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Recently Sportscenter ran a report on the work of the Make a Wish Foundation.

Sportcenter’s report followed a segment on Ryan Braun’s recent ‘revelation’ that he’s been using banned substances. Braun, a hero to many in this city of Milwaukee and beyond, stood before the cameras less than a year ago and blasted the world for accusing him of using banned substances. While we wait for the soon-to-be-ex-Yankee A-Rod to admit to his substance abuse, I started thinking about the old question of athletes as heroes.

The Sportscenter segment on Make a Wish showed a handful of top athletes from Football to NASCAR interacting with kids and providing them a glance into the public life of a pro athlete. In the segment you get to see athletes behaving like heroes to these young people and being the kind of people so many of us expect public figures and athletes to be. In an era where so much media attention is levied towards showing exactly how and when pubic figures screw up, it is nice to realize that heroism still exists.

I realize that being a professional athlete doesn’t automatically qualify you as a hero to everyone. A person’s background and their ability to overcome incredible odds or simply do the right thing in the face of pressure not to is what most likely defines individuals as heroes. For better or worse, we are most often treated to that hero’s journey in the form of a professional athlete. It is usually the young black or Hispanic player who grew up with a slew of brothers and sisters in a single or even no parent household located somewhere near the epicenter of ‘the hood’.

Rags to riches is what so many of us strive to emulate. To believe the media and the crime statistics, More of us go the ‘Avon Barksdale’ route than the Mike Vick route. Like Vick, once the hot glare of the spotlight strikes these newly formed stars, all of the desires and learned behaviors of yesteryear are expected to burn away. Vick grew up in a culture of dog fighting. Right or wrong it was what his parents did, his relatives did, his neighbors, the local cops, and everyone else who served as an agent of socialization in his life. The legality of the thing didn’t matter, even after his rise to fame. We implore athletes to remember where they came from, well he did remember where he came from and we vilified him for it. Jay-Z once rapped about expectations, quipping, “If you grew up with holes in your zapatos you’d be celebrating the minute you was having dough.” This is an overlooked truth about rags to riches. Those not raised with wealth have no idea how to manage wealth, so there is a learning process involved and there is also a learning process involved in managing public behaviors. The superstars that persist without becoming known as bad boys are the ones who quickly learn how to manage those behaviors. Still, it doesn’t mean the others have no heart.

For better or worse, our collective culture treats professional athletes as heroes. When we in the media tend to dwell on the stars that make athletes look bad, the players who truly give back and provide for their communities get overlooked.

At some point I became the poster boy for weight fluctuation. I’m not fat–at least by my standards. Much of the 214 is masked by height. 10 of the 214 wasn’t there a few months ago. A death, kid stresses, and a lazy summer saw the weight matriculate back around my gut in a most unflattering way. To hear it from my more fit friends, the solution is hard work and better eating. Others go under the knife, twist and tie the pounds away. I research. I scour the web looking for a compromise or even a boost to get me going and back on the road to 195. Nothing so far.

Don’t get me wrong, there are a million poser wonder cures out there. Everything from Hydroxycut to Green Tea claim to help. Unfortunately I cannot verify that any of this stuff, even teamed with an increase in physical activity, will help burn away that extra luggage and allow me to get back into the kind of physical shape that allows me to keep up with my kids.

I suppose if there was a magical bullet, everyone would take the shot.

Some Thoughts:

1. During the 1st week of school all thoughts of writing go away, and that is a terrible thing. I’ve barely had ten minutes to throw something up on the blog. Meanwhile, I have a ton of story ideas kicking around in here with no real opportunity to better my craft till at least tomorrow.
2. I enjoyed the 1st 4-5yr old soccer practice. I learned that this kids are hard to focus and if I want to keep their focus then I have to be fast about moving them through stations and not having them sit around or stand on line.

It is on now.

Considering how close we are to the regular season, I gotta get back into the normal routine of Wednesday peeks at the waiver wire to see who I gleaned and who was culled. Over time I’ve become more of a student of the game than I ever was in the past. I long dabbled in the idea of football, even played a little, but I don’t think I ever showed the level of effort to match how serious I thought I was about the game.

Age brings wisdom and renews effort. I recognize that I can’t be everything, and trying to be only dilutes my effectiveness at the things I want to be good at. So, I’ve lightened the load of psychological responsibility but left room for being very good at understanding, coaching, predicting, and even playing football. I’ve done what I should have done 20 years ago but didn’t. I’ve created a list of priorities that doesn’t leave room for nonsense. It makes me an effective coach and a dangerous fantasy leaguer.

