10 Minute Rule

I’m ready to talk about Stuart Scott. Much has been said about the man that brought soul to Sportscenter. As a black man, the culture of my people, the soul and essence of how we communicate with each other that seeps into the music world and sports world had never before crossed the barrier into the news world. Stuart Scott did that.

Without Scott there would be no ‘Come on, man!‘ There wouldn’t be the acceptance of slag and a relaxed demeanor towards such language and expression that there is. In truth, he was a pioneer. My appreciation for Stuart Scott isn’t so grandiose as that. Scott was a guy on TV that made me feel good about myself and the things I watched and the feelings I had about sports and athletes. It was a great deal more than making it cool. He made it accessible, believable, and down to earth. As an athlete all I wanted to do was to make one highlight that would make that dude say ‘boo ya!’ It didn’t happen, but it didn’t have to. All I had to do was watch and the day was instantly better.

So, to Stu I say thank you for living, and loving what you do. Thank you for bing a fighter and an inspiration to us all.

Some Thoughts:

1. I think it was the moment I started quoting WWE wrestlers that I realized I’d slipped into some weird fugue state where I’m the most neurotic version of myself. Of course this is another step towards that ideal self I slipped away from some time ago. Gotta keep going down that road…

James Joyce wrote, “The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.” My actions as of late have not reflected the best version of myself. While I admit that life circumstances and plain ole fatigue have diminished me as an individual, the true issue beyond my seeming lack of motivation is an inability to connect emotionally with, well, much of anything I put on paper.

There are sparks here and there and some stories rise completely on their own and float up and out of my psyche to the page. The rest feel rushed and forced and often feeble. This extends beyond the blog to even conversations and general interactions. So, what does it say about my thoughts? In the words of Ryback, ‘feed me more’ I need more challenges, more raw emotion, more depth. I just need more.

 

Some Thoughts:

1. This safeco commercial is absolutely terrifying. Nuff said.

I finally got an opportunity to see Into the Woods with the family tonight. I was immediately struck by how quickly the archetypes and moral messages looped into what is a really well done musical escapade. Fairy tales have always been archetypal morality stories. Tor blogged about fairytale archetypes, highlighting the top five. It reminded me of the archetypal nature of story characters in general and how, in general, stories are built around recognizable archetypes in order to provide the reader with short cuts to understanding the characters.

The film itself was richly layered with morality bombs dusted with modernity. I was especially pleased at the take on Cinderella, a girl who looks for her prince but recognizes quite quickly that finding that person on the pedestal isn’t necessarily a dream come true. I can relate, having found and realized the futility of trying to love that particular individual years ago.

In the end I found myself doing what the stories were designed to make us do. I reflected on my own life, situations, and habits. I think that makes for a good movie watching experience.

Tonight I watched the ‘Bones’ Jones vs. DC Cormier fight. Over the years I’ve developed a respect and liking for the MMA. I went from someone who didn’t appreciate the mixed martial arts to someone who does. That journey has a lot to do with talking to friends and gaining a better technical understanding of the craft and the underlying martial arts that buoy the matches. Tonight’s slate of matches featured some expert tacticians and a handful of really good hitters. The highlight of the night was the title match, and it did not disappoint–at least not at first.

I think hype plays a really big role in how we perceive things.  Take away the months of Jones v. Cormier hype and focus on the in-ring action, and the main undercard fight between Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and the formerly undefeated Myles Jury was a better fight to watch overall. The main event had a lot of big hits and takedowns, but I really cannot say how much of my enjoyment was the action itself (which lagged considerably in the later rounds–as fatigue often does to fighters) or the hype making the action seem larger.

I feel like hype plays a pivotal role in the enjoyment of a lot of what we do. Commercials and other avenues of social media direct us to be excited about something so that we enjoy it more. I often fall prey to that trap and I see my kids fall prey to it daily. I can’t tell you how little they play with legos until a lego show is on the air or someone posts a building contest. There is a value to the hype we use to excite ourselves, but it is indeed a double sided blade.

Where will the internet be in ten years? five?

Traveling down this road of thought led me back to 2005 when the ‘net was young and powerful fads like myspace and facebook were starting to take hold. Today’s internet is nothing like the permanency agenda put forth all those years ago. The matrix is no longer about what lasts but what can grab your attention and hold it for just a moment. Back then Lycos and AOL still mattered. People ‘asked Jeeves’ when they needed to know something. Now the power of social and information media has been conglomerated into two central forces: Facebook and Google.

