Author: admin

I’m grossly aware that only a few days (7) remain until xmas. I took my first born to see Krampus today as a little treat for the holidays. He’s in that age where scary movies are definitely intriguing. He’s also the first born, which means he’d just as readily consume the Good Dinosaur. On this occasion we chose Krampus. We dipped into that realm of maturity , turning pg-13 into ok-11 and hoping to grab some cheap thrills with minimal emotional damage. It turned out to be a bad booking. Krampus wasn’t damaging or scary at all. In reality, it was very stupid and made me question the rating system altogether.

I know the rating came from the mature language native to the film. The language was situational and, at times, unnecessary–something that would hit the Mormon sensors as R-level content but falls well short of that in every way save for language. The plot follows the classic revenge-horror tale. The Krampus is a revnant/poltergeist sent to carry out the ill will of an aggrieved party. The party in question is definitely aggrieved and the family situations in the film clearly suck, but so does the wow factor and so does the fear factor. I honestly expected a handful of jump scares but there was none of that. Once I realized that wasn’t happening I settled into the hope of a psychological horror. Nope. None of that either. In truth the whole thing came down to costuming and badly staged anticipation.

I don’t recommend this movie at all. A Christmas Story was more terrifying (especially after having drank out of one of those lamp legs… frightening). The acting was subpar and the effect work was limited. The gingerbread stuff presented moments of joy, but beyond that there isn’t much redeemable about the film. If I hadn’t had the chance to enjoy it with my son (a moment in time) I would be asking for a full refund.

 

Some Thoughts:

1. No, I’m not going to talk about Star Wars yet.

I heard a story today that someone who’d already seen the new Star Wars was giving away the big secrets. I am not going to be that guy, so if you tuned in just for spoilers, begone, heathen!

For those who aren’t interested in ruination I have another bit of talk to give. No, this isn’t about football, or politics, or what madness has descended upon my life this time. This isn’t even about writing. No, this is about things mattering, and why I think it is important to care about Star Wars.

Let me start by saying Star Wars doesn’t actually matter in any greater sense of the word. It is a piece of storytelling–a mythology designed to entertain and, in a sense, inspire and inform. In that sense you can say that Star Wars is important. You can compare it to some of the greatest stories ever told–stories that people attach meaning to and live their lives by. As we all know, humanity is about popularity. The more popular a story becomes, the more important that story becomes. In the modern era we tend to attach monetary value to such things in terms of marketing, franchising, and the ubiquitous toy rights. However, when you rewind everything to its base you are in fact talking about a story that one person told another person with the dual purpose of entertaining them and perhaps informing them or allowing themselves to reflect on ideas and feelings they don’t truly understand.

By now some of you readers are waiting for the inevitable comparison of Star Wars to religion. That isn’t going to happen. We all accept that Star Wars isn’t real, though the concept of the force is no more ludicrous than a man rising from the grave, another man parting the sea, and, well, you get the idea. The primary reason I won’t compare the two is that religions take on a greater purpose. Star Wars serve the role of being that one great thing we use to mark an era. I remember being alive for the first (4,5,6) three movies and recognizing how that did, in a sense, define a generation.

The new series (7,8,9) as with the last (1,2,3) serves the role of connecting new generations to the wonder we experienced as kids when we first saw a beam of light escape from the hilt of a saber. For that reason alone it matters. It matters to me to remind my kids of what was and what could be.

May the force be with you all.

I’m going to focus the entire 10 minutes on the Giants tonight. In truth, this game is the one that matters. The game is the one that will surprise a lot of people, because this is a game that is going to show who the real teams are. By that I mean we are going to see who the Giants are from 1-54 and the same applies to the Panthers.

I want to start with a discussion of records. Looking at my G-men, there haven’t been a lot of blowouts. Despite a defense that is widely seen as incapable, the Giants are hanging in there with most teams. The losses are coming in the 4th when the bench is worn out and struggling from already being thin. Add a little bit more depth to the team and we could be looking at a 9-5/ 10-3 record, but we aren’t. Instead G-unit is fully aware they need to win out in order to get to the playoffs. That is where I think the G-men have an edge. The mentality of this team has always come out when their backs are against the wall. Furthermore they are emerging. late in the season, as a team that understands what to do on office and has a philosophy that gets them points.

