You Know I Spoil You

Spoiler alerts.  They're everywhere nowadays.  With the instinct to now rush to social media and post your feelings about what you just saw in the movie theatres or on your favorite television show, it has become part of our culture.  It doesn't need to stop though.  This is a way for people to reach out and interact. They just need to be careful how they do it.  However, it's not all on the person posting the spoiler, it's also on you the reader.

My wife and I watch the show Game of Thrones.  Several seasons ago, they killed off a major character that a ton of people were upset about.  I was working the night that the episode aired.  Not thinking much was going to happen, I checked social media while on one of my breaks and there it was.  THE SPOILER. *insert dramatic music for effect*.  My first instinct was to be upset.  How can people be posting about this major event?!  Then the more I thought about it, the less I cared because it was going to happen regardless as to whether or not I knew about it. Plus, I could brace myself for the event.  It's funny because shortly after I had read the spoiler, my wife texted me saying 'hey, stay off social media because of what happens in Game of Thrones.'  I texted back 'too late'.  

That was my first and only major run in with spoilers and social media.  And I don't have a problem with people posting about it.  What I do have a problem with is other people getting mad about people posting spoilers.  You know what, people want to reach out and interact about a show or a movie they watch and love.  It's not on them to be emotional and post something.  If you don't want to read a spoiler, don't go online.  The same thing happens with The Walking Dead.  I try my best to avoid reading a ton of online stuff until I see Walking Dead episodes because anything can and will happen on that show.  I easily give television show spoilers a pass because emotional stuff happens and people want to express that.  Spoiling movies, on the other hand, is a different situation.  

Star Wars: the Force Awakens came out last Thursday.  The most anticipated movie, for me, in my life.  After the prequels came out and were mostly disappointing, I was looking forward to this movie.  I was going to wait a month or so to watch it because, as anxious as I was to see it, because I didn't want to fight the crowds and sit in a full theatre.  I know some people think that's a great way to see the movie, but that's just not me.  However, I started to hear rumblings of major spoilers.  I didn't want the resurgence of a movie franchise that I have loved since my childhood to be ruined by some cock twat that thought it'd be fun to post a spoiler or two online. And the main difference between spoiling a television show and a movie is that you don't hop on your phone in the middle of a movie to write your gut reaction, spoilers or not.  Your phone is put away, you get engrossed for two hours, and enjoy yourself.  If you go out to your car and post a major spoiler, that's you being a dick.  The emotions might be there, but it has time to simmer.  

I will never purposefully be someone that spoils a show or movie.  If someone asks me about something, I will ask them if they are sure they want to know.  That's how good of a person I am.  But if I say something about Verbal being Keyser Soze and you get mad at me, that's on you.  Enough time has passed.  

Also, Bruce Willis is dead in the Sixth Sense.

Child Free at Christmas

We were on the ball this year when it came to decorating for Christmas.  The past couple of years we drug our feet when it came to decorating.  It's just one of those things that if you aren't in the right mood, or don't have the holiday spirit, you don't really feel like decorating.  Now, once you start it's hard to stop.  You start to get excited for a season that is quite joyous.  One of the cool things about our townhouse, is that we have a fireplace.  With a mantle!  And what else is suppose to go there other than stockings?  This is the second year we have been here and of course we take advantage of having the mantle.  Here's a picture I took of it a couple of days ago. 

My stocking, my wife's stocking, and one for our cat.  That's how we do!  It even has the word 'meow' on the top.  So we can re-use it.  I was going to post it to social media sites, but I didn't want people to get the wrong impression, because at first glance it could be misconstrued for an announcement.  As announcement that could get people really excite.  An announcement that we have no plans for making.  It could be misconstrued for a baby announcement. 

WELL IT'S NOT! 

Just wanted to make that as clear as possible.  I showed my wife this picture and told her that story and her response was what I figured it would have been:  'Good call'.  We high fived.  Being child free always comes with annoying 'when are you having kids?' questions or statements.  We eye roll at people when we have to have this conversation.  There's more to life than breeding.  We joke that for every couple of times we get asked about having kids, we would push it back a year if we ever decided to have them. 

I really wanted to post this picture without having to clarify that it's nothing more than a few stockings, a gas fire place, and a homemade Christmas decoration on the ground (THANKS MOM!).  But I just know that people would see this and freak the fuck out and start typing in all caps because estrogen spikes about baby announcements can only be expressed via capital letters. 



You all ruined it and you didn't even know it.  

Youth Movement

There are two constants in the Detroit sports world:  the Lions floundering and the Red Wings flourishing.  The last time the Lions won a championship, it wasn't even called the Super Bowl.  One could make the argument that they were winning championships before it was cool, but let's not fool ourselves, they have been bad for a very, very long time.  Where some teams seem to hit on all their drafts and free agent signings, the Lions run on about a 20% success rate.  For every Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson, there is a Joey Harrington and a Mike Williams.  For every Barry Sanders (which there will only ever be one) there is a Javid Best, a Kevin Smith, a Kevin Jones, or a Mikel Leshoure.  Every year, it seems like an eight win season is considered a success.

On the other hand, you have the Red Wings.  The model of consistency not only in hockey, but in sports.  They have been in the playoffs the past twenty four years.  It was two or three years ago that they struggled to get into the playoffs.  They ended up being the eight seed and getting bounced in the first round.  They somehow find talent deep in the draft and develop them.  That is one way the Wings have remained a constant in the post season.  They don't rush their talent or draft picks.  One reason I think Joey Harrington failed as the Lions quarterback was that he wasn't able to sit and watch the game.  He didn't have the opportunity to watch and learn.  The Wings players are able to do so.  With rare exception do you see an actual, fresh in the league, rookie play for Detroit. 

