I go back and look at that stuff.  There are pictures from when I worked on the Island.  From past trips that I have been on.  Times I have spent with friends.  I keep on keeping on because at any time I can go back and remember what Facebook was originally used for.  And I stay on because of this blog.  I link it so family and friends can keep up on my writings.  I know it is few and far between this year, but that happens. 

Hoke Gives Them the Hook

Today is the big day!  What the majority of this country has been waiting all summer for.  The return on college football!  It's not really the start because there have been some games played earlier this week, but most games are being played today.  The game I am interested in, Michigan/Alabama, is on national television tonight.  I would love to see Michigan win, but in my head I think Bama will.  They won the national championship last year and also won back in 2009.  They are quite the powerhouse right now. 

The thing that everyone is talking about in this game is the suspension of two Michigan players.  One was arrested for drunk driving and arraigned in August for it.  The other is accused of breaking into a dorm room and stealing a lap top.  His court date is set for later this month.  One, Fitzgerald Toussaint, was the second leading rusher on last year's team.  The other, Frank Clark, is a backup defensive end.  Obviously the big impact is Toussaint's suspension.  It's a little difficult to try and replace a one thousand yard rusher, even for just one game.  Yes, you have Robinson who is the leading rusher on last year's team, but after him the next guy last year ran for just about three hundred yards. 

This is a big deal because it's going to be their toughest game of the year.  Forget Michigan State and Ohio State, this is THE GAME of the year for them.  Time for Michigan to step up and show that they can compete with the big schools of the SEC.  Everyone from the coaching staff to the random fan sitting in an apartment in Minnesota knows this, so why suspend the players for this game?  Why not two weeks from now when the University of Massachusetts comes to Ann Arbor?  Or next week when they play Air Force?  I'm not saying that those games are going to be cake walks, but the impact of the missing players won't be felt as much as it will be against Alabama.  So why not?  Because it would send the wrong message.  Last year, I wrote about Notre Dame and the mishandling of one of their star players.  Everyone in their right mind knew that situation and suspension was a joke. 

Suspending these two players for this game sends the message that no one is above the program.  Just because you play football at the University of Michigan doesn't mean you can break the law.  Hopefully this works.  Brady Hoke has sent a clear message that if you cross the line, you pay the consequences regardless of who they are playing on Saturday.  He seems to be someone that will hold true to his word, I just hope that if this situation comes up a couple of weeks before the Ohio State game he will keep to his word.  I think he will, he's a true Michigan Man.  I hope that it won't come down to needing to make that decision though.  I hope that this message is the only one that Hoke needs to send.  I hope that this can bring some true integrity back to college football.  





Hope can be a dangerous thing.  

Baby Athletes

Dez Bryant is being coddled by the Dallas Cowboys.  Apparently, a grown professional cannot take care of himself.  He needs a team of three people to keep track of him.  Listed below are the six rules he agreed to in order to continue to play football. 

• A midnight curfew. If he's going to miss curfew, team officials must know in advance.
• No drinking alcohol.
•  He can't attend any strip clubs and can only attend nightclubs if they are approved by the team and he has a security team with him.
• He must attend counseling sessions twice a week.
• A rotating three-man security team will leave one man with Bryant at all times.
• Members of the security team will drive Bryant to practices, games and team functions.

This is a professional athlete people!  Now granted, he's young and has more money than he ever dreamed of when he was growing up, but you shouldn't have to do that.  All that should have to be done is have these written into his contract when he signed it.  Everyone knew that he had some personal issues coming out of college.  Just put some verbage in the contract that states that if you don't tow the line, you'll get cut.  You don't have a job if you can't follow the rules.

The stipulations about the curfew and attending counseling make sense, I like them.  Midnight is reasonable, and besides nothing good happens after one o'clock in the morning.  And knowing that he has had some personal issues in the past, having counseling sessions a couple of times a week gives him the opportunity to work through the issues.  You know, instead of going out and self destructing.  I don't know how I feel about the no alcohol thing.  Drinking never really leads to good decisions, especially in heavy amounts, but do you mean to tell me that the guy can't have a beer or two after a game?