The Panthers get points too and are poised around the arm and attitude of their superstar QB. Here is the problem: that poise and professionalism is also built around a solid running game and a quiet RB who has already been ruled out. With a backup in play the Giants have a chance to up the pass rush and throw Cam out of river–necessary to a win.

On offense the Panthers will look legit. My hopes pivot on the ability for the Giants to force mistakes. We know the G-man o-line is held together by ductape and spit. No injuries can happen here in this game. If they can hold out and find a little bit of an aggressive spark as they did last week, win for the G-men.

The last day of a semester comes with the promise of great things in the coming semester. I’ve studied my course list, careful to ensure the numbers are sufficient to be able to teach the classes. I’l be able to teach all my classes next semester, a listing that includes Sociology, Mythology, Creative Writing, and several composition/dev comp classes. Armed with that knowledge I am finally able to plan ahead and create something that is, structurally, deigned to give students the best experience I can offer.

Unfortunately, the end comes with a great deal of fatigue, which is how I manage to find myself falling asleep during this blog…

I’m watching the G-Men fighting for their playoff lives against the all-but-mathematically-eliminated Miami Dolphins. On the one hand the game is about the Dolphins showing respect for Hall of Fame former coach Don Shula on his special night. On the other hand it is about the subplots: Beckham v. Landry, Giants trying to win the east, Campbell playing against his former team, Campbell trying to earn a job… All of this adds up to a deeply interesting game that has become a 17-17 deadlock indicative of the Giants season(s) over the last decade.

We can blame the injury bug (the 10 yr bug? get new trainers and scouts, please), or we can blame the philosophy, or we can put it on a number of factors that have kept the Giants totally mediocre–until they aren’t. So far they really are and are suddenly trailing in a game that shouldn’t even be close. What can you say about that as a fan? There isn’t much really to say or do but to keep chugging on and keep trying to support the team in any way you can. I’m starting to understand a bit more of what the Cubs fans go through…

Some Thoughts:

1. I’ve never mentioned it before, but this commercial is crazy funny to me.
2. Gameplan/practice plan for football is coming together.
3. Legit writing schedule also coming together. I’ve been given too many chances to be somebody to continue being nobody…
4. WWE TLC was not what I expected. They worked pretty hard to get Roman Reigns over as a fan fave, but will it work?
5. Hand is feeling better–broken but better.

During my weekly meditation and accounting of self I allowed myself to step back and really consider how I feel about the events of the last year. I took a moment to embrace my anger and disappointment in some of the things that have transpired in my professional and personal life. I let myself be angry for a good half hour, reflecting on how it felt to be mad and reasoning where some of that anger came from. Doing this helped me to recognize that I’ve been angry and operating with that anger as an undercurrent for some time.

I cannot go into details about the conditions of my anger without casting down negativity on a number of people. I don’t want to do that. There is no real need to be that person anymore. What I can say is that I internalized a great many things and allowed that to take away from who I am and what makes me happy. Moreover, I found myself worrying about what people think about me, which is very counterproductive and worthy of lighting the flames of anger within me. Once I’d rolled around in all of it for a while I decided to consider the impact of the anger.

Being angry makes me less effective as a person. The trick then is to recognize the triggers and to learn how to turn that emotion into something else–something that has nothing to do with undoing lies told or righting wrongs or managing impressions–something that is born from the core parts of you. For me that means returning to the idea of story and space and connecting with those emotions that swirl within me in order to embed them in story.

I’m fortunate to have writing as an outlet.