What’s the next step? I won’t reveal too much about my draft plan, because interlopers may be listening. Suffice to say the number of sleepers available this year makes last year’s sleeperpalooza look lame. David Wilson was supposed to be part of that list, but given the sudden rash of injuries to the Giants O-Line, the 2^nd year running back may need to become a 3^rd year running back before gaining any significant traction. On the other hand, he is quite elusive. I think elusive is the magic word this year. I might even incorporate it into my team name…

There is no question that Egypt is in turmoil. On the surface it looks like a military coup by an American-backed army that is intent on murdering anyone remotely associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. I don’t know if that is true. I can only draw conclusions from what I see on the news and the inferences that arise from what I don’t see or am not specifically told. One thing for certain is that both sides are pointing at America as the bad guy. This is leading to a swell of anger from our populous and a desire to defund the region entirely. I don’t know everything about politics, but I do know a little bit about the hustle game, and I know that when people have a reason to stay calm, they do. I argue that the money we provide helps maintain stability in the region and goes a long way to ensuring that the violence doesn’t spread across the country and beyond its borders.

The President has come under fire for not declaring the situation in Egypt a coup, a thus ending all funding to the region. I applaud him for maneuvering around these obstacles like Adrien Peterson. Hard and fast rules are not always the answer for every possible scenario. We call this a coup and we legally must defund Egypt. We defund Egypt and their relationship with Isreal changes. The temperature in the region shifts from internal strife to one of a unified enemy that just happens to be our ally. It is easy to imagine that a country, like Syria, where the only thing everyone can agree on is the fact that Isreal needs to catch a missile. Our presence in the region prevents that missile from being launched. Our separation from Egypt prevents us from flying over the region freely to engage enemy targets, which is to say that missile gets launched.

I’m simplifying. There is a lot more complexity here and a lot more at stake than another Middle Eastern war. Oil moves through the region safely in part because of military power. There are more factors even beyond that. Clearly this issue is not as simple as saying ‘ooh, you couped!’ and pulling out all of our cash. There are going to be repercussions at every level and people are going to get hurt. Tough choices for tough times. The President is making the right one by continuing to walk the line and allow Egypt time to sort this mess out, even if we’re labeled as the bad guys for doing it.

Some Thoughts:

1. Helicopter parents and closed-minded individuals damage the value of education by creating situations in which the freedom to teach isn’t that free. I get why High School is useless short of rote memorization. You cannot teach someone how to be thinker when you’re busy protecting your right to be a teacher.

Every semester I struggle to get students to actually read their syllabus. Short of giving a test in class or reading it to them, getting them to read the syllabus is like getting them to shell out pocket money for textbooks they won’t use. Practical knowledge tells you to cover the syllabus on day one and make establishing these rules and regulations a priority. I don’t argue that point. I do argue that this needs to be done through a syllabus.

The Syllabus document is a reference tool designed to provide students a point of information and a point of contact for the course rules and the instructor information. However, the conversation that reveals, establishes, and even confirms the classroom environment is equally important. you cannot drop a syllabus on students, expect them to read it, and go about your business. In fact, a quiz is only good for ensuring that they can regurgitate facts–not interpret and apply the information to their behaviors.

I’m going to deliver a syllabus–I have to–however the 1st class is all about establishing that learning environment.

I went to a birthday party with my middle son today and it was fantastic. He roller-skated for hours and afterwards asked when he could go back. I don’t know how much the party cost, but I know that to do a party for my soon-to-be 9 yr old will cost more than a 50″ LCD   TV. Whatever happened to the days when parties were inviting a few friends over, putting on costumes and kicking back? Unfortunately we don’t have the backyard to do a legit kids party. In truth our house is set up for small-group engagement as opposed to 25 kids running around and parents watching. Instead we go elsewhere and elsewhere costs money.

I’ve been pouring through blogs, Yelp reviews, and storefront websites to find an experience my son will appreciate. Being 9, his priority is some form of acrobatic insanity, preferably trampoline aided. These things aren’t cheap and given his number of friends and the immediate relative of those friends, the number of required guests rises like high tide. So, I’m in the market for alternative solutions. We may stay local and put our money into a tribal solution. We may go unconventional and arrange a martial arts thing or a gymnastics thing. We may skip the party and do something small and private. Whatever we do, I gotta plan it fast, because he turns 9 in less than a month.

 

Some Thoughts:

1. Been thinking about response theory. Specifically I’ve been considering my dog and how he acts when I get home. Is he at the door because he cares or is he at the door because he knows I will pet him and he wants that? Hard to tell.
2. The Giants looked decent on D. The line has swagger again, but the secondary is still struggling for an identity. The LB corp was a big surprise. They played like these 19 practices really made an impact. Could be a good season. Given the depth the team has at multiple skill positions, Coughlin may have conquered the fact that he doesn’t have 16-week players. Then again, the offense failed to punch it in at all. We’ll see what sort of difference in play there is against the Jets next week.

I have the privilege of writing in the amazing world of Shadowrun, an urban fantasy/sci-fi genre where I get to explore the social ramifications of technology. One of the things I find the most engaging about the possible future is the cybernetic eye–specifically a device that records what you see and can provide internet-based data in a Heads up Display style. Imagine what we could do with that tech. Imagine a doctor working on a patient and sending a live feed to international experts who may assist her in the surgery or even pull down graphic overlays to guide the surgery. The possibilities are endless.