The big issues deal with this, for me, is the security team.  Professional baby sitters.  Three guys are getting paid to babysit another adult.  At what point did it become necessary for this to happen?  One able bodied adult needing another to drive them to their job.  I might start lifting weights and start talking to some teams to see if they need any of their players need a babysitter.  I could stand to make some serious bank to make sure someone else doesn't screw up their life. 

The simple solution to this problem is not to pay them as much money as they are making.  If you don't make hundreds of thousands of dollars every month, guess what, you aren't going to strip clubs.  You aren't making horrible financial decisions like buying ninety thousand dollar cars that you don't drive.  You won't have people coming around looking for handouts.  People who are looking for handouts because they live a life that might be a little less than savory. 

A year later

We have been in Minnesota for a year today.  We packed up our stuff and made the move from Kansas in the hopes that the job market would be better.  There are other factors that were taken into consideration when we moved, but that was the big one.  As my wife is finding out, even though there are more jobs around here, it pays to know someone on the inside. 

While the job search continues we have found that living in such a larger city there is just so much more to do.  I'm not just talking about going to malls, games, or museums.  There are places to just go and walk around.  There are lots of streets in St. Paul and Minneapolis that are developed to be a place to just go around and walk and see.  Sure there are stores and restaurants, but sometimes it is fun to just walk around the area and people watch.  On top of the run of the mill stuff you will find in any larger city, there are tons of parks.  Free parks, which is great.  A place to get out and walk around and because it's not always one hundred degrees in the middle of summer, you can enjoy them while the weather is nice.

One of the greatest things about living up here is how close we are to home.  Since moving here last fall, we have made it home four times.  Living down in Wichita, we would make it home about two times a year.  So we have doubled the times we have been home.  It's just been so nice to get home, but we have put on quite the amount of mileage on the cars in the process.  On the other hand, we don't fly any more, so that is a great bonus.  Speaking of home, living in Minnesota is almost home.  We missed having trees and water and even green grass.

In the end, I don't really regret moving from Wichita to the Twin Cities.  The toughest part was leaving all of our friends and a place we were comfortable.  Part of the adventure of life is the unknown, and we are living that right now. 

Chuck Being Chuck

I'm past the home stretch.  I have but one book left in my little quest to feel like I have accomplished something in a year.  After I finish up with these six books, I think I might just place every book I haven't read on my night stand.  A bigger challenge to see how many I can get through before next January, which sadly is five months away.   

When I was first introduced to Chuck Palahniuk's books I was a little skeptical.  I read 'Fight Club' after seeing the movie so the twist in the book wasn't much of a twist to me.  I picked up a few more of his books here and there and started to read them.  'Survivor' got me hooked on Palahniuk.  Yes, his writing style is weird.  Yes, his plots are twisted from time to time.  Yes, I question whether or not I am ever going to read another one of his books.  He has hits and misses, but doesn't every writer?  The thing about his writing is he doesn't stick to one style.  He changes his approach in each book and that is one thing I like about him.  You never know how much different the next book is going to be.  Is he ever going to win a Pulitzer Prize?  Probably not.  Would I read any of his books over, say, a James Patterson book?  Absolutely. 

'Damned' was a little more normal that I had anticipated, but still bordered on weird.  After some of his other books that went way far out, it feels like he has dialed it back a little bit on the two books of his that I read this year.  Just like 'Tell All' it took a while to get into the story because the main character didn't develop until a third of the way through the book. 

I know that this book focused just mainly on the narrator, but what makes a book a good book or even a great book, is secondary characters.  It's one thing to have a book mainly about one person, in the style of 'Old Man and the Sea', and have only a few minor characters that are around for just a few pages and it's another thing to introduce supporting characters, keep them around for the entire book, and not develop them.  It's infuriating!  But, it's what Chuck Palahniuk does.  He writes whatever he wants to and probably tells his editor to get bent. 

