We can't put anything up outside because of our condo - so we went bonkers in 2010 inside!
Still have presents to wrap, but this is our Christmas house! Here is the extent of our decorations, besides the Christmas Houses which I have a video of, below.
And here is a video of our Dickens' Village houses. This was the first video I ever made on iMovie with captions and music, it was fun to test, I obviously want to do this in bigger/better ways in the future.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Friday, December 03, 2010
...is it okay to laugh???
Just so you know, this is about sports.
Within the last 5 days, there has been 2 separate stories about pro athletes having fun while losing, and while the contexts were very different, the crux of the conversation is the same.
Here are pertinent clips from the Arizona Cardinals Derek Anderson's laughing, then the following press conference:
and
Then last night during the sports debacle known as the Cavs/Heat matchup brought some of its own "too much fun" controversy. I have copied the URL of the story that is really scathing here
So the issue is this: Is it okay for players to laugh while they're losing. I have heard multiple arguments this week, but they are both flawed, and I'll explain why. The first story I heard was the "why it is okay to laugh while you're losing" story, from an NFL Hall of Fame Website story about Joe Montana:
And then there's the "winner's don't find losing funny" go-to guy I think of, Tom Brady. This is Tom Brady's postgame after the Jets loss earlier this year, and you can see it in his body language whenever they are struggling, he hates losing so much:
So now you have all the info, and I still haven't said anything yet. I guess my first point is that we are talking about 3 groups of people in the first 2 clips:
1. The horrible Arizona Cardinals
2. The horrible Cleveland Cavaliers
3. The Underachieving Miami Heat
1 & 2 are easy - the fact that Derek Anderson is laughing has nothing to do with their success or failures. The only reason this is a story is because it was on Monday Night Football, and an NFL Network exists, which needs 24/7 programming.
The Cavaliers were snakecharmed by Lebron for the last 7 years. They were a group that played magical regular seasons and honestly didn't stand a chance of winning. The fact that they were (or weren't) joking with Lebron during the game is not the disease - it is the symptom. They have never been really coached before this year (Mike Brown), and they were led by someone who is proving to be literally the biggest egomaniac in the history of modern sports.
You know a person is deplorable when I agree with Reggie Miller's "the hole has been dug deeper" sentiment.
I guess what I'm really getting at is that in the Montana excerpt, we see that levity, fun, laughter, motivation techniques of any kind are okay if employed by winners. They aren't if they are employed by losers. That's not anything new, there just isn't a consistency in diagnosis is my main problem. If the 49ers lost the Super Bowl to the Bengals that year, a really good Bengals team I may add, would Montana have been vilified for making a joke about John Candy to Harris Barton? No, for 2 reasons. 1, there was no NFL Network/ESPN/Podcasts/Youtube to focus on that aspect, and 2, Joe simply knows how to lead.
It isn't in Tom Brady's DNA to joke about a loss, but it is in Joe Montana's to joke as a motivation tool. We don't need or care to know what is in Daniel 'Boobie' Gibson's DNA with the Cavs, or with Derek Anderson's, because in the grand scheme of things they are role players, players of no consequence, and don't need to be measured in these conversations. They are not relevant.
All of this is not relevant. A leader is a leader, a winner is a winner, and ultimately measure athletes on championships, which is a biproduct of guts and determination. Sometimes humor is involved in the chemistry too, but that chemistry has long passed Derek Anderson and the remaining Cleveland Cavaliers windows.
Within the last 5 days, there has been 2 separate stories about pro athletes having fun while losing, and while the contexts were very different, the crux of the conversation is the same.
Here are pertinent clips from the Arizona Cardinals Derek Anderson's laughing, then the following press conference:
and
Then last night during the sports debacle known as the Cavs/Heat matchup brought some of its own "too much fun" controversy. I have copied the URL of the story that is really scathing here
So the issue is this: Is it okay for players to laugh while they're losing. I have heard multiple arguments this week, but they are both flawed, and I'll explain why. The first story I heard was the "why it is okay to laugh while you're losing" story, from an NFL Hall of Fame Website story about Joe Montana:
A humorous example of his poise under pressure occurred in Super Bowl XXIII against the Cincinnati Bengals. Trailing 16-13 with 3:20 left in the game, the 49ers had the ball on their own eight-yard line.
"Some of the guys seemed more than normally tense," Montana recalled, "especially Harris Barton, a great offensive tackle who has a tendency to get nervous." As usual, Montana was just focusing on the situation, how far they had to go and how much time was left. Just then he happened to spot the late actor John Candy in the stands. "Look" he said, 'isn't that John Candy." It was hardly what his teammates expected to hear in the huddle with the Super Bowl on the line. But it definitely broke the tension. "Everybody kind of smiled, and even Harris relaxed, and then we all concentrated on the job we had to do."
And then there's the "winner's don't find losing funny" go-to guy I think of, Tom Brady. This is Tom Brady's postgame after the Jets loss earlier this year, and you can see it in his body language whenever they are struggling, he hates losing so much:
So now you have all the info, and I still haven't said anything yet. I guess my first point is that we are talking about 3 groups of people in the first 2 clips:
1. The horrible Arizona Cardinals
2. The horrible Cleveland Cavaliers
3. The Underachieving Miami Heat
1 & 2 are easy - the fact that Derek Anderson is laughing has nothing to do with their success or failures. The only reason this is a story is because it was on Monday Night Football, and an NFL Network exists, which needs 24/7 programming.
The Cavaliers were snakecharmed by Lebron for the last 7 years. They were a group that played magical regular seasons and honestly didn't stand a chance of winning. The fact that they were (or weren't) joking with Lebron during the game is not the disease - it is the symptom. They have never been really coached before this year (Mike Brown), and they were led by someone who is proving to be literally the biggest egomaniac in the history of modern sports.
You know a person is deplorable when I agree with Reggie Miller's "the hole has been dug deeper" sentiment.
I guess what I'm really getting at is that in the Montana excerpt, we see that levity, fun, laughter, motivation techniques of any kind are okay if employed by winners. They aren't if they are employed by losers. That's not anything new, there just isn't a consistency in diagnosis is my main problem. If the 49ers lost the Super Bowl to the Bengals that year, a really good Bengals team I may add, would Montana have been vilified for making a joke about John Candy to Harris Barton? No, for 2 reasons. 1, there was no NFL Network/ESPN/Podcasts/Youtube to focus on that aspect, and 2, Joe simply knows how to lead.
It isn't in Tom Brady's DNA to joke about a loss, but it is in Joe Montana's to joke as a motivation tool. We don't need or care to know what is in Daniel 'Boobie' Gibson's DNA with the Cavs, or with Derek Anderson's, because in the grand scheme of things they are role players, players of no consequence, and don't need to be measured in these conversations. They are not relevant.
All of this is not relevant. A leader is a leader, a winner is a winner, and ultimately measure athletes on championships, which is a biproduct of guts and determination. Sometimes humor is involved in the chemistry too, but that chemistry has long passed Derek Anderson and the remaining Cleveland Cavaliers windows.
Monday, November 29, 2010
...Potter Movies...
I haven't seen the 7th movie yet - and I'm sad it's broken up into 2 parts. I wish we still had the ability to sit through an epic 3-3.5 hour movie like we once did. Movies like Giant, Laurence of Arabia, and Gone With The Wind were partially what they were because they were such an emotional commitment from start to finish...
But that isn't my point, I mostly wanted to just rank how I feel about the Potter movies after rewatching 1-5 in the past week:
1. HP & The Prisoner of Azkaban
2. HP & The Sorcerer's Stone
3. HP & The Order of the Phoenix
4. HP & The Goblet of Fire
5. HP & The Chamber of Secrets
As far as reading experience goes, this is how I rank all 7 (in terms of how much I enjoyed reading them, while reading them:
1. HP & The Sorcerer's Stone
2. HP & The Prisoner of Azkaban
3. HP & The Goblet of Fire
4. HP & The Half Blood Prince
5. HP & The Deathly Hallows
6. HP & The Order of the Phoenix
7. HP & The Chamber of Secrets
But that isn't my point, I mostly wanted to just rank how I feel about the Potter movies after rewatching 1-5 in the past week:
1. HP & The Prisoner of Azkaban
2. HP & The Sorcerer's Stone
3. HP & The Order of the Phoenix
4. HP & The Goblet of Fire
5. HP & The Chamber of Secrets
As far as reading experience goes, this is how I rank all 7 (in terms of how much I enjoyed reading them, while reading them:
1. HP & The Sorcerer's Stone
2. HP & The Prisoner of Azkaban
3. HP & The Goblet of Fire
4. HP & The Half Blood Prince
5. HP & The Deathly Hallows
6. HP & The Order of the Phoenix
7. HP & The Chamber of Secrets
Sunday, November 28, 2010
...CBS Crew...
I was driving home tonight from Football Sunday at Bree & Tori Tavares' house, and I heard the press conference that is shown a handful of seconds into this clip attached. My reaction was, "that is an awesome clip - this guy is pissed, he is upset, and he cares about the fact that he let the team down."
We were watching the Bills game live when Johnson dropped that pass, and I am not going to lie, I laugh and I shout when a guy drops a pass, b/c that's my right as a fan. I am allowed to have those emotions. However, if I were a broadcaster, I'd like to think I'd control myself. I don't see myself thinking differently if I had a different role, or if I made millions mocking current NFL players like the dimwits in this clip do.
I wanted to post the press conference to my twitter/facebook b/c I really think this Bills team is awesome - Justin asked if they were a playoff team if they didn't screw around at QB/RB early in the year like they did, and the fact that they lose to good teams by so few points is evidence they are not far at all from being exceptional.
When I searched youtube , I found the clip of the CBS clan mocking Stevie, and acting as if they have never suffered, never felt bad, never showed an emotion other than flat out cockiness, and in a few moans and groans and giggles, showed they have no idea what humility is.
Dan Marino, Bill Cowher, Shannon Sharpe, and Boomer Esiason. If you have followed football all your life, or in the last 30 years, you'd be able to answer this question very quickly, without much thinking: Would you have any desire to spend 30 minutes in a room with any or all of these men? Your answer would be an emphatic, "NO!" Only Steelers fans, Bengals fans, Dolphins fans, and fans of complete A-holes would appreciate what these guys have contributed to the league.
Marino is the Charles Barkley of the NFL - the guy who may have been the best to never win - except nobody longs for his lost championship. People wish Barkley won, and appreciate what he gives to the game now. Marino detracts from it. Cowher & Boomer aren't even worth talking about. Also, for some reason, refs refused to call a false start on him when basically on every snap he moved his right leg before the ball was ever snapped, b/c he was too old and slow to play by the rules, and too arrogant to think the rules applied to him.
Cowher is a maniac who can't control his saliva, and had an up and down career that was rejuvinated by a Super Bowl victory in what was not only the most boring Super Bowl ever, but also the Super Bowl victory against the least threatening opponent of all time.
Shannon Sharpe...I don't even know what to say, I don't know what kind of person you need to be to think, "That Sharpe is an admirable person...I really respect him." First of all, he is a murderer of proper diction - an assassin to the English language, but I won't even hold that against him b/c he spent the first 38 years of his life perfecting pass-catching, blocking, and running his mouth...but the list of people in this world who think they are fantastic because they were near John Elway is insufferable, and continues to grow.
And Jim Brown was once a great voice in the NFL, but I fear that TV producers and the CBS "Show" of NFL football have stripped him of integrity, thought and real insight. Instead he is relegated to be the ringleader of a circus whose clowns have clearly taken control.
Stevie Johnson should be criticized for dropping 5 passes, including the bomb to win the game. He is a pro, and deserves scorn for failing on a big stage like OT against a perennial powerhouse like the Steelers. But he should be applauded for caring, for wanting to win, for voicing concern that he let teammates down, and he doesn't need a collection of has-been's who falsely think they played in a better league, and whose only validation in life is to constantly attempt to drag down the young stars who they know will soon trump their importance in the most powerful sports league in America.
We were watching the Bills game live when Johnson dropped that pass, and I am not going to lie, I laugh and I shout when a guy drops a pass, b/c that's my right as a fan. I am allowed to have those emotions. However, if I were a broadcaster, I'd like to think I'd control myself. I don't see myself thinking differently if I had a different role, or if I made millions mocking current NFL players like the dimwits in this clip do.
I wanted to post the press conference to my twitter/facebook b/c I really think this Bills team is awesome - Justin asked if they were a playoff team if they didn't screw around at QB/RB early in the year like they did, and the fact that they lose to good teams by so few points is evidence they are not far at all from being exceptional.
When I searched youtube , I found the clip of the CBS clan mocking Stevie, and acting as if they have never suffered, never felt bad, never showed an emotion other than flat out cockiness, and in a few moans and groans and giggles, showed they have no idea what humility is.
Dan Marino, Bill Cowher, Shannon Sharpe, and Boomer Esiason. If you have followed football all your life, or in the last 30 years, you'd be able to answer this question very quickly, without much thinking: Would you have any desire to spend 30 minutes in a room with any or all of these men? Your answer would be an emphatic, "NO!" Only Steelers fans, Bengals fans, Dolphins fans, and fans of complete A-holes would appreciate what these guys have contributed to the league.
Marino is the Charles Barkley of the NFL - the guy who may have been the best to never win - except nobody longs for his lost championship. People wish Barkley won, and appreciate what he gives to the game now. Marino detracts from it. Cowher & Boomer aren't even worth talking about. Also, for some reason, refs refused to call a false start on him when basically on every snap he moved his right leg before the ball was ever snapped, b/c he was too old and slow to play by the rules, and too arrogant to think the rules applied to him.
Cowher is a maniac who can't control his saliva, and had an up and down career that was rejuvinated by a Super Bowl victory in what was not only the most boring Super Bowl ever, but also the Super Bowl victory against the least threatening opponent of all time.
Shannon Sharpe...I don't even know what to say, I don't know what kind of person you need to be to think, "That Sharpe is an admirable person...I really respