Things to do on October 31st:
I've got it.
Ideas are flowing, but nothing is coming out.
A couple of interesting sentences have come to mind. Each beginning the entry with some grand observation. My only problem is they will lead to nothing of any value.
I've opened my iTunes and let it randomly shuffle some songs. I often think better with music going. This is a practice I used to do when I was studying for tests in high school and college. However, even the Foo Fighters can't defeat this blockage.
I pondered for quite a while about posting some tips on overcoming writer's block. I know, pretty original isn't it? In the midst of not knowing what to write, hand out advice on what to write. I'm pretty sure that makes no sense.
I've even sat here and gone over a few writing exercises. I read a portion of a book. I read a couple of blogs. I read some of my past thoughts in my Moleskine.
I'm still baffled. Today was a fairly mundane day. There was nothing out of the ordinary. There were no outlandish statements that made me think about one thing or another. No one grabbed my attention. I woke up and got ready for work. I passed the emo kid waiting for the bus on the street corner, as I do every morning. His clothing colored in shades of gray and his hair elegantly disheveled. I always wonder what he thinks as I pull up to the stop sign each morning. Maybe one day I'll ask. I arrived at my place of employment, and I worked. There is nothing spectacular about that. Most of you did some of these same things.
Wait a second? Where did all of this written word come from?
My writer's block has been defeated...
Get your attention? At the end of the summer of 1835, it got quite a few people's attention. On August 25th of that year an article in the New York Sun was printed as the 1st of a six part series on supposed discoveries by Sir John Herschel, a world renowned astronomer of the day. The New York Sun was supposedly reprinting them from the Edinburgh Journal of Science.
It described that Herschel had supposedly gone down to South Africa and used one of the most technologically advanced telescopes of the day. Once he viewed the moon he was able to spot conclusive evidence that there was life on the moon. He was able to spot unicorns, two-legged beavers and furry, winged humanoids. These furry, winged humanoids resembled bats. The articles also revealed vivid descriptions of the terrain on the moon. Rushing rivers, massive craters, and lush greenery could be seen. It was a marvelous story.
So marvelous, that many people believed it. The readers ate up the stories, searching them feverishly for the next great discovery. A committee of Yale University scientists even bought the grand tale of the discovery of life on the moon. They showed up at the Sun searching for more details.
Once it was all said and done, the paper eventually printed a story explaining that it was all a grand hoax. It was meant as "satire", but the satire was missed on most. Many of the readers found the whole thing humorous, but many in the scientific community felt duped. The whole incident was eventually dubbed, the Great Moon Hoax.
Entirely random and useless history lesson.
If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
That strain again! it had a dying fall:
O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound
That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing and giving odour!
~ William Shakespeare
Today, I heard someone say that Linkin Park made some of the best music out there. Linkin Park is the McDonald's of music. Undeservedly popular, not very good, and bad for your health.
"Michael J. Fox. Now there's a guy whose life is so much more than yours or mine."
I heard that exact quote at work today. I don't talk about work much on here. That is on purpose. I don't want to be like one of those bloggers out there who constantly talks about their job, for one reason. The other reason, and more importantly, I really don't want to end up saying something that could get me fired from my job. So I steer clear of work talk if at all possible.
Now that I have qualified this entry, I was sitting at work today and overheard a conversation going on behind me. It intrigued me. Much of it was about opportunity, and the opportunities (or lack thereof) we have in this world. They were discussing the lack of opportunities in this particular area (Joplin, MO). They pointed to California as a land overflowing with opportunity. They wondered what their lives would be like had they lived in California. What they would be (rock star, etc.), the money they would make, the lives they would lead. This got me to thinking about opportunity and what location has to do with our opportunities.
To me, opportunity can have very little to do with location. Especially in today's world. The Internet, easy travel, and other technologies have in essence brought the world and those opportunities to us. It is then up to us to seek out these opportunities and take advantage of them. Sure there are certain universities, colleges, or locations where we may have to go in order to obtain some goals. However, I see no reason why any of us, if we are determined enough should believe we just don't have any opportunity. Even in a little Missouri town. Call me an optimist or even crazy, but I truly believe opportunity is created by our ambition in what it is we truly desire. Opportunity comes our way because of our ability and hard work hard at what it is we do. Determination to get our job done, or obtain the goals we set are what create for us more opportunities. I truly believe you should always do a good job in everything that you do, and if you do you will be rewarded somewhere down the line.