Of course, even as I post this blog it is outdated. The matrix moves so fast these days that it is a realm dominated by smart young coders who create quickapps that, like fashion trends, become all the rage until everyone else catches on. Facebook is ‘so four years ago’ as my students quip. They’re right. Once 40 year old men started logging on, it was over. Not to be too ironic or hypocritical, here I am posting my own blog to Facebook. I might as well send these things out with a stamp and an envelope.

So what happens in ten years? We will have moved through 4 to five generations of social media platforms. Each one will be hanging on, gathered up by seaweed against the bow of the most financially capable interpreneurs(tm). As we move faster and faster towards a information singularity we will stop seekng true and balanced information but seek the data that reinforces our view of the world we want to live in. Alongside home delivery and next gen gaming we will be able to live in that world.. if we have the capital to afford it.

The waiver wire was delayed tonight by some really good college football. I don’t want to seem hypocritical here. Some of the dudes who read my post on occasion have already called me out for not liking college football. I do. I like the pros too, and recognize how they are different leagues and appreciate both in their own ways. It turns out some of those same dudes were spot on about the way things would shake out in the first CFB playoffs. Everyone said Oregon would win, and a handful were all about the Buckeyes. I simply wanted FSU to win to prove the doubters wrong, on the other hand, I didn’t believe in the Buckeyes at all. Oregon stomped out FSU 59-20 and Alabama couldn’t hold on to the ball well or long enough to outlast Ohio State. Turns out Ohio State did actually belong in the big dance, and they are going to be playing for the national championship on January 12th.

Some Thoughts:

1. As I sit here writing this I am listening to several fans, a humidifier, and an air purifier all generating white noise in my kids’ room. I think they’ve grown way too comfortable sleeping under the fog of white noise. What happens when they get older and go to college and can’t do that? I may consider severing the habit sooner rather than later.

For years friends and even family have smirked and thumbed their noses at me while I proclaimed the competitive nature and spirit of professional sports. They’ll nod, smile, and quickly remind me that college athletics are better. There’s more purity to the game, they say. There’s competitive balance, they exclaim. I’m finally calling bullshit on this entire college vs. pro debate. There is no way collegiate sports can even be mentioned in the same breath as professional athletics. This is a matter of two entirely separate universes slammed together in a fashion that belies comparison and moreover, gives false praise to college athletics as the ‘Rudy league’ where everyone has a chance to compete.

Lets talk anecdotally for a minute here. Imagine you are one of the 128 FBS football schools. That means your school is allowed to field a team that can feasibly compete with any other team in the country. On the surface this sounds really great. Suddenly Southern Methodist University can show up on any given Saturday and bring their players and gameplan to contend with Alabama. Now imagine how that’s going to go for them. They are going to lose. In fact, they aren’t going to be able to compete. Most FBS teams cannot compete with the likes of Alabama, Oregon, etc. Why? Because although they are in the same FBS, they aren’t in the same orbit. The big schools simply have the name recognition and financial backing to buy better student-athletes.

Yep, I said buy.

Even if you aren’t paying kids under the table you are providing them scholarships and your name recognition and connection to the NFL are providing them with an opportunity to be noticed and perhaps one day play for the big bucks on Sunday. This is where college football–the big college sports in general–are far worse than the pros. You see, this year the Jets stunk it up. So did the Raiders and so did the Jags. Come April those teams and a handful of others get their choice of the 10 best collegiate athletes from all 128 FBS teams (and beyond). Likewise this year Iowa State University stunk it up. What do they get to bolster their program? Nothing. What pick or recruit is rewarded to them to maintain competitive balance? None. Instead the coaches have to roadtrip door to door begging top prospects to come to a losing team to have a shot to start. Yeah, the carrot of starting is a lot to dangle, but what point is starting if you’re starting for a team that won’t win games. In fact, what sort of attitudes and players are you getting if they give up a chance to learn from Nick Saban to start immediately for a team that hasn’t been a top 25 contender since I’ve been alive?

All of the people who talk about preferring collegiate athletics aren’t really talking about competitive balance. For the most part they are talking about assurances. They are talking about the assurance that their Crimson Tide will continue to roll on into history, that their Ducks will always be mighty, and that the Seminoles will always be the last tribe standing. You don’t have to make excuses for your team like Cubs fans do.

I imagine a life where the human race is unified and driven towards a singular purpose–be it exploration to the stars, defense from a common threat (again from the stars, or zombies, or disease, or maybe a super AI… I read and write a lot of scifi). Since we don’t have that world, I too fall deeply into my distractions from the fact that we don’t have that world. Presently I am distracted by football.

