While watching the the Tigers/Royals game tonight, I came to the realization that I could not be a professional sports broadcaster, not that I have plans or dreams to be one.
In the second inning, Ryan Raburn crushed a home run to left field. The first words out of my mouth were 'Oh! He hit the shit out of that one!'
That was in the second inning so it wasn't like I had a handful of beers because we all know that one thing that comes out after a bunch of barley pop it's swear words.
'A' looked at me and told me that all I would have to do is just substitute the swear words for catch phrase words. I responded with 'You mean like "Oh! He hit the snot out of that one!"'. She looked at me and said: 'That's just gross babe.'
07 July 2011
01 July 2011
Wimbledon
I do my best to try to watch sports that do not interest me. From basketball to soccer to tennis. I have found a nice little place in my heart for soccer recently. I think that it has to do with the fact that it is played in two nonstop halves. It is nice because it is something that I can turn on and have in the background if I have an urge to listen/watch some sports.
Basketball I can never get into. There is always going to be the college basketball tournament which is intriguing because of the brackets that everyone fills out.
And then there is tennis. I tried. I really did. I tried to watch some matches at Wimbledon this year and even last year. I just cannot keep interested. I think that it is the starting and stopping constantly. There are very few rallies in the matches that can really keep going past a minute or two. I am not going to say that I hate tennis, it just bores me.
Kind of like basketball.
Basketball I can never get into. There is always going to be the college basketball tournament which is intriguing because of the brackets that everyone fills out.
And then there is tennis. I tried. I really did. I tried to watch some matches at Wimbledon this year and even last year. I just cannot keep interested. I think that it is the starting and stopping constantly. There are very few rallies in the matches that can really keep going past a minute or two. I am not going to say that I hate tennis, it just bores me.
Kind of like basketball.
28 June 2011
Never fails
The Wichita Eagle newspaper always has this fun little column called the 'Opinion Line' in which people can email the paper with random thoughts whether it is about local or national politics, sports, bad drivers, whatever. It is fun to read from time to time and is frustrating to read because some people are idiots. It never fails to amuse and infuriate at the same time. Being called the opinion line, you have to look at it just like that, it's an opinion. But at the same time, if you are going to write in and have it possibly published for everyone to see, wouldn't you want to do a little bit of research on what you are writing about? So maybe you will look like an educated person and not some ignorant, flag waving, 'USA! USA!' person that doesn't want to see anything change, even if it is for the better? Case in point is this opinion line gem from Saturday's paper:
When I first read this, I laughed a little at myself because I knew that this just wasn't true because they were all born on this continent. The more I thought about it however, the more irritated I became. Now, I don't know if the writer meant that they were born before the United States was actually in existence, but I read it as if the writer thought that they were all born somewhere other than the American continent. If you take just a little bit of time to go to Wikipedia or research it using, oh I don't know, a fucking encyclopedia or possibly your high school history book, you will find that all seven of the men mentioned in this comment above were born on this continent.
The United States of America was recognized as a country in 1783, eight years after first declaring independence from England. During the revolution, the warring parties are commonly known as the British and the Americans. Before the war ended and we became an actual nation, the thirteen colonies were known as the American colonies. So when did America come into existence? Was after the American Revolution was ended and a peace treaty was made in 1783? Was it when the Declaration of Independence was written in 1776? What about going back a little further to when Jamestown was founded, or how about when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock? Or maybe when the Native Americans were first here? But us Indians don't count, so we'll take that notion out of this post.
So at what time do we look at for the first 'real' American president according to this comment? Do we go by the first president that was born after 1783, after the United States of American came to be? If that were the case, our first 'real' American president was John Tyler, born in 1790. He was the tenth president in America.
I'm happy to think about George Washington being the first president of this country, not John Tyler. What did Washington do during his presidency? He only helped keep the country together. Helped to establish the greatest modern day democratic state. Got the ball rolling for where we are today. Let's take a look at Tyler's presidency. What did he do for America? Well. Ummm, he was around when Texas was annexed. So that's something. I guess. Without William Henry Harrison's death, Tyler would not have taken office. There was no real concrete idea of succession upon the death of the president before and when Harrison died in office Tyler was sworn in two days later. It brought about the twenty fifth amendment which brought a concrete way to succeed the president. That is something else, but now I am drawing at straws.
Even if the seven men mentioned weren't born American citizens, shouldn't they get a pass? All they did was just help to establish the fucking country. No big deal.