• Guns, Germs, and Steel:  The Fates of Human Societies
• Tell All
• Damned
• A Little Matter of Genocide:  Holocaust and Denial in the Americas from 1492 to Present
• Suttree
• Founding Brothers:  The Revolutionary Generation

Dress Code

We are going to a family wedding this weekend back home and my wife assured me that it will be very, very informal.  So informal that a pair of khaki pants and a polo shirt would suffice for attire.  If you're going to go that route, what's to stop me from wearing shorts and a tee shirt, right?  Despite her efforts to change my mind, I am dressing up.

I have always been under the impression that there are two occasions to get dressed up for all the time:  weddings and funerals.  They are both intended to honor people and you should show up looking your best to honor them.  The saying goes 'look good, feel good' and everyone should abide by that.  I don't understand why there is this disconnect with society today where it's okay not to get dressed up. 

Dressing up my not reflect on others, but it reflects on you.  Your appearance gives others an impression of you.  If you want to look like you don't care what you look like at formal events, guess what, others will think that of you.  At least I would.  If you don't take the time to dress to impress, when it comes time for your wedding or funeral (not that you would care about that) if someone doesn't dress up, you can't complain about it.  Don't send out black tie wedding invitations if you wore khakis and a polo shirt to others' weddings...ever.  That's just a dick move. 

Pop a Cap in That Pop

A few nights ago I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep and came to a realization:  I don't really like pop all that much anymore.  It's just meh to me anymore.  That's not to say I'm going to stop drinking pop all together, I just don't think I like it much anymore.  The last twelve packs that I have bought are in the pantry.  I bought two of them when they were on sale for cheap.  There is maybe eighteen left and bought them close to two months ago. 

In high school, college, and even my early adult life, pop was great.  In high school, Mt. Dew was the drink of choice.  It was the greatest thing ever!  I don't really recall drinking a lot of pop in college, but I'm sure that I did.  Mixed in there was some beer of course, but I wasn't a huge party animal.  I drank quite a bit of pop at work for lunches or breaks for several years but that has been replaced by coffee (which is healthier for me anyway).  It's not some crazy health kick that I'm on, I just don't want to drink it as much as I use to. 

The one thing that I can relate this to is the two summers I worked on Mackinac Island.  While working on the Island, there were times when I was just craving fast food.  It didn't matter what kind, I would just have a hankering for it.  McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell.  All of it sounded good because there weren't any of those restaurants on the Island.  So the times I made it to the mainland, I tried to get to the fast food chains.  Thing was, after eating there I felt really shitty.  It sat like a lead weight in my stomach.  It tasted good for just a split second, but afterwards I regretted it.  I only made that mistake a few times in the two summers I worked over there.  Ever since, I find myself not eating at fast food all that often.

With my love of coffee, I can never really see myself getting away from caffeine all together, but having just one form of it that I drink is better than two or three.  For some reason, I feel good about not drinking a lot of pop right now.  It's like a badge of honor.  I have lost some weight recently and would like to think that cutting back on the pop has attributed to that a bit.  If I were to add some exercise to this cut back in pop, it would be great, but it's working out.  I have never been a fan of it.  But baby steps I suppose.  

A true Minnesotan

Today I have fully become a Minnesotan.  I got Minnesota license plates for the jeep.  It's true, there is no turning back now.  I wrote last year that after getting a permanent residency and driver's license, this was the last thing to be truly in the state.  

Obviously it was inevitable because plates expire on a yearly basis.  My Kansas plates expire at the end of the month, so it was time.  One thing that Minnesota has over Kansas is no property tax on cars!  So it didn't cost me close to one hundred dollars to get them. 

The only downside?  Minnesota requires front and back license plates.  Doesn't sound like a big deal until you realize that the jeep doesn't have a spot on the front bumper for a plate.  Nothing a drill and drill bit can't fix, right?

4/6, or 2/3, or whatever.