I’m going to tell you a story. It isn’t about anyone you know but it will be worth your while. I’ve always wanted to begin something with that promise. It comes from Andrew Stanton of Pixar and is the implicit promise that every writer makes when they first depress a key or put pen to paper or even derma through an idea. We promise that what we are saying to you is relatable and is worth of your attention and, often, of your purchase. The promise is often true–always true to someone but sometimes true to many. The promise reaches out past the stars of our imagination to the center of our hearts where it grabs us and allows us to be suspended in a weave or words that we call story.  It is an intricate and layered promise that leads to some of the most intimate relationships in our lives. As I think on the writers I have known and loved I believe that one rarely loves as deeply and thoroughly as one loves story–and by extension the writers who create them.

Remember Misery? The creation cooked up in the East coast addled brain of Stephen King sent a writer to hell. The writer wound up with a warden named Annie Wilkes who loved a writer’s work and hated the writer for what he did to it. It argued that sometimes the work becomes to property of the fans. Their investment in the outcome is based on their loves and lives and situation, which leads to visceral reaction based on how things turn out. I’ve been thinking about this especially in regards to Empire Strikes Back (best Star Wars movie EVER) and the new film, in which the originally director is not deeply invested.

I write this post to suggest that the implicit promise of story comes into play more now for writers than in recent times. We are writing to audience–especially in TV and that can lead to a creation and investment based on what audience might want–what might be worth their while–and not the story the writer feels needs be told.

I write this as a warning to the writers who come next. We are not a group who is meant to be controlled by audience. We are reflections of the society–where it is and where it should go. Lets hold on to that job… its worth it.

Recently a national news network kicked up the debate about saying ‘happy holidays’ vs. saying Merry xmas. This latest conversation was originally rooted in a false controversy about Starbucks supposed war on xmas, since proven to be false. While the latest rant started out with Starbucks, it flowered into a general disappointment in those who ‘narrow’ their holiday praise to ‘happy holidays’ but here’s the thing: I always say happy holidays. I don’t do it to attack Christmas, but to be reflective of the wealth of people I know who aren’t necessarily Christian.

I grew up in NYC. Half my friends were Jewish. I remember being a kid and thinking, ‘why do they get gifts everyday, and those gifts seem to improve over the course of the Jewish holiday, and I gotta settle for a couple on one day long after these kids are having fun with their toys. I grew out of that… sorta… but growing up with Hanukkah and later Kwanza, I came to understand that I needed to say something that represented all people. It didn’t mean that xmas meant anything less–the same way that calling it xmas doesn’t make it any less of a holiday. Happy Holidays is an inclusionary simplification that allows someone to praise a holiday without walking down the list of many.

Now this false anger about how Christians are under attack is merely a media and political ploy to jack up fears. It is working, of course, or the Starbucks hoax wouldn’t have ever worked. Moreover, I wonder why those of a Christmas/Christian mind would even get so angry. The date does not actually celebrate the birth of Christ and is actually a Pagan holiday drawn into the fold as a way to attract more followers.

So, happy holidays, people. Don’t get mad at my inclusiveness…

Some Thoughts:

1. Perhaps a bit heavy on the snark at the end there…

In and out of the sleepy space this evening, and barely enough brain juice to put together this post. I’m going to stick with a handful of loose thoughts:

 

1. It is difficult to figure out exactly what kind of information you can teach to an 8 yr old. As a flag football coach I’ve been developing an ‘on the fly’ play calling system to really help the kids move through the offense quickly. I am not certain it will work, but I started implementing it today, and some of the kids seem capable of running it. The key is putting the ones who aren’t in the headspace to figure out verbal quick plays an easy way to know exactly what they need to do without being caught up in anything else I say when calling the rest of the play.
2. The obsession with vampires and werewolves, which is really about the quest for immortality and self-importance (all the things a teen needs) seems to be drawing to a quiet lull. No, not an end, because these things can need truly be over, but the books i’ve seen coming out and even being written by my students point away from that type of fantasy.
3. Speaking of stories, I’m noticing that there are a wealth of happy endings in the stories I’ve been reading. I am not sure I am a fan of happy endings, especially in fantasy and sci-fi. I feel like a more natural option is to have a balance where the protagonist wins but suffers a cost that is relative to the victory.
4. The League is done. Haven is on the way out. Funny, I once read that the cells in the human body renew over the course of seven years, leading to, essentially, a new version of yourself every seven years. That number seems to be a common one in terms of how long it takes for a show to run its course.