The possibilities are close to reality.

Google recently introduced Google Glass, an eyepiece device that serves as a HUD and a camera, a tool that takes pictures and videos and responds to voice commands. However, this isn’t a fanboy post on why the Glass is awesome. Actually it is more of a warning about what it could mean.

If we have all of the internet’s information only milliseconds away, what is the need for us to know anything? At some point in our near-future it is going to become more important to understand how to retrieve, discern, and apply information than it is to know, or to remember, information in any significant way. We may transition from a place where the signifiers of knowledge are PhD and MA to a place where knowledge is based on bandwidth and understanding of the specific situation. Expertise will be localized as information goes global. So, what does that mean to how we value intelligence?

I want to use this space to explore some ideas. I have a Sociology through Film class coming up and I feel like the class is a wonderful opportunity to explore the youth culture and their interpretations of the world around them. Like any good bonfire, these students need fuel. I try to strike a balance in my classes between directed and culled material. I want them to choose a certain amount of the media we explore, which narrows the amount of media I bring to the table and for what purpose.

I want to bring in The Wire for certain. The show is a poor opener for the class, as the complexity of the Wire is better unraveled with a basic understanding of sociological theory. But where do I start? I Love Lucy? Birth of a Nation? Actually, that last one isn’t a half-bad idea. While it could be too ‘in your face’ for an initial screening, it does make a statement about how film has and continue to be used over time. Perhaps I show a clip and get them going.

Its all about the energy in the room. If you can get the energy flowing at get them feeling safe and uncomfortable and excited to learn. Just gotta find the right clips to get them there.

Some Thoughts:

1. The assertion that macs do not become infected by viruses is totally false.
2. I still cannot believe MJ married that Debbie Rowe chick. If anyone needed an intervention it was him.
3. Lady Gaga is a lot like a deranged version of Madonna. Just saying…
4. Thinking about taking 1 or more boys to a Cardinals game. The price for tickets is restrictive, especially if they cannot make it a whole game. Still, I might go ahead and make this happen, because the experience of a pro game is awesome. Maybe I’ll do a dry run with them at a preseason game…

When I am overwhelmed I freeze up. I’m not talking about people telling me things I don’t want to hear or deadlines crashing down overwhelmed. I’m talking about ‘you have 24 hours to complete 47 tasks that take 3 hrs apiece’ overwhelmed. It happens more than I’d like to admit. It mostly happens because I set myself up that way. It isn’t so much that I have 24 hrs, but more that I give myself 24 hrs from awareness of any given task to completion of that task. That’s a ‘weird old trick‘ I picked up somewhere along the way to avoid procrastination. However, it only triggered additional procrastination, because the moment you realize that you’re going to fail to do everything you need to do, it becomes that much easier to avoid doing anything you need to do.

Nowadays I give myself till I go to sleep.

I don’t try to do every task. Instead I do a triage and determine what things are the most important. I usually can complete around 3 major tasks a day depending on the time requirements for each. I can do this because I say: I’m going to do Task A today and if I get the time I’m doing B. This way I feel less responsible to force out C or even B. I focus on what’s important and once that is complete I look at how much time I have left and jam whatever I can into those remaining hours.

I’m no organization or time management expert. In truth I suffer from a genetic illness known as Chronic Disorganizatia. However, by recognizing this illness and being patient with myself, I can function and complete tasks like a normal human being can.

On the good days I even look organized.

I am a huge fan of discovering how you learn best. To me it just makes sense to know what learning condition is going to be the one that benefits you. Learning how you learn is simple, but it must be more than a guess. You can say, “Hey, I’m an active learner, ” and call it a day but that doesn’t mean you understand what that entails or if it truly captures the entire way you learn. In truth, most people possess the ability to acclimate to all types of learning and even have competency in multiple learning styles. I suggest taking a simple test like this one or this one or even this one to gauge where you live along the learning spectrum.

This type of knowledge extends well past the classroom. Knowing how you learn ought to shape your experiences in life. I recently purchased the Up bracelet by Jawbone, a life tracking device that shows me what is happening with my body in terms of steps I take and hours I sleep. I am, in part, a visual learner so when I see a graphic reflecting my sleep and exercise trends it inclines me to be more active and to change the style and intensity of my activity. I am also an active learner–one who likes to move and do in order to learn, so I experiment extensively with different things in order to figure out the right way to do something.

Because I am visual and I am active I am a person who dabbles in the reading of how-to books and follows e-how online. My home is littered with attempts to learn professional carpentry and the like. Knowing how I learn helps my to understand how I can best acquire new skills without waisting money on learning experiences that will be ineffective.

 

Some Thoughts:

1. No Waiver Wednesday today. There is little to say between the 1st and second weeks of pre-season football that hasn’t already been exhausted on the plethora of 24-hr sports news stations littering your channel guide.
2. Still no Minecraft either, because a 4 yr old should not have any reason to pick up a 10 lb barbell and brandish it as a weapon.