FINALLY made it through my fourth book of the year.  Ward Churchill's 'A Little Matter of Genocide' is an in depth look at genocide of the Native American populations since Europeans started their continental infestation in 1492.  More importantly, he argues that genocide isn't a singular occurrence which happened during World War II.  As we all know, the most well known case of genocide was perpetrated by the Nazis against Jewish, homosexual, and physically handicapped amongst others.  Churchill doesn't argue that it didn't happen, he just points out that it has happened throughout time and across all around the globe. 

It was an interesting read, but I found myself getting a little bored with it at times.  There are several parts of the books where he goes into details about historical events that I have read about.  He wrote about it to make his points, but I found myself wondering when he was going to make his point.  In the end, it's a great 'Angry Red Man Book' as I hear my wife saying that, but it shows that the term 'genocide' can be used in more than just reference to World War II.  That's not a shot at what happened then, it's just that people shouldn't get angry when others use the term. 

So I'm almost done with my small list for the year.  Six books doesn't seem like a lot, but I would have hated myself if I set a goal of reading something like ten books and not reach it.  This way, I can say that I exceeded the goal.  So I feel better about myself. 

• Guns, Germs, and Steel:  The Fates of Human Societies
• Tell All
• Damned
• A Little Matter of Genocide:  Holocaust and Denial in the Americas from 1492 to Present
• Suttree
• Founding Brothers:  The Revolutionary Generation

Scorched Earth

Just going to say what's on everyone's mind:  it's fucking hot out there.  I know that it is summer time and the weather always gets warm this time of year, but it is way too early to be seeing heat advisories.  Especially in Minnesota.  Kansas, I understand.  And I accepted that fact.  That was one reason why leaving that state was such a great move, so we didn't have to deal with the heat.  

I checked my the weather on my phone yesterday while on lunch and a heat advisory was in effect from Sunday afternoon until Monday night.  Now, I remember last year that there was a heat advisory in Wichita that was somewhere in the range of seventy two hours, but that was in August.  August is a miserable month.  Everyone wants it to be fall because they are sick of being so hot.  The weather can't make it's mind up, it'll be hot and sunny then cold and cloudy.  It's just a shitty month. 

I didn't necessarily forget about humidity while dealing with one hundred degree days in Kansas, it just wasn't high on the priority list of things to think about.  There was a little humidity in the air, but not like it is up here.  It was eighty degrees when I left work last night at ten o'clock, but with the humidity, it just sucked the life right out of you.  I came home and took a shower just to cool down and wash the sweat off. 

It doesn't look like it will be a fun summer unless the weather starts to cooperate.  When it gets this hot outside, it takes away one thing that is great about living in a bigger city.  Being outside.  There are so many parks and outdoor activities to be taken in, but who wants to do that when it is so hot and humid out that it is much better and more comfortable to sit inside? 

Fall of the Umpires

Instant replay is destroying sports.  There is no beating around the bush on this one.  I know that everyone wants to see the right calls, but it takes away the human element of the game.  Right now, the sports world is up in a tizzy over last night's Cleveland/New York game in which a Yankee outfielder dove into the stands and came up with his glove as if he had the ball for the final out of an inning.  The umpire called the out only to find out after the game that the player didn't have the ball and it ended up in the stands.  Two things needed to happen on that play.  The ump needed to check the player's glove for the ball.  He said it himself.  After the game, he admitted it.  The other thing that happened was the player should have been honest.  He acted like he made the catch, held his glove up, and ran into the dugout.  Two people are at fault because the smaller things didn't happen.  So because of this, there is major outcry for expanded replay.  There should be an outcry for players to be more honest, but that won't happen.