Obviously, all of this is assuming we actually have some accomplishments along the way. So what does all of this have to do with Michael J. Fox? Well, that was just where their conversation veered. Toward his biography, his life, and what was perceived as his life being so much better than yours or mine. In Back To The Future, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) repeats numerous times, "If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything." Maybe we could all learn a lesson from McFly.
If you get anything valuable out of this, remember this: Opportunity is worthless to us if we are never willing to go out there and obtain it through a little hard work and determination.
Since I'm apparently feeling motivational I'll leave you with some quotes and interesting little known history along these same lines.
The Perfect Place to Take a Book
Originally uploaded by ception
"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air." ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne
"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." ~ Albert Camus
I enjoy autumn. The bearable temperatures, colors of the leaves, and even the rain make it easy to enjoy. That is, if it weren't for the fact that it is a precursor to winter. If my hometown becomes a frozen tundra once again this year, I suspect I will be tempted to move very far away forever. In the meantime, let's enjoy autumn and maybe even a book.
Everyone seems to enjoy lists. I like to make lists, I like to read lists, and I like to think of lists. It would seem with the abundance of lists out there in the world, that so do most other people. But there are some things some people just shouldn't list. Whether it's because you can't, or because they would just be too lengthy to bother there are some lists that aren't worth the effort. Here's a list of some of those things:
Believe it or not, I intend for this blog to have some format, or consistency. This is the beginning of that. Each Friday is going to be "Photo Finish Friday". I will select a photo, mine or someone else's (most likely someone else's) and post it for your enjoyment with no words. Sometimes, a photo can say more than 1,000 words anyway...
Munger Moss Motel
Originally uploaded by jonafun 2
One time, on a night when I didn't want to spend a whole lot of money. When I didn't really have someone to call and stay with at the last minute (I'm talking 2AM). When I was just desperate for a bed, I purchased a room at this very motel. The free TV must have been what convinced me...
Like Gob from "Arrested Development", I laid there in my horribly, nasty room telling myself, "I've made a huge mistake."
I've been itching for some Chuck Taylor's of late. I really can't say why. I'm not a big tennis shoe person, because the majority of the shoes I wear are dress shoes. So I seem to ignore the more casual lot of shoes. In fact, I'd say most of my tennis shoes end up lasting me a couple of years due to lack of use.
Speaking of casual, today was a casual day at work. It was kind of nice to get up in the morning on a Monday and be able to put some jeans on. Actually made me feel somewhat more anxious to awake and get going. It's ridiculous the things that can make a person a little happier about working.
Stopping by Starbucks also made my morning. I don't do that too often (as tempting as it is) due to expenses and calories, but I do treat myself on those mornings where I actually arise earlier than usual.
As was mentioned before, today has been a Monday. Many people hate Mondays for no good reason. There is a natural hatred in today's culture for the day Monday. This is rather unfair, and really unwarranted. Many people hate their jobs, so it stands to reason that people would dread Monday's if that is the chosen day they must begin their work week. But what does Monday have to do with one's displeasure of their chosen place of employment?
The Bangles, The Boomtown Rats, and even The Carpenters all sang about Monday. All painting the battered day negatively by associating it as manic, hated, and rainy. Although it did rain most of the day today, this Monday has been a good one. The casual clothing at work, Starbucks, and now Monday Night Football have played a role in this. However, I believe no matter what day it is, it is all about how you look at it. What do I mean? If we begin a day with a negative attitude, we will almost always in turn have a pretty crummy day. It will take quite a bit to help us have a great day, whether it's Monday, Thursday, or even that day everyone seems to love, Friday! So going into Monday with the right attitude is crucial.
So next time someone says to you, "Sounds like someone has the case of the Mondays", remember that isn't such a bad thing. Right?
I'm not saying "Sweet" Lou Pinella is insane. But I am saying he made some interesting decisions this postseason. In fact, many Cubs fans would argue those decisions cost them the series.
The primary decision one would probably point to is his call to remove Carlos Zambrano from Game 1. He had only thrown 85 pitches in the sixth inning, and was on a roll. He was unhittable. But, Lou out thought himself in my opinion. He removed Carlos, and the rest is pretty much history. It was all down hill from there.