'Any laws still in effect that were enacted during the terms of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Jackson should be negated, because those men weren't born American citizens.'
When I first read this, I laughed a little at myself because I knew that this just wasn't true because they were all born on this continent. The more I thought about it however, the more irritated I became. Now, I don't know if the writer meant that they were born before the United States was actually in existence, but I read it as if the writer thought that they were all born somewhere other than the American continent. If you take just a little bit of time to go to Wikipedia or research it using, oh I don't know, a fucking encyclopedia or possibly your high school history book, you will find that all seven of the men mentioned in this comment above were born on this continent.
The United States of America was recognized as a country in 1783, eight years after first declaring independence from England. During the revolution, the warring parties are commonly known as the British and the Americans. Before the war ended and we became an actual nation, the thirteen colonies were known as the American colonies. So when did America come into existence? Was after the American Revolution was ended and a peace treaty was made in 1783? Was it when the Declaration of Independence was written in 1776? What about going back a little further to when Jamestown was founded, or how about when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock? Or maybe when the Native Americans were first here? But us Indians don't count, so we'll take that notion out of this post.
So at what time do we look at for the first 'real' American president according to this comment? Do we go by the first president that was born after 1783, after the United States of American came to be? If that were the case, our first 'real' American president was John Tyler, born in 1790. He was the tenth president in America.
I'm happy to think about George Washington being the first president of this country, not John Tyler. What did Washington do during his presidency? He only helped keep the country together. Helped to establish the greatest modern day democratic state. Got the ball rolling for where we are today. Let's take a look at Tyler's presidency. What did he do for America? Well. Ummm, he was around when Texas was annexed. So that's something. I guess. Without William Henry Harrison's death, Tyler would not have taken office. There was no real concrete idea of succession upon the death of the president before and when Harrison died in office Tyler was sworn in two days later. It brought about the twenty fifth amendment which brought a concrete way to succeed the president. That is something else, but now I am drawing at straws.
Even if the seven men mentioned weren't born American citizens, shouldn't they get a pass? All they did was just help to establish the fucking country. No big deal.
24 June 2011
Reading ADHD
I just finished reading the book 'The Handmaid's Tale' and while I enjoy reading a novel, I have a big place in my heart for short stories. Before I get into this writing, if you want to read a great science fiction novel about religious suppression and governmental realignment (amongst the more overt topic of the book), this is for you. It had been a while since I had read a sci-fi book, and this book held it's own.
Short stories are great for a reader just because they are something that are quick to pick up, get to the point, and wrap up. They are perfect for the end of the day, just need to relax before going to bed situation. Or if you are lying by the pool or at the beach during the summer while having a drink or two. You can't beat short stories. The nice thing about short stories is you can buy anthologies at bookstores so you can shop by genres. Earlier this year, I finished up a short story anthology that revolved around noir stories. So, they were very dark stories which was right up my alley. A few years ago, I read a book of spy short stories, which was something that I had never really read and it was something different than what I was use to. The books are fairly cheap if you shop right and can be economical for how much you spend on the book. If you can get twenty short stories for twelve dollars, it's worth it.
On the other hand, there are novels. The upper hand that novels have over short stories is development. Just overall development. Story development and character development. Novels really draw you in and can connect you to the characters. With short stories, it is over just as quickly as it began that there is no real connection you can make with any one character. You don't always have to identify with the main character of a novel, but it is easy to do. It is great to find a secondary character to connect with and find real meaning for them being involved in the story. The one downside to novels is how long it takes to read. You take a three hundred page novel versus a ten page short story, it's obvious which is easiest to get through, but in the end, you can get more satisfaction with reading a novel. There is just so much to get through and analyse as you are reading. I know when there are times when I want to go back and re-read something that I thought I read but cannot remember where it was and if you are half way through a novel, that can be difficult trying to find.
In the end, I am never going to turn down reading a book. I think one thing that keeps me going back to short stories is the ease of reading them. From start to finish, you can get through the short story in half an hour at the most. Novels on the other hand can take me a month or so to read. I am a slow reader, I admit it. I have always used the term reading ADHD or ADD when it comes to reading. I like reading novels, but I get distracted and bored at times with them. Especially if it is a slow moving novel at the beginning of it. If it takes sixty to seventy pages to get going with the storyline, it can drag on for quite a while.
