I’m on a Horse
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I just participated in a few fantasy football mock drafts on ESPN’s website. In case you’re keeping track, these are make-pretend drafts of a make-pretend draft where players play on your make-pretend team. I’m three levels of fantasy removed from reality. This can’t be good.
I was chatting with my friend Kurt who has played something called Strat-O-Matric football for years. From what I can tell, it’s like fantasy football on drugs. Here is how he describes it:
It is kind of a coaching simulator. You have your team and actually call the plays for your team. Your players abilities are based upon their performance in the prior NFL season. It used to be a cards and dice game (it’s been around since the 60′s), but has a computer version now, which allows me to play with the same people I played with when I was a kid. We are a keeper league, so you have to scout players out pretty carefully (at every position, full 53 man roster) because you generally try to put together a team that will be good year to year. Most of the good players are already on rosters before the draft even starts. For instance I took Brandon Pettigrew for Detroit in the 3rd round, not really a good pick in a regular fantasy league.
This Strat-O-Matic thing sounds really intense. It sounds like something I might get into so much, I would do nothing else but do research for the game. It would be like my own personal World of Warcraft. I would get so addicted, I would think that I would need years of therapy to undo the obsession.
Oh Girl
My first job was as a pizza delivery man for 3 towns I knew next to nothing about. It was before GPS had come out, but I don’t think it would have mattered. After all, I don’t think anything would have gotten a signal to those parts anyway. Not even a map was much use. It was basically a collection of dirt roads without street signs. It usually took me so long to get there, the box would be just about wrecked from all the grease. Okay, it actually only took about 5 minutes for the box to be wrecked by the grease. Still, it took me a long time to figure out where I was supposed to go.
On top of all that, I was driving a mini-van that was about 15 years old. The steering wheel was so off, I could tilt it to about 3 o’clock before I noticed any difference. I knew that the car was going to blow up at any minute. I just didn’t know what minute that would be. I distracted myself from my impending death by listening to music. I was really into Oldies back then. There was one song, in particular, that hit the grease-stained spot during those late nights on the unfamiliar roads. For me, it was about a guy who knew he was losing someone valuable and wasn’t sure how he was gonna make it after she was gone. It didn’t come on Oldies 103.3 very frequently, but, when it did, I sang it with an awareness of being lost in multiple ways and with more heartburn than a pepperoni pizza could ever cause. It is also today’s daily dose of passion.
Thought of the Day
Sometimes, when life gets really bad, I think about how lint must feel to be jammed up inside someone’s belly button for hours, days or even years and how bad it must smell when it comes out – if it ever, indeed, does come out. It usually doesn’t make me feel any better. Last time I checked, lint doesn’t have feelings. It’s kind of a non-issue.
Could I borrow your binoculars?
I went with my father to the Patriots pre-season game against the Saints on Thursday. The stadium was big and beautiful, kind of like my biceps. We walked up about 14 ramps, and, after fighting traffic, parking lots and hunger, finally made it to our seats with 12 minutes to go in the third quarter.
By the time we got there, all the starters had been taken out and they were playing the 3rd string. At one point, I was excited to see veteran running-back Fred Taylor carrying the ball. However, we eventually realized that it was actually a different running back named Chris Taylor. Chris… Fred… what’s the difference anyway?
At one point, I spotted Reggie Bush on the sidelines. I could tell it was him, because I could make out the number 25 on his shirt. I was about a mile away from him, so that was pretty good. I also saw Coach Bill, Randy Moss and my friend Tom Brady. They weren’t playing, of course, but they did look nice on the sidelines.
Even as we were getting to the stadium, people were leaving. By the time we got there, the place was about 35% full. Toward the end of the fourth quarter, that number dropped to about 10%. One thing that struck me about the game was how quiet it was. There wasn’t a lot of the extra-curricular stuff that goes on at sporting events during timeouts, like contests or shooting T-shirts into the crowd. The place was pretty much dead.
But dead was just what I needed. After all the work it took to get there, I didn’t need any more stimulation. Seeing the stadium and Reggie and Coach Bill and Tom was enough. It was also good to be with my Dad.
Not even the cheerleaders were into this game
Just Another Day
There was a day they called “step up day” where the Middle Schoolers visited the High School for a day. I don’t know who was running the show for my step-up day (apparently nobody), because we roamed the halls, ate free popcorn and played basketball in the gym all day long. Basically, we did whatever we wanted. It was then that I realized that High School was going to be the coolest thing ever.
To top it all over, there was an assembly in the theater where they played this kicking song by Jon Secada below. Like the thought of High School on step up day, I immediately loved everything about it. There was so much longing, excitement and desire about it. It was the perfect theme song, really. It also doubles as today’s daily dose of passion.
A Very, Large, Boyfriend
How beautiful is this scene where Scott and Boof walk home? So beautiful, it is the first non-music video to be given the distinction of today’s daily dose of passion. The action picks up around 1:08 in.
Win in the End
“Let me give you a little advice. There’s 3 rules that I live by:
1. Never get less than 12 hours sleep
2. Never play cards with a guy whose got the same first name as a city, and
3. Never go near a lady whose got a tattoo of a dagger on her body.
You stick with that, and everything else is cream cheese.”
–Coach Bobby Finstock, Teen Wolf
I said I loved you… but I lied
I spend about 16 hours per week in the car. Too much music overloads my brain, so I’m always on the lookout for good podcasts. Everyone seems to rave about NPR, so I figured their “Story of the Day” podcast would be a good way for me stay mildly entertained and informed at the same time.
Today’s story (day 3) was about how teleportation could become a reality. They even gave the obligatory nod to Star Trek. At first, I thought it was a joke. It had to be a joke, right? Right? Well, I slowly realized that they were dead serious. Thus ends my 3-day run with the NPR “story of the day” podcast.
I also had a run with audio books, but I’m kind of sick of those as well. I zone out so often, it is hard to keep focus and I get tired of constantly rewinding. Part of the problem is that I don’t want to have to be focused. With all the other demands in the life, I need a break from having to stay too mentally engaged.
For the most part, I am back to music. I am quickly learning a few things about music.
#1. It is good to keep it fresh. A song that meant something to you in 2005, probably won’t have the same meaning in 2010. Some songs just lose their juice. It’s like chewing gum that has been in your mouth for a long time. You can just tell when its time is up and you need a break.
#2. Too much fresh music at once can be overwhelming. I bought a ton of new music a week ago. Half of the time, I don’t even know who is singing the songs I’m listening to. It’s like going to a new school where you don’t know anyone. Nothing is familiar. I don’t even know where the bathrooms are. This isn’t necessarily a good thing either.
#3. Everyone likes certain artists, and they are ashamed to admit it. I don’t care if it is Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber or the Backstreet Boys. I take that back. Some people aren’t ashamed to admit it. And that makes them larger than life.
Who is your guilty pleasure when it comes to music? My guess is that it’s this guy:
Time for your daily dose of passion:
Dancing in the Minefields
My favorite singer ever to roam the planet has a new album and his first official music video to go with it. It is very nice. The only less than positive thing I can say about it is that some of the scenes with the older couples remind me of something out of a Cialis commercial. Lets move on.
There are a few moments in this video where the musicians are just sort of randomly chilling together (40 to 48 seconds for example). I might be crazy, but it reminds of a few other videos where the participants appear at random times in random places (see below). I might be the only person in the world who sees a connection here.
Dancing in the Minefields:
Here in America:
Separate Ways:
Discover Security
I got a voicemail from Discover Card today making me aware of some suspicious activity and wanting to verify that my account had not been compromised. Feeling a little unnerved, I quickly gave the provided number a return call.
After being connected with their automated system, I learned that three transactions in particular were in question. I braced myself. Next, they told me what those transactions were. Two were for purchases of CD’s (the kind you listen to, not the kind you invest in). The final was for an Android application that helps find missing album artwork for the music player on your phone. All told, the transactions totaled about $10.
There must be some very vigilant folks working at Discover. It reminded me of the time when my roommate in college woke me up at 5:45 in the morning to ask if he could take a dime from my coin jar to use it for the train. Despite being roused quite early, it was pretty clear that he was never going to steal from me.
There is a scripture in the Bible that essentially says that if you can’t be trusted with little things, you can’t be trusted with big things either (Luke 16:10). Though a bit extreme, it sounds like they took that lesson to heart.