I like the human element of the officials in the sport.  It gives something for fans to rally against.  Everyone hates umpires/refs.  Their calls give fans something to argue about.  And yes, instant replay can quell arguments, but isn't that what sports is all about?  Imagine if the 'Immaculate Reception' never happened because it was overturned by instant replay.  That catch is on every highlight reel when it comes to great plays or crazy plays.  Harris had a Hall of Fame career regardless of that catch, but when you say his name, you think of that play.  A couple of years ago, you would not have found anyone screaming louder or with more expletives for instant replay when Jim Joyce blew the Armando Galarraga perfect game*.  After simmering down, I knew that if they had used instant replay would take away the umpires' credibility.  Another thing that allowed me get away from plotting the demise of Joyce was the professionalism of all parties involved.  Galarraga especially.  I may get chastised by other Tigers fans, but I am a fan of the sport as well.  Not just a team.  

I know most everyone would have agreed with the overturning of that particular call if they had used instant replay, but what about those who want the human element to stay in the game?  The human element is part of the game.  Instant replay is a slippery slope.  Eventually the home plate ump is going to be replaced by a machine that calls balls and strikes.  We already have it with different television stations having their strike zones or K zones they show on each pitch.  What's to stop Major League Baseball from implementing that technology into the game?  They can just have a mini strike zone screen that the players can see to keep track of the count.  There won't be anymore 'painting the corner' for pitches.  No more home calls.  No more different size strike zones from ump to ump.

The umpires give us a reason to really watch the game.  They give us a reason to yell at the television in a drunken rage.  Umpires and refs are the supporting cast to the game.  There aren't many times you will find me siding with the establishment, but this is one of those times.

Who am I?

Next week, I have some training for work.  It's a 'get to know your peers' type of training.  The kind that no one ever looks forward to.  It's suppose to make us closer as a group and all that HR bullshit.  I say that if you want to get to know the people you work with, get to know them over a glass of beer, but that's just me.  One thing that we are suppose to do is bring something that makes us us.  Anything from a book or a movie to, I don't know, your stuffed teddy bear you had as a kid.  Something that is significant to your life.  So what possession do you bring to this training if you have nothing that really makes you, you?

That's not to say there aren't things in my life that have made me who I am, but these things aren't material possessions.  Sure, I could bring in the Star Wars trilogy and say that these movies made me love science fiction and are some of my favorite movies of all time.  But how does that make me the way I am?  I didn't become some sort of astronomer or astronaut because of them.  I could bring in The Catcher in the Rye because it's my favorite book.  But that doesn't make me a spoiled rich kid with first world problems.  Multimedia doesn't make us who we are as a person.  Unless you are freaking crazy.  Who lets a movie or book define who they are?  They may have an impact on your outlook of life and the world, but that is just one small part of who you are.

I don't have anything from my childhood or even early adulthood that has shaped who I am.  There is no heirloom that has been passed down to me that has a great story of my family.   Even if I did have something, it creates a story, not a person.  Heirlooms passed down tell great stories of hardship and perseverance and can really put you in your place if you don't appreciate what others have gone through to get where they are today.  Whether it is a pocket watch or jewelry brought over from the old country it shows family pride, but doesn't make you the person that you are.

What makes me who I am can't be found in books or movies or any other material possession.  What makes me who I am is found in the morals that have been passed down to me by my family.  Having strong family ties builds a better person I believe.  So, unless I can bag up my entire family and bring them into work next Monday, I suppose a family picture will do.  Preferably one where we don't all have beers in our hands.  Or not.  

Social Media Compliments and Complaints

After getting a Facebook account, I thought that it would be the only social media that I would use.  After MySpace faded into oblivion (does it even exist anymore?), Facebook was the end all be all for connecting with people.  It was a great way to keep in touch with friends and family living in different parts of the country and sometimes world.  With picture updates, you got to go on vacations vicariously with them.  Then, shit got weird.

Maybe weird isn't the right word, but it has gotten to the point where it is mostly filled with personal problems and drama.  It's like high school for the twenty first century.  For the longest time, Facebook was fun because people's statuses were for the most part entertaining to read and comment on.  Then you get people typing up statuses fishing for sympathy or wanting to get tons of comments.  I'm not saying that I will stop using Facebook or delete a ton of people (again), it's just not as great as I thought it once was.  It's all the tweeking and tinkering that they do to improve the site.  Yes, some things have made it better and easier to work with and see what is going on.  But there are times when these improvements don't do jack and we are all left wondering what the point of it was. 