Short stories are great for a reader just because they are something that are quick to pick up, get to the point, and wrap up. They are perfect for the end of the day, just need to relax before going to bed situation. Or if you are lying by the pool or at the beach during the summer while having a drink or two. You can't beat short stories. The nice thing about short stories is you can buy anthologies at bookstores so you can shop by genres. Earlier this year, I finished up a short story anthology that revolved around noir stories. So, they were very dark stories which was right up my alley. A few years ago, I read a book of spy short stories, which was something that I had never really read and it was something different than what I was use to. The books are fairly cheap if you shop right and can be economical for how much you spend on the book. If you can get twenty short stories for twelve dollars, it's worth it.
On the other hand, there are novels. The upper hand that novels have over short stories is development. Just overall development. Story development and character development. Novels really draw you in and can connect you to the characters. With short stories, it is over just as quickly as it began that there is no real connection you can make with any one character. You don't always have to identify with the main character of a novel, but it is easy to do. It is great to find a secondary character to connect with and find real meaning for them being involved in the story. The one downside to novels is how long it takes to read. You take a three hundred page novel versus a ten page short story, it's obvious which is easiest to get through, but in the end, you can get more satisfaction with reading a novel. There is just so much to get through and analyse as you are reading. I know when there are times when I want to go back and re-read something that I thought I read but cannot remember where it was and if you are half way through a novel, that can be difficult trying to find.
In the end, I am never going to turn down reading a book. I think one thing that keeps me going back to short stories is the ease of reading them. From start to finish, you can get through the short story in half an hour at the most. Novels on the other hand can take me a month or so to read. I am a slow reader, I admit it. I have always used the term reading ADHD or ADD when it comes to reading. I like reading novels, but I get distracted and bored at times with them. Especially if it is a slow moving novel at the beginning of it. If it takes sixty to seventy pages to get going with the storyline, it can drag on for quite a while.
20 June 2011
Father's Day
I meant to write this yesterday, but whatever. I had to work, I was tired, I felt like doing nothing last night and that's what I did. It was nice. I called my dad. We talked. No big deal, just borderline awesome. It's always fun to talk with him. We talk a lot of sports, weather, fishing, idiot politicians. Stuff like that.
I know at one time or another during all of our lives, we have all said the following: 'I don't want to be like my parents.' Now that I have I grown up (kind of) I am going to put this out there. My dad is one of the greatest role models I have had in my life. I know that growing up, most kids want to say that movie stars, athletes, writers, etc. are their role models, but the greatest one that you can have is your dad.
Dad raised us all to be good, moral adults, but when you are growing up you don't think about that. You want to grow up to be some rich well known person and have an easy life, but guess what, life isn't easy. The only way that you can get through having a rough go at life is to be raised by a strong person that you can look back and say to yourself 'if I go about my daily life like my parents did, I can get through this.'
Much like my dad, I don't get that emotional, so if you are trying to picture me sniffling and crying a little bit while writing this because I am thinking back at my childhood and writing about how much I look up to my dad now, you can get off it. It doesn't work that way. These are just the facts. Some of the best times of my adult life are having beers and talking with dad. Just about random stuff. Case in point: the last time my parents came down to visit, we went to a baseball game, drank one dollar beer, talked about the sport and how independent teams like the ones we were watching are the great teams because they are playing because they want to play not because they are making millions of dollars each year.
This post is for you Dad. Thank you for raising me to be just like you, as scary as that is to think about.
I know at one time or another during all of our lives, we have all said the following: 'I don't want to be like my parents.' Now that I have I grown up (kind of) I am going to put this out there. My dad is one of the greatest role models I have had in my life. I know that growing up, most kids want to say that movie stars, athletes, writers, etc. are their role models, but the greatest one that you can have is your dad.
Dad raised us all to be good, moral adults, but when you are growing up you don't think about that. You want to grow up to be some rich well known person and have an easy life, but guess what, life isn't easy. The only way that you can get through having a rough go at life is to be raised by a strong person that you can look back and say to yourself 'if I go about my daily life like my parents did, I can get through this.'
Much like my dad, I don't get that emotional, so if you are trying to picture me sniffling and crying a little bit while writing this because I am thinking back at my childhood and writing about how much I look up to my dad now, you can get off it. It doesn't work that way. These are just the facts. Some of the best times of my adult life are having beers and talking with dad. Just about random stuff. Case in point: the last time my parents came down to visit, we went to a baseball game, drank one dollar beer, talked about the sport and how independent teams like the ones we were watching are the great teams because they are playing because they want to play not because they are making millions of dollars each year.
This post is for you Dad. Thank you for raising me to be just like you, as scary as that is to think about.
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