The most interesting and disappointing football situation of the season is the firing of Rex Ryan. This is a purely New York fan thing. Here’s what I didn’t like about Rex–he stuck with players even if they sucked. I kinda like that about him from a distant standpoint, but I recognize that it means guys like Geno Smith (terrible QB who will have an occasional gem of a game a la Rex Grossman) get to run their mouth and continue sinking franchises. I hope the Jets have a change of heart and bring the dude back. If not, let him go to ESPN where I can hear him talk football all week. Regardless, I will follow and like whatever team he coaches next. I’m willing to bet Revis Island goes with him.

Outside of Rex, I’m starting to get excited about the upcoming college football championships. I’m a long time Oregon fan and a more recent Florida State fan (I wanted to go to the U but they wanted no part of me once I got over it, I got over them… besides, FSU had Deion). To see them go head to head for a shot at Alabama (I give Ohio State no chance) will be a fun fun night. Nobody gives FSU a chance, forgetting the fact that they are not only the only undefeated team in the tourney but are also the defending champions. It has been so long since FSU caught a whuppin that their defense dropped the word ‘lost’ out of the vocabulary. Now with Oregon it is a different set of challenges. The Seminoles are going to be playing their toughest game of the year on thursday, regardless of if they win or lose.

I woke up this morning thinking about all the good that comes out of having kids and living the life I do. Then I yelled at my kids once or twice for what amounted to, well, stuff kids do and are expected to do. It led me to recognize how differently I can perceive reality based on whether I’m deep in it or rising above it. My youngest reminds me constantly to rise above hate (of course, that’s the motto of his favorite wrestler, so there’s that) and I intend to. However, when I’m in the thick of dealing with the nutty personality of my kids (3 boys is a lot. A lot a lot), I can’t see the forest for the trees.

I think the key to recognizing how valuable and special life is has everything to do with taking a moment to reflect. It has been weeks since I did that in any substantial way, and as a result I spent a few weeks lamenting about how crappy my situations are and how much stuff there is to do. On the other hand, I could be dead, homeless, or just hanging in there. I could lack talent, or be frightfully ugly, or just be an asshole. There are some many terrible and negative paths that life flows towards and very few and narrow paths that flow towards goodness. I’ve been blessed to be on the path towards goodness and that’s why it is important to me to do something with the opportunities I have.

Heck, if I don’t, I don’t know what is going to become of my little ones. My kids watch me for ideas about what to do. I want them to see a man who is strong, proud, and above all else, driven.

In my past life I dealt with a lot of dead-enders–people who no longer believed they were capable of greatness, let alone getting out of bed. I hit that point in my life about two years ago and tried to recall all the things I’d learned from teaching them and interacting with them. I learned it was largely a matter of lifestyle choices. They made so many bad ones that they no longer understood how to make good ones. In some cases, they’d found shortcuts to pleasure or happiness and having found the easy way, no longer wanted to work for it. I’ve come back around to that way of thinking myself as of late. It was a tough thing to recognize that I don’t really want to put in the hours for the things I really want in life. It is tough to realize that I’ve been looking for shortcuts for a very long time. On the other hand, it is a good moment for me, because I can fall back on those teachings and learnings and recognize what it is going to take to be the best version of myself.

It is going to take a lifestyle change.

The first thing I do in the morning is make a big pot of coffee, load it up with creamer and power on Minecraft. I call it my creation ritual. There are a number of things wrong with this ritual that I can adjust to move closer to the life I’m destined to live. The first is to change the creamer. Coffee creamer limits (and even counteracts) the healthy effects of coffee. So, I’ve been researching alternatives. Coconut oil and vanilla extract are an option. Likewise, diving headlong into crafting is a fun start to the day, but why not modify the ritual by making a ‘to do’ list for the day before crafting, and then spend ten minutes exercising before crafting. Then the minecraft becomes a reward for positive behaviors and not just an expectation.

Little steps add up to a change of lifestyle. Nobody gets there overnight, but we are so used to seeing the finished product that we forget the work it took to get there. That’s why we love shortcuts. It’s like a good friend said (and i’m paraphrasing here), Nobody remembers the string in a pearl necklace.

 

Some Thoughts:

1. I wish I was thoughtwired. I wish the words that entire my mind could be instantly stored in .doc format to be worked through later. If someone out there is into brain-sensing tech, please make a thought wire. The thing is, I lose so much really rich fiction and ideas just walking around in the world and thinking up stuff without access to something to write it down the way I thought it. I’m talking in terms of speed here. You can voice record on your phone, but that takes time to load up and is tough to do while driving. Sadly, I get a lot of good ideas while driving to and from work…