I know it isn't any better, but Twitter has come around and it just seems so much more simple and fun that Facebook.  The best thing that it has going for it is the one hundred and forty character limit.  You only have a little bit of space to air out dirty laundry or personal drama.  It's great.  You don't find yourself scrolling through an album of two hundred pictures of a trip that a friend took.  A tweet consists of one picture unless they feel like tweeting two hundred times, which is possible I suppose.  I have gotten to a point where Twitter is the first thing I check these days and not Facebook.

These social media sites fine, but they never replace talking with friends face to face.  How much better is it to go out and grab a beer with a friend than it is to chat with them online?  You hear their laughter, see their reactions to stories about what is going on in your life, and can know that the conversation is engaging.  Catching up with friends in person leaves you feeling reconnected.  Ending a conversation online is just another moment on the internet.

Rules of the Road

While driving back from vacation last weekend, I started to think of the rules by which to travel by.  How to survive a ten hour car ride by yourself and keep sane.  It has been about seven years since I have taken a long road trip by myself.  And by long road trip, I'm talking four plus hours in the car by yourself.  It's a lot easier when you have someone in the car with you.  Someone to talk with, someone to share the drive with, someone to keep you focused.  By yourself, you find your mind wandering every once in a while.  At least I do.  I want to watch the scenery go by.  I want to look into the fields and watch the countryside.  With someone else in the car, you can stay focused on driving and not hitting a car or being hit because you start to swerve. 

Music is key for a trip.  With the right music, your road trip goes by quicker.  It doesn't even have to be music.  When I left the Soo, I listened to Colin Cowherd's show, The Herd until the station went out.  I've enjoyed his show for the past couple of years and find myself agreeing with him on many levels.  The times I don't agree with him, well that's okay because that's part of talk shows.  I found myself talking back to him on the points I agreed with and the points I didn't.  Once I got going with my music, the car went from quiet to quite loud.  Loud music keeps me focused and singing doesn't hurt.  Who doesn't sing in the car?  I was Jack White, Iggy Pop, Johnny Cash, and the Beastie Boys all in the span of two hours. 

Another element that helps with the road trip is the weather.  I've driven in pouring down rain in Kansas as well as straight line winds.  Heavy snow was an oft occurrence going back and forth in Michigan during college.  There was one trip after Thanksgiving that there was a pile up on the highway and our three hour trip turned into six hours.  It was horrible.  I was tense the entire time and in a bad mood because of it.  When we left Minnesota, we drove through two hours of rain.  It makes me tense up because the road conditions are affected, but some drivers don't take that into consideration.  Either that or drivers take too much precaution when driving on wet roads.  Once we got ahead of the rain, it was smooth sailing.  Coming back, there was no rain, no wind, and just enough cloud cover to keep from squinting for ten hours.  Without the sun beating down on the car, there wasn't any need for the A/C, which is nice because it cools you down, then you get too cold, turn it off, and then it warm again.  It's a mess. 

The best way to keep fresh when driving by yourself is stopping.  Can I power straight through for six hours without stopping?  Yes.  How do I feel at the end of those six hours?  Horrible.  I tried to break  up the trip into three to four hour blocks.  It worked out just about perfectly.  Every town I got to, I kept looking at the one past it to see how many miles it was and thought about skipping it for the next one.  There's a decent size town in Wisconsin about every fifty miles along the route I take.  I found myself breaking down the trip into these small gaps as opposed to saying I was going to be on the road for ten hours.  It worked.  Going from point A to point B is only fifty miles, for example.  After point B is point C and that is sixty miles.  I'll stop there.  All of a sudden, you have over one hundred miles under your belt.  It sounds a lot better than 'I only have nine more hours in the car.'  Stopping when you are tired is the best gauge for anyone.  Either that or when your back really starts to hurt.  