 

I’m sitting here in Village Inn enjoying my free pie and taking the opportunity to plan tomorrow’s flag football practices (and in fact a general practice strategy for the entire pre-season) and I thought to myself, ‘I haven’t touched the Waiver Wire in a long time…’ The reasons are clear. What business do I have offering advice when I am 1-12 in my solo league and 9-4 in the league where I have a partner? On the surface, none. However, dig a little deeper and it is easy to see why I’m losing. This week’s move of Martellus Bennett to the IR represents the 8^th of my first 10 picks to go on injured reserve. That’s right: I lost everyone. Then I went to the waiver and grabbed a bunch of guys who wound up on O status too. Oh what a strange trip this season has been. Not just for me either. See, my beloved G-men are in first place… with 5 wins. My Jets, with 7 dubs, are clinging to a wildcard spot, and team Rex is one game behind them and hot on their heels. So what happens next? I think I can help with some predictions:

 

… Some matches require no explanation:

 

Seahawks over Ravens

Colts over Jags

Jets over Titans

Packers over Cowboys

Panthers over Falcons

 

…Others still need explaining

 

Vikings over Cards
After a thumping last week this Vikings team is desperate to show they can still be relevant in the east. They have to get relevant right away if they want a chance, and no better place for a runner like AP to do it then in the sweet Cardinals arena.

 

Bills over Eagles
Those who say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned has never been in a Rex Ryan locker room. The way they came out against the Jets proved that fire. Add to that all of what McCoy has to prove against his old team and the coach that showed him the door and what we have is a recipe for a good old fashioned butt whippin.

 

Browns over 49rs
Manziel still has a lot to prove. He’s fighting for a job—even if that job is not with the Browns franchise. I think he proves something here and puts down a spunky niner’s team.

 

Bears over Redskins
Wishful thinking and perhaps slightly magical as well, but I think that at home the Bears have a good shot at beating a pride-punched Redskins squad.

 

Steelers over Bengals
Everyone was talking about how good the Bengals were. It reminded me of the moment my eldest ran in a touchdown in his first year of tackle and his teammate looked at him and said, “dang, you got good, son!” Well he might’ve ‘got good’ but the Bengals are all smoke and mirrors—and AJ Green. Definitely him too. Still, the Steelers are real from top to bottom.

 

Rams over Lions       
Because nobody can lose that many times and not find a way to win a dang game.

 

Chargers over Chiefs
Seriously, look out for the bolts. This is the team nobody is talking about but is quietly poised to explode. The bomb blows this Sunday @ 11 AM Mountain Standard Time.

 

Bucs over Saints
Shades of RG III vs. Andrew Luck here as we watch Mariota and Winston ply their trade. The question is, which one is RGIII? So far, neither. Winston has proven himself at this level thus far and done so with his top WR having a subpar season. Up against the worst pass D ever, he might do something.

 

Raiders over Broncos
Another classic brewing here and this one matters for the playoffs. I think the Raiders bring Brock back down to planet earth. Especially since he is looking over his shoulder at the future hall of famer trying to get his spot back.

 

Texans over Patriots
Yep, I said it. Skid continues. The line is crap and the receivers are not reacting fast enough. Not JJ Watt fast enough at least. There will be many sacks. I really hope they mic that fool up.

 

Giants over Dolphins
This is what it is all about. I’m going to be recording this game as dem franchize boys and I will be watching Roman Reigns whup that trick over on the WWE network, but I expect to press play and see LSU’s two top WRs doing it big. The Giants can’t really stop Landry, but they can stop his QB. By stop I mean STOMP. The pass rush is getting close to right and Demontre Moore finally showed up. Yeah, they’ll crumble in the fourth, but Coughlin gets that now. By then it will be too far out of reach.