If you haven't been following along, NHL's current bad boy, Sean Avery, was recently suspended for 6 games. No he didn't have another rule after him (see the Avery rule based upon his goalie screening tactics) or his constant trash talking. Well it was his trash talking, except this time about a former girlfriend, Elisha Cuthbert. Elisha Cuthbert is a talentless hack who relied on her (extremely) good looks to get a few roles in 24 and The Girl Next Door. Sean Avery calling her his "sloppy seconds" only added some publicity for someone who hasn't had any in...years.
There are a few things I find wrong with this. Is calling someone sloppy seconds really that bad? I use it not frequently but certainly when the timing is right and have never found it to be severely insulting, nor has anyone I have said it around. All it does, and in a succint way, is that you were with someone first and are no longer on great terms with that person. How does this result in a 6 game suspension from a league where fighting and checks bring ratings and cheers? Granted, Sean Avery talks a lot of trash,probably more than some teams combined and he has been warned about his antics by Gary Bettman (league commissioner and someone I consider to be one of the least fun, based solely on looks, on earth but I digress) and he probably had a suspension coming his way. But really Mr. Bettman, this is where you make your stand? Over sloppy seconds and Elisha Cuthbert? For shame.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
The Blue to Your Face Media
If a recent bipartisan report released by the government is true, we should expect a biological or nuclear attack on US soil in the next five years. Now here is a matter we should look ahead to rather than Lebron James' free agent status. Or is it? I understand the need to keep sources and intelligence secret, but why is this threat becoming more believable/credible? Is it simply more access to the materials and more anti - Western sentiment? A blanket statement like this or the "unsubstantiated" report about a potential attack on the New York City subway system just continually funnels fear into our faces.
No doubt, a chemical attack on our soil, or any soil for that matter, would be catastrophic; not only to the area immediately affected, but to the flood gates of retaliation and the breaking the seal mentality for this type of attack. But it is this very tactic that is causing us more harm than good. Am I any more likely to prepare myself for an attack like this with purchasing some sort of bio suit or gas mask because of this report? No. Am I more fearful I am going to die by asphyxiation while my skin melts off? Yes. Do I look like a small wide receiver going through the middle of the secondary on the subway now? Yes. Will I stop riding the subway? No. So what's the point? The "I told you so factor" when one of these suckers goes off? It is this type of information that should be kept classified. It is this type of intel that media outlets go gaga for and it is this sort of thing that should be kept off of everyday Americans' radar screens. This type of "news" only plays into the fears people maintain and it is this sort of news which solely feeds the problem. It is only worse with our current economic climate.
As someone who is finding more hairs on my pillow each morning, to reduce stress I have maintained ongoing efforts to avoid negative coverage of everything from the terrorist attacks in India to the ongoing tanking of the economy. This has proven incredibly difficult as both were played/are playing out in the media with a constant bombardment. Hell, even watching Sportscenter is no refuge anymore as the economy has brought rare frugalness to baseball's free agency this offseason. As I have always heard, "No news is good news." The down your throat attacks through newspapers, TV and the Internet of the day to day layoffs, bankruptcies and bailouts caused by the economy's downward spiral only add to the problem. A good chunk of the economy is based on people's belief in the economy and in the capitalist system. With constant updates on the volatility in the stock market, massive layoffs and production output declines, the media is simply feeding the fire that is deepening a year old recession.
What do I expect from companies that make their bank from shock and terror stories? Well certainly not a kitten saved by a firefighter from a tree on a daily basis. But would it hurt to bring up good news every once in a while? John McCain was not far off when he proclaimed that "The fundamentals of our economy are still strong" back in September. Productivity is steady, innovation is still there and we aren't lacking in any resources or commodities (oil is even down to below $50 a barrel). There is a lot of bad debt to deal with and the housing and stock markets need to settle themselves but the biggest thing we lack right now is confidence and it is only being hurt by the constant negativity that the media brings.
No doubt, a chemical attack on our soil, or any soil for that matter, would be catastrophic; not only to the area immediately affected, but to the flood gates of retaliation and the breaking the seal mentality for this type of attack. But it is this very tactic that is causing us more harm than good. Am I any more likely to prepare myself for an attack like this with purchasing some sort of bio suit or gas mask because of this report? No. Am I more fearful I am going to die by asphyxiation while my skin melts off? Yes. Do I look like a small wide receiver going through the middle of the secondary on the subway now? Yes. Will I stop riding the subway? No. So what's the point? The "I told you so factor" when one of these suckers goes off? It is this type of information that should be kept classified. It is this type of intel that media outlets go gaga for and it is this sort of thing that should be kept off of everyday Americans' radar screens. This type of "news" only plays into the fears people maintain and it is this sort of news which solely feeds the problem. It is only worse with our current economic climate.
As someone who is finding more hairs on my pillow each morning, to reduce stress I have maintained ongoing efforts to avoid negative coverage of everything from the terrorist attacks in India to the ongoing tanking of the economy. This has proven incredibly difficult as both were played/are playing out in the media with a constant bombardment. Hell, even watching Sportscenter is no refuge anymore as the economy has brought rare frugalness to baseball's free agency this offseason. As I have always heard, "No news is good news." The down your throat attacks through newspapers, TV and the Internet of the day to day layoffs, bankruptcies and bailouts caused by the economy's downward spiral only add to the problem. A good chunk of the economy is based on people's belief in the economy and in the capitalist system. With constant updates on the volatility in the stock market, massive layoffs and production output declines, the media is simply feeding the fire that is deepening a year old recession.