The biggest mistake I started to make half way through the trip was watching the time.  It's best to not pay any attention to it.  Judge your trip by the mileage and count down.  Seeing the clock go from three in the afternoon to five o'clock goes by slower if you keep checking the clock every ten to twenty minutes. 

Small Town Parades

Yesterday, we went to the Memorial Day parade in my hometown.  Now, most people would look at that and say 'but Memorial Day was last Monday.  That's why we had three days off.'  Not quite.  The 30th is Memorial Day, but that's not important.  While we were at the parade, it wasn't the day it was being held on that I was thinking of, it was where we were at that I was thinking of.

Small towns have the best parades.  They don't have the big floats, or celebrity sightings, or national coverage.  What they do have are homemade floats, the local high school band, local organizations, and people you know.  People that are waving at the parade watchers and know who they are waving at.  It may not be the best thing in the world to do on a weekday evening, but it is part of the small town mentality.  It's one of the best things about coming from a small town.  

Road Trip Essentials

Time has come for another trip home.  I tell you what, living this much closer is nice.  Since moving up to Minnesota last August, we have made the trip home three times including this one.  While living in Wichita, we made it home about twice a year.  The obvious benefit is not having to fly to get home.  You can go at your own pace, not based on what the airline says.  You don't have to show up an hour early to get patted down by someone who hates their job.  You can bring drinks with you in the car!  You can bring home more than a three ounce bottle of shampoo. 

All that is great, but what is essential for the trip home?  Or for road trips in general?  Outside of having an atlas (old school, I know) to go along with your GPS, the essentials you need are two things:  music and food.  Fuel for the body and the mind.  When you drive by yourself, these two things can be whatever you want them to be.  You don't have to fight over the music or fight for the last Twizzler in the package.  But when you travel with others, compromises have to be made.

When I was younger and went on road trips, one of the keys to the drive was Mt. Dew.  This was the days before I started drinking coffee.  Now, before leaving I make a pot of coffee and bring a thermos and a travel mug with me.  It's cheaper than stopping at a gas station and buying pop or coffee.  I do buy pop every once in a while on road trips, but for the majority of the time, it's coffee.  Stocking up on food from stores is cheaper than buying at the gas stations too.  Candy, chips, crackers, etc.  All that can be found without paying the higher prices of the gas stations.  If we bring a cooler with us, we throw in some lunch meat and cheese and have something close to lunch too. 

 The biggest argument my wife and I have in car rides is music.  We agree on most of it, but songs I love and want to crank, she wants to skip.  And vice versa.  So, with her staying behind for a week to help some family out, I made up a playlist for the trip back.  Music that I will want to play loud enough to blow the speakers.  Songs that I love to hear and some people will just shake their heads at.  I present to you, my playlist for the trip back home.

• In The Hall of the Mountain King
• Jolene (cover by the White Stripes)
• Throw the Brick (Less Than Jake)
• Rebel Rebel (David Bowie)
• Cocaine Blues (Johnny Cash)
• Rocket Queen (Guns n Roses)
• Indy Kidz (Cage the Elephant)
• It's the End of the World As We Know It (R.E.M)
• Seek and Destroy (Iggy and the Stooges)
• Raw Power (Iggy and the Stooges)
• Vietnow (Rage Against the Machine)
• Lose Yourself (Eminem)
• Good Times, Bad Times (Led Zeppelin)
• Highway to Hell (cover by Marilyn Manson)
• B.O.B (Outkast)
• Du hast (Rammstein...yeah.  Rammstein)
• Howlin' For You (Black Keys)
• Paul Revere (Beastie Boys)
• We Are Going to be Friends (the White Stripes.)

Below is a picture I took while driving home from a camping trip in Kansas a few years ago.  I like it just because it is very basic.  Road, sun, and trees.  That's it and that encompasses our travels for the most part once we get into Michigan. 

Now, bring me that horizon. 