This is why Dylan Larkin being in the lineup since day one is such a big deal.  The Wings don't do this.  They don't have 19 year old kids playing in every sing game.  The scouts and coaches see his ability.  And he is playing so well so far.  Lots of comparisons to some guy named Yzerman.  It isn't just Larkin that should have Wings fans excited for the future.  They have brought up most of their young talent in the past few years as the old veterans are starting to retire.  Tatar and Nyquist are the next Datsyuk and Zetterberg in my opinion. 

This youth movement in Detroit has had some growing pains.  They seem outmatched from time to time against some of the bigger teams like Boston and Montreal.  They go into team wide funks all at the same time.  However, they have a coach that they all know well.  They have a coach in Blashill the players know well.  This was the perfect hire when Babcock left.  Not only because he is an organization guy, but because it was just a few years ago that he was coaching the majority of the team. 

It will be a few years before we start to see, hopefully, the next crop of young talent start to break through to the NHL.  By that time, we should also start to see the likes of Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Kronwall start to retire and pass on the torch to the next generation.  While they need to start making deeper runs into the playoffs, it is great to see that the team has little to no ill affect when it comes to players moving on.  This is one of the advantages you see in hockey and baseball.  You see teams draft and develop their talent.  The way it should be.  The NFL and NBA don't have a farm system or minor leagues.  Athletes are drafted and if they don't get selected by a well run team, they struggle.  They struggle and burn out.  Then get called bums because, while highly talented, they were marketed as saviors of the team and cannot compete right away. 

Mishandled Holidays

Now that we are in full swing of the holiday season, it is time to reflect on something that has been in the news the past couple of years.  Stores opening earlier and earlier for Black Thursday/Friday.  As we all know, the Christmas season seems to be starting in the middle of October in retail and we are starting to see companies changing their hours of operations to accommodate holiday shopping.  

One of the determining factors that went into my leaving Target three years ago was the direction they were taking around the holidays.  Two years before I left, they opened at midnight for Black Friday.  Technically Friday, yes.  The year before I left, they were opening at 9:00 Thursday night.  It was marketed to the employees as an experiment to see if it would work.  Also, it was to compete with other companies that were opening earlier (Wal-Mart and Kohl's for example).  If it's one thing I know about retail, is that if they are 'rolling out a new process' to see if it'll work, there is very rarely any backtracking.  Once they have their minds set, they are going forward. 

My new employer does not open on Thanksgiving.  About three or four years ago, the CEO came out and said that they would never open on Thanksgiving.  The stores open at 7:00 in the morning on Black Friday.  Three hours earlier than normal store hours.  Now, there were six of us that started work at 3:00 in the morning in order to prep the store.  Not the best coming off a day of sitting around, eating, and drinking, but if you are done with work before noon, it can't all be bad.  As I drive to work, I pass maybe a dozen retail businesses that opened Thursday night for Black Friday Thursday.  Do you know what I noticed?  Empty parking lots.  There was one, ONE, that still looked busy.  The last year I worked at Target, they opened at 9:00 PM.  I went to work at midnight because I refused to work before it was Friday.  I remember going there anticipating the store still being swamped with shoppers.  It was dead.  I mean, DEAD.  The big rush had happened, and people left.  It was the most boring Black Friday I had ever dealt with.  My sixth in retail.  People came out, got what they wanted, and went back home or went on to the next store that was opening later.  It left us with almost nothing to do considering the first wave of employees were still there. 

So how important is it to be open Thursday night?  I mean, there were more cars in gas stations and 24 hour restaurants than there were in the businesses I passed.  How profitable is it for the company to stay open from Thursday night and all the way through Friday night when they eventually close?  Sure, they made their money in the first two to three hours, but can't they make the same amount opening super early on Friday like they use to?  That is one of the draws to opening on actual Friday.  It makes the day go by quickly because there is no lull for four hours because the big rush is finished and people have gone back to bed.  Black Friday can actually be fun for the workers.  Most customers are in a good mood because they are still loaded up on turkey and pumpkin pie.  They are all getting deals and the start of Christmas season has everyone happy.  Happy customers makes work better because you aren't getting yelled at.

I don't think it will ever really change for companies like Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, or Kohl's.  They have made their bed, and I think they'll forever sleep in it.  It is good to see some companies staying closed on Thanksgiving.  The number of companies that remain closed on Thanksgiving seems to be growing, even if it is by one or two a year, and it is good to see.  And then there is REI.  REI went hardcore this year.  They remained closed on Black Friday.  That was a boss move.  I am sure that they gained many a new customer with that move.  They aren't going to go bankrupt by being closed on Black Friday.  

One final note.  Every year I see posts that are along these lines:

'Why are retail workers complaining about working on Thanksgiving?  Police officers, soldiers, doctors, nurses, fire fighters, emergency response workers work ALL holidays.'

This is a true statement.  But every person that falls into that category know what their work/life balance is going to be like.  They all know that they may have to work any of the 365 days a year.  That is part of their job.  Those jobs are essential.  Retail companies don't need to be open 365 days a year.  Some choose to be open.  Target use to be closed three days a year.  Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  Three days that are spent with family and friends.  My current employer, World Market, is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I don't see Easter as big of a deal as I see the other two holidays.  World Market does do a lot of short hour holidays.  Holidays like New Year's Eve and day, Easter, and 4th of July have reduced hours so employees can enjoy the holiday.