What do I expect from companies that make their bank from shock and terror stories? Well certainly not a kitten saved by a firefighter from a tree on a daily basis. But would it hurt to bring up good news every once in a while? John McCain was not far off when he proclaimed that "The fundamentals of our economy are still strong" back in September. Productivity is steady, innovation is still there and we aren't lacking in any resources or commodities (oil is even down to below $50 a barrel). There is a lot of bad debt to deal with and the housing and stock markets need to settle themselves but the biggest thing we lack right now is confidence and it is only being hurt by the constant negativity that the media brings.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Merry Commercial X-Mas
We have finally reached December but it feels like we have been in the midst of Christmas week for over a month now. Was it the quick changeover from Halloween candy to the red and green wrapped Hershey's kisses? Could it have been the supermarket decision making we needed to choose Apple Cider or Egg Nog to quench our thirst from raking? The answers, yes and yes, are not alone. The biggest tell tale sign that Christmas has become an over commercialized beast is the radio station switchovers to all Christmas music all the time. One Boston station (ahem WROR, ahem) switched to this format way back in early November.
Who the hell would keep them dialed in for 2 months a year for the same music that is forced down our throats in stores, restaurants and on the air waves every single year? There are no new Christmas "classics" (except comical parodies such as "Deez Nuts Roasting on an Open Fire", but I digress) churned out on a yearly basis. Instead, we are forced into listening to Jessica Simpson's rendition of O Holy Night or some other remake that only brings down the quality level each and every year. When will it all end? Do we have a date with destiny that will have us preset at least one station that will give us Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow in June?
It has been abundantly clear for some time now that Christmas and the holiday season in general is commercial insanity. Slap down $20 and you can sit on Santa's lap in the mall, only $15 more for a picture! Lights that go up after Thanksgiving and stay up until Memorial Day are growing
in popularity. Gift lists that include the post man to teachers to relatives and everyone in between. Hell, a person died at a Wal Mart because of people trying to get the best gifts on the mother of all Christmas jerk offs, Black Friday. People refused to leave the store even after being told someone had been killed, clamoring for that marked down flat screen or hottest toy. How far are people willing to go to get in tune with their inner "Christmas Spirit"?
There are a few reasons (outside of boozing and days off from work) that make a holiday great. It's a time to get together with family, eat some good food and relax. Christmas possesses these characteristics, at least on the actual day. It is the buildup to the 25th that worries me. Lining
up at 4am to shop for everyone on my list, hanging lights on your house while precariously hanging from your gutter and arranging travel all sound like the nightmare before Christmas to me. How does wrapping hundreds of gifts and putting on 10 pounds of cookie and egg nog weight
celebrate Jesus' birthday (that is the original reason for the day, you know) exactly?
I don't hate Christmas or the holiday season. There was a time when it was manageable and only surrounded me for a week a year. I would get some new stuff, light some lights, eat some good food and relax with family. Now we are stretching the day into 2 or 3 months of music, food
and gifts. I hate what has become of this time of year. Gross excess, the non stop, in-your-face action that has creeping closer and closer to Labor Day by the year. These are not what its all about, but what it has become all about.
Who the hell would keep them dialed in for 2 months a year for the same music that is forced down our throats in stores, restaurants and on the air waves every single year? There are no new Christmas "classics" (except comical parodies such as "Deez Nuts Roasting on an Open Fire", but I digress) churned out on a yearly basis. Instead, we are forced into listening to Jessica Simpson's rendition of O Holy Night or some other remake that only brings down the quality level each and every year. When will it all end? Do we have a date with destiny that will have us preset at least one station that will give us Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow in June?
It has been abundantly clear for some time now that Christmas and the holiday season in general is commercial insanity. Slap down $20 and you can sit on Santa's lap in the mall, only $15 more for a picture! Lights that go up after Thanksgiving and stay up until Memorial Day are growing
in popularity. Gift lists that include the post man to teachers to relatives and everyone in between. Hell, a person died at a Wal Mart because of people trying to get the best gifts on the mother of all Christmas jerk offs, Black Friday. People refused to leave the store even after being told someone had been killed, clamoring for that marked down flat screen or hottest toy. How far are people willing to go to get in tune with their inner "Christmas Spirit"?
There are a few reasons (outside of boozing and days off from work) that make a holiday great. It's a time to get together with family, eat some good food and relax. Christmas possesses these characteristics, at least on the actual day. It is the buildup to the 25th that worries me. Lining
up at 4am to shop for everyone on my list, hanging lights on your house while precariously hanging from your gutter and arranging travel all sound like the nightmare before Christmas to me. How does wrapping hundreds of gifts and putting on 10 pounds of cookie and egg nog weight
celebrate Jesus' birthday (that is the original reason for the day, you know) exactly?
I don't hate Christmas or the holiday season. There was a time when it was manageable and only surrounded me for a week a year. I would get some new stuff, light some lights, eat some good food and relax with family. Now we are stretching the day into 2 or 3 months of music, food
and gifts. I hate what has become of this time of year. Gross excess, the non stop, in-your-face action that has creeping closer and closer to Labor Day by the year. These are not what its all about, but what it has become all about.
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