What's missing here?

One of the best things about the summer time is grilling.  Several years ago, I came up with Man Grilling Time (or MGT).  It is nothing new, nothing exciting.  Just a guy thing.  Like going to a spa or getting a manicure/pedicure.  Something that just gets done by one gender or the other.  Just because.  Over the subsequent years, I have grilled out and drank beer or scotch at least once a summer.  This year, it could come to an end.  *insert sad music here.  Something by John Williams perhaps, heavy on the strings*

After we moved into our apartment, we found out that Woodbury has perhaps the dumbest laws:  no grills on apartment porches unless you are on the first floor.  I thought at first it was just this apartment complex, and dug a little deeper.  I found this.  Worst ordinance ever!  There is an option, though.  We do have our grill in our storage garage.  I could buy a steak and grill out in the garage.  The only issue is that it's a little further away than I would like and I have a little fear that if the grill got put away just after being used, bad things could happen.  Bad things involving uncontrollable flames.  So if I really felt it necessary to partake in MGT this year, I will drag a little cooler over to the garage, pull open the door, grill and sit.  Boarder line white trash, but so is grilling without pants.

And if this ordinance isn't a reason to start looking for a house, I don't know what is.

Taking Advantage

One of the better things about living in a larger city is all the stuff that is around to do.  Concerts, sporting events, museums, shopping, etc.  The best thing about living in a larger city is all the free stuff that there is to do.  City parks, zoos and museums that only charge by donation, neighborhoods you can walk around and check out the cool way too expensive houses you'll never be able to afford.  You know, fun time killer things. 

One place we have found is the Minneapolis Institute of Art.  They do have a gallery you pay to see, but the main gallery is all by donation.  The first time we went, we figured we could get away with not giving a donation.  We have been there a couple of times since and thrown five dollars into their donation bin and it makes us feel good about ourselves.  I'm not the biggest fan of art.  After a while it all starts to look the same.  There is more than art in the sense of paintings, which is nice.  There are several rooms set up like, well, rooms.  From different time periods with all kinds of artifacts that would have been around at the time.  There's pottery, textiles, a few weapons here and there.  Enough to keep you occupied for an afternoon.  And right across the street is a nice park if you are so inclined to have a seat and soak up the late afternoon sun rays. 

There is also Como Zoo and Conservatory.  Another place that takes donations only.  So, throw in five bucks and you don't feel bad walking around for a couple of hours.  Zoos are always weird to me.  I feel bad for the animals because they are inside their containment areas, but it's not like they are being mistreated.  I think that nature shows give us a skewed idea of what wild animals do all day.  If you watch a nature show and they focus on lions, they aren't going to show you a pride lying around all day.  No, they show the hunt, the kill, and the feast.  When you go to a zoo, you see lions taking naps in the sun.  Do they always do that?  If they are like any other cats, most likely.  But you can't help but feel bad because they are in such a small, fenced in, pen.  Well, small compared to being out in the wild.  At the same time it's great because you get to see animals that you wouldn't see if zoos didn't exist.  So there is the trade off.  Como is geared towards family, so if you have kids or visitors in town and want to do something on the cheap, this place was nice.  Open, clean, and they have seals.  What reason isn't there?

Along with those places, there are tons of parks around the Twin Cities.  One thing we noticed when we moved up here was all the green space for such a large metro area.  I haven't lived in a ton of metropolitan cities, but I would think that amongst the urban sprawl there are plenty of parks to make the citizens feel better about themselves.  The closer to the cities you get, the more cool things are in the parks.  Statues, plaques and the like.  Out in the suburbs, it's a little different.  The few we have been to consist of a walking path and maybe a small playground for the kids.  I don't expect much from the parks so knowing what to expect keeps you grounded.  Now is the time of year to take advantage of the parks.  It's sunny on plenty of the days and still cool enough where you won't be dying from dehydration when walking around for the afternoon.  As summer approaches and the humidity of July and August kick in, I may be changing my tune, but for now it's great.