Thursday, June 24, 2010
Back on the Attack
A shout-out from America's preeminent blogger and social media guru - during an event which was my unofficial beginning to the summer - has spun me back into writing form.
(It's been a month - and quite a month at that - but more on that later.)
And the summer kickoff event? Well, it was only the seminal event of the month of June...the NBA Draft.
From 1988-92, I used to literally watch the Draft on the phone with my boy Dave, and we'd compare our mock drafts. I got 19 right one year (take that, Ric Bucher...I was like 13 and kicking the draft's ass).
Back then, it was two kids on the phone. Now, I have my ESPN HD on, along with my NBA.com drafttracker, as well as a live video blog and a chat room.
And I'm blogging.
(Ohai, Big Blue Nation)
-----
The World Cup.
What to say about a sport where you can literally win by not winning?
It's simple. Call it the "kiss-and-cry" phenomenon.
Every four years, the world stops to watch little 14-18 year old girls skate around a hockey rink, then sit in the kiss-and-cry seat, awaiting their scores from the judges.
Every four years, the FIFA World Cup is held on a massive stage and 32 countries - and then some - flock to the telly to follow a bunch of guys kicking the ball around for 90 minutes (plus some in case of "injury").
So if the world stops what it's doing for a few weeks - and literally, the world's GNP falls by 30% during the World Cup - then I'll give it my attention.
Soccer - should I clarify - *good* soccer is beautiful to watch. So is Olympic hockey, as we all saw. And the US/Algeria game was one for the ages.
Was it "the Miracle on fill-in-trite-phrase?" No. Hardly. Algeria didn't score during pool play. But it was dramatic, exciting, last-minute, and certainly karmatic, considering the US should have breezed thru if not for bad offsides calls.
So go USA, beat Ghana. And if not, good run. See you in 2014 in Rio.
-----
Spent some time in Maui this month. Wow.
If you haven't been, go. Hawai'i is a special place.
I'm partial to Islands, being a(n) (Rhode) Islander - and actually living for some time on the island part of the Biggest Little.
Having oceans with mountain seascapes, fresh pineapple, Bikini Blond pale ale, and a fun concoction known as Hula Pie...mmmmm, Hula Pie.
Of course, the typical Rhode Island mentality wonders why you'd fly 12,500 miles for a beach...I say clamcake up.
-----
My thoughts on the continuous BP disaster - I'm not calling it an "oil spill"
because that makes it sound as if it's past tense. Far from it. 35-60k barrels spilling into the Gulf of Mexico DAILY.
Everyone's at fault - BP, the rig company, the U.S. Government (not that having oil men in office for 12 years would ever lend toward lax policies on offshore, deep water drilling).
But, we here at TLBR believe that it's more important - and prudent - to fix the problem first, then figure out how not to have it happen again. Blame game? No time for that, as far as I'm concerned.
Not when there's supertankers worth of oil spilling into the gulf area.
Not when Louisiana and Mississippi fishermen, who were just getting back on their feet following Katrina and Ike, are going to lose their livelihoods...again.
Not when some of the finest beaches and areas that rely on their resort and tourism money are covered in sludge.
Not when there's no answers.
Find the answer, then worry about the questions.
-----
That is all. Nice to be back. Hope to see all y'all soon.
(It's been a month - and quite a month at that - but more on that later.)
And the summer kickoff event? Well, it was only the seminal event of the month of June...the NBA Draft.
From 1988-92, I used to literally watch the Draft on the phone with my boy Dave, and we'd compare our mock drafts. I got 19 right one year (take that, Ric Bucher...I was like 13 and kicking the draft's ass).
Back then, it was two kids on the phone. Now, I have my ESPN HD on, along with my NBA.com drafttracker, as well as a live video blog and a chat room.
And I'm blogging.
(Ohai, Big Blue Nation)
-----
The World Cup.
What to say about a sport where you can literally win by not winning?
It's simple. Call it the "kiss-and-cry" phenomenon.
Every four years, the world stops to watch little 14-18 year old girls skate around a hockey rink, then sit in the kiss-and-cry seat, awaiting their scores from the judges.
Every four years, the FIFA World Cup is held on a massive stage and 32 countries - and then some - flock to the telly to follow a bunch of guys kicking the ball around for 90 minutes (plus some in case of "injury").
So if the world stops what it's doing for a few weeks - and literally, the world's GNP falls by 30% during the World Cup - then I'll give it my attention.
Soccer - should I clarify - *good* soccer is beautiful to watch. So is Olympic hockey, as we all saw. And the US/Algeria game was one for the ages.
Was it "the Miracle on fill-in-trite-phrase?" No. Hardly. Algeria didn't score during pool play. But it was dramatic, exciting, last-minute, and certainly karmatic, considering the US should have breezed thru if not for bad offsides calls.
So go USA, beat Ghana. And if not, good run. See you in 2014 in Rio.
-----
Spent some time in Maui this month. Wow.
If you haven't been, go. Hawai'i is a special place.
I'm partial to Islands, being a(n) (Rhode) Islander - and actually living for some time on the island part of the Biggest Little.
Having oceans with mountain seascapes, fresh pineapple, Bikini Blond pale ale, and a fun concoction known as Hula Pie...mmmmm, Hula Pie.
Of course, the typical Rhode Island mentality wonders why you'd fly 12,500 miles for a beach...I say clamcake up.
-----
My thoughts on the continuous BP disaster - I'm not calling it an "oil spill"
because that makes it sound as if it's past tense. Far from it. 35-60k barrels spilling into the Gulf of Mexico DAILY.
Everyone's at fault - BP, the rig company, the U.S. Government (not that having oil men in office for 12 years would ever lend toward lax policies on offshore, deep water drilling).
But, we here at TLBR believe that it's more important - and prudent - to fix the problem first, then figure out how not to have it happen again. Blame game? No time for that, as far as I'm concerned.
Not when there's supertankers worth of oil spilling into the gulf area.
Not when Louisiana and Mississippi fishermen, who were just getting back on their feet following Katrina and Ike, are going to lose their livelihoods...again.
Not when some of the finest beaches and areas that rely on their resort and tourism money are covered in sludge.
Not when there's no answers.
Find the answer, then worry about the questions.
-----
That is all. Nice to be back. Hope to see all y'all soon.
