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It's not always easy to calm the noise that is life, dear readers. It's nearly impossible most of the time. But doing so is a very necessary part of maintaining happiness.
Paramount, actually.
So my advice today is simple: take a moment and think about what solely makes YOU happy. It could be a hug from that special person, it could be a song, it could be a favorite TV show, it could be talking to a favorite family member, it could be chocolate cake, it could taking a long shower, it could be running in the rain, it could be riding a motorcycle, it could dressing like a clown…it could be anything, really.
Whatever it is, embrace that shit. Because when you lose self happiness you'll never find it anywhere else.
Regardless of how hard you look.
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Quick Thinking
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-- The viral story that won't go away starring a man attending Comic Con tripping on 'shrooms and texting a girlfriend the experience is faker than his girlfriend.
-- Question of the Week: How much revenue did the computer & video game industry generate in 2013? (Answer near bottom of blog)
-- Here's a hint: it was 10.5 billion in 2009.
-- And the number has mos definitely gone up.
-- No, that's not a typo.
-- Speaking of bullshit stories, LeBron claiming his summer weight loss is the result of a "carb-cutting diet" is the biggest sports-related lie since Orioles' Brady Anderson credited "sideburns" for his sudden hitting power in the 90's.
-- Quote of the Week goes to Nolan Bushnell, the man who brought us Atari, for saying "Everyone who has ever taken a shower has had an idea. It's the person who gets out of the shower, dries off, and does something about it that makes a difference."
-- Preaching to the choir, Nolan. Preaching to the choir.
-- By the way, thanks for gifting me a way to defeat my older brothers at something competitive during my formative years.
-- Oh, and for providing a spark for the early development of my trash talking skillz.
-- That's right, skills to the "z."
-- I was UNSTOPPABLE at Dig Dug, Stampede & Keystone Kapers.
-- The ass-kickings I took following their embarrassing loses were well worth the resulting therapy bills.
-- Video Games: The Movie is an insightful little documentary detailing the birth of the gaming industry that dominates our popular culture today.
-- Answer of the Week: 24.8 billion dollars.
-- For perspective, that number is nearly 3 times what the NFL generated in 2013.
-- Sounds strange when you read it aloud. Try it, "In 2013, the gaming industry generated 3 times the revenue of the National Football League, the most lucrative sport in American history."
-- It's a full blow Geek Apocalypse up in here, y'all.
-- Get on board or perish.
-- Braaaains.
As the world continues to rally around FIFA World Cup soccer, even with team USA winning, I'm reminded of how little the sport interests me. I'm also reminded by every media outlet and sports talk caller that "soccer is going to take over in the US soon" and I "just don't get it."
I do get it, though.
Soccer isn't as big in the USA as other parts of the
world -- and NEVER will be -- because we have other sports to distract us. The majority of countries aren't afforded the same variety so they focus on what they have: futbol.
It's all about your location specific point-of-view, I suppose.
Just like Chief Brody, the water-fearing protagonist who lives on an island, says in Jaws, "It's only an island if you look at from the water."
Exactly, Chief.
Exactly.
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Quick Thinking
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-- Sometimes I feel like a left-handed handshake in a right-handed handshake world.
-- Extend your left hand for your next 5 handshakes if you're having difficulty grasping what I mean.
-- No pun intended.
-- Listening to Papi pout is getting real old.
-- Having official scorers "change their minds" when he does is getting even older.
-- Watching Papi hit game winning home runs, however, never will.
-- TWO DOTS is the greatest puzzle game to hit a handheld device since Tetris hit Nintendo's Game Boy.
-- Speaking of Tetris, 789,550 was my record score in high school.
-- Yes, I still remember it.
-- And, no, I didn't have many friends.
-- All the talk surrounding The Washington Redskins logo feels manufactured.
-- Watching the 2014 FIFA World Cup has taught me one very important fact: soccer fans are less about passion and more about patience.
-- And you can take my word for it because I know the difference between patience and passion.
-- After all, I haven't gotten a blow job since the last World Cup.
-- True story.
-- The summer of "where will Bron Bron land?" has officially begun.
-- Celtic Green would bring his eyes out.
-- Too bad Rondo is known league wide as a shitty teammate.
-- Rondo aside, I would guess he'll go to LA for the glitz and glamour.
-- The story of Red Sox employee Jack Lanzillotti and his girlfriend Jessica getting killed this weekend when a car accident crossed the corner they were standing on is further proof that this can all be snatched away from us in a flash, y'all.
-- It's also further proof that we only get one shot at this.
-- So make sure you're living the life you want and not the one you pretend you want.
-- Unless you're watching Yo Gabba Gabba, of course.
-- So yummy. So yummy.
The recent "hot button topic" in MLB implying there aren't enough black players in baseball as a result of racism is tired and irresponsible. There's a lower number of young black players in the league because the sport, as a whole, doesn't appeal to young fans.
Even the most ardent fans are tired of the patient-at-the-plate-pitch-count-raising tactics of players resulting in 4 or 5 hour games. Kids grow up -- regardless of race -- wanting to "be" that favorite player they watch on TV. And none of them are watching baseball players.
Don't complicate a problem with the race card, media, because it deflects attention from what the real issue is.
Baseball simply isn't fun to watch anymore.
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Quick Thinking
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-- Gary Busey's teeth give me nightmares.
-- But I love his commercial for Amazon's Fire TV.
-- Hello Lamp.
-- With a global pig pile of tragedy on top of natural disaster on top of political strife, you'd have to be asleep at the wheel to not realize the world seems to be going to shit.
-- Profound, I know.
-- Unfortunately, most of us are too busy being consumed by social media, petty selfishness, "smart" phones and selfies to realize the severity of it.
-- Monday's 118th Boston Marathon is the most important freedom movement to hit the city since Paul Revere's ride on April 18th, 1775.
-- Tiger Woods will never win another major championship.
-- Believe it.
-- Last night's 30-for-30 on EPSN detailing the ascension and eventual decline of the Detriot Pistons in the late 80's and early 90's is the best I've seen since last year's Jimmy V inspired Survive and Advance.
-- It also reminded me of the NBA's linebacker mentality that shaped the way I played the game.
-- In my defense, it seemed wrong not to use my fouls every game.
-- Or draw blood trying.
I'm beginning to learn my core belief system in life needs to be refined.
And not because someone is asking me to "grow" in a way adults are supposed to or because an ultimatum has been issued or because I had some life changing event. I'm not rethinking my belief system for any of those things.
I'm reassessing things in my life because I look around at all the surrounding charters and I feel it's time I not only expected more out of them, but also out of me. Higher standards aren't a bad thing, y'all.
Time to embrace them.
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Quick Thinking
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-- The only thing Jerry Remy is guilty of is being a parent.
-- Which, for those of us who are, is a job motivated largely by guilt to begin with.
-- And there's no word for what his son is.
-- Performance enhancing drugs are a main ingredient in the success -- and resulting profitability -- of any major sport.
-- Just ask the NFL about why they haven't begun testing for HGH if you don't believe me.
-- But, hey, at least they got the whole raising the goal post crossbar so players can't do any celebratory dunks following a touchdown thing taken care of.
-- It was ruining the game.
-- Speaking of performance enhancing drugs, am I the only one who thinks our beloved "Big Papi" was crying for a contract extension before the start of the season because he's not taking PEDs anymore as a result of MLB's stricter "biological passport" testing guidelines?
-- Kobe Bryant jumping over an Ashton Martin was more believable than Johnny Manziel's recent "dunk" video.
-- I mean, seriously, the nerf hoop in my room as a kid was higher than his "regulation" rim.
-- The Ides of March have nothing on Winter's continued bullying of Spring.
-- Approved Rules Proposal 9 gives the NFL a centralized hub to aid (read: control) the replay process of each game from their New York corporate offices.
-- The.
-- Fix.
-- Is.
-- In.
-- "Conscious uncoupling" is the dumbest PR word to be born out of our society's fixation on celebrity couples since "Bennifer."
-- Actually, I take that back, "Bennifer" was some of Mr. Affleck's and Ms. Lopez's best work in 2003.
-- Second only to the movie Gigli, of course.
As a writer, I make it a habit to construct stories about nearly every person who crosses my path. It's a reflex of sorts. And, while I typically practice such constructions as a comedic interlude to my life, I'm acutely aware most situations I read aren't really what I think they are. Some situations are, I'm sure.
But most certainly are not.
A practical example of what I'm talking about, dear readers, would be that "lucky lady" wearing some serious bling-bling on her left ring finger over there. The fair "read" of most upon seeing said woman: she has found a man (or woman) that loves her enough to invest in such an exuberant outward sign of shared love and commitment. When my read would be the ring is a probably a symbol of constant infidelity getting muddled with increasing diamond sized apologies. (Lucky, indeed.)
The obvious reality is both "reads" are most likely inaccurate.
The moral: try not to make judgments and assumptions about individuals because their reality -- the only truth that really matters to them -- is something you probably know very little about. And could understand even less.
Unless, of course, you're a writer.
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Quick Thinking
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-- It's comical to me that Michael Sam's sexuality is a point of discussion as an NFL locker room distraction. Professional female athlete's with different sexual preferences have been sharing locker rooms for years.
-- Without incident.
-- And without the accompanying media circus, too.
-- Be professional and act like you've been there before, NFL, and I promise none of you straight players with catch "the gay" from Mr. Sam.
-- Unless you're already fabulous.
-- Or, rather…faaab-u-louuuussssssss!
-- True Detective is the smartest written show on television.
-- Think of it as the exact opposite of Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
-- Zombies have officially sold out.
-- Jimmy Fallon is about as likable and nonthreatening as the male species can get while crushing his new Tonight Show gig.
-- And having old, white TV executives approve my favorite band of all time, The Roots, to continue as his house band is testament to social progression.
-- Believe it.
-- The Providence College Friar's basketball team is "almost" nationally relevant.
-- And you know what they say about "almost," don't you?
-- Exactly.
Circles of influence surround us all, dear readers. The trick, of course, is to figure out which circles you're in while maintaining some sense of individuality as to not fall victim to said influences.
Whew, that was wordy.
Said more plainly: we're all affected by our world effects. And, while that statement seems painfully obvious to most, its risks aren't recognized as readily.
Every circle of influence you add to your life -- friends, family, career, relationships, hobbies, purchases, memories, etc. -- comes with the inherent risk of character compromise.
SIDE NOTE: START
Yes, memories qualify as a circle of influence. So do purchases. People love "stuff" just for the sake of having "more" of it. I would actually argue memories are the single largest circle of influence for the vast majority. Our minds are designed to romanticize the past, ignore the present and wishfully long for a better future by doing as little work as possible. Sounds crazy when read aloud, doesn't it? Would you run a business, play a sport or raise a child with that mentality? Of course you wouldn't.
But why do so many live their lives that way?
SIDE NOTE: END
Sometimes the compromise is big. Other times, the compromise is so small it doesn't register. Both compromises, however, have a cumulative effect and, ultimately, dictate that demise of individuality...one life change at a time.
My wish for everyone this holiday season is to see the circles of influence in life for what they are -- and what they might add to life's short journey -- but do not let them define who you are. Only you can do that.
Said more plainly: be affected by your world effects but don't let them rule you.
Being different is different.
But not it a bad way.