When asked about the decision to remove Zambrano, essentially trying to fix something that wasn't broken he said he was saving him for Game 4. In a five game series, to me, this makes no sense. You lose that first game, there's a chance you don't make it to Game 4! Of course, there wasn't and now all of the Northside is left to wonder if it was Lou's fateful decision to pull Zamabrano while he was on a roll that caused them to miss out on the World Series for the 99th year. "Wait till next year", Chicago.
Next year will be the 100th year since the Cubs last World Series championship. Last time they won, William Taft was president and the telephone was a luxury item. For your entertainment, here are some other notable changes in the world since 1908.
I was a very young kid when Oral Roberts (the man, not the university) was telling everyone that God told him to raise millions of dollars for this and that, including himself. I actually remember seeing him on TV from time to time. Probably because my dad was very irritated with his false religious claims. Sadly, gullible people handed in the dough and he often raised his millions. He and other televangelists such as Jimmy Bakker, helped blacken the eye of Christianity in general, because of their blatant thirst for money.
Now Oral Roberts University, and his son are embroiled in scandal again. Behind the scandal again is money, and this time the misuse of such funds for many personal and political benefits. Stories like this really irritate me because often this is the only view people see of religious people. Many naysayers will point to these men, and the scandals behind them as proof there is no God and so on. This is the beginning of this particular scandal, and time will tell if many of the allegations are true. However, people will use this to boost their skepticism.
Here are some of the allegations in a lawsuit filed:
• A longtime maintenance employee was fired so that an underage male friend of Mrs. Roberts could have his position.
• Mrs. Roberts — who is a member of the board of regents and is referred to as ORU's "first lady" on the university's Web site — frequently had cell-phone bills of more than $800 per month, with hundreds of text messages sent between 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. to "underage males who had been provided phones at university expense."
• The university jet was used to take one daughter and several friends on a senior trip to Orlando, Fla., and the Bahamas. The $29,411 trip was billed to the ministry as an "evangelistic function of the president."
• Mrs. Roberts spent more than $39,000 at one Chico's clothing store alone in less than a year, and had other accounts in Texas and California. She also repeatedly said, "As long as I wear it once on TV, we can charge it off." The document cites inconsistencies in clothing purchases and actual usage on TV.
• Mrs. Roberts was given a white Lexus SUV and a red Mercedes convertible by ministry donors.
• University and ministry employees are regularly summoned to the Roberts' home to do the daughters' homework.
• The university and ministry maintain a stable of horses for exclusive use by the Roberts' children.
• The Roberts' home has been remodeled 11 times in the past 14 years.
The Chicago Cubs are in the playoffs this year. So once again sports commentators and Cubs fans alike are all speculating if their "curse" is about to end. It stands to reason that it is likely they could actually see their "curse" end this year. On paper they are certainly one of the better teams in the NL to make it to the playoffs, and they are the favorite over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first round. Even the Red Sox and White Sox had their curses ended in the last few years, so surely the Cubs are due.
Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing them fail once again. It's not just the fact that I am a St. Louis Cardinals fan, so by default I must be a life long Cubs hater. It's just that I have always been intrigued by the Cub fans superstitions. Whether its a cow, a goat, or a guy named Bartman they always seem to find someone to blame for their misery. People in Chicago have been doing this for years however. Long before there was a Cubs curse, there was the poor woman and her cow blamed for burning down the entire city. Historians and scientists alike have since said that it is highly unlikely she was to blame. But that doesn't stop the people from casting stones.
It has been 99 years since the Cubs last won a World Series title (that's 1908 for those of you horrible at math). I am of the opinion that they shouldn't win the World Series until the 100th year. So I predict this year will be the year that they get close, but blow it by some horrible stroke of luck once again. Who will be this year's goat? What new calamity awaits these Cubs this year? That's what I want to see. I am interested in who has to endure the wrath of the Northside until the Cubs finally win in 2008. I look forward to posting his/her/its face on here soon!
On a completely unrelated note. Yesterday I went to check out the new music releases. I hadn't really paid much attention to what was coming out this week, since the Foo Fighters released their album last week I've been pretty content with that. So I got on iTunes to see who was out there and I felt like I was flashing back to some foregone era. John Fogerty, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Dylan? Annie Lennox, Elton John, and Mick Jagger? I feel like behaving as if I were on some VHI "I Love the... " series and doing some ridiculous commentary. I'll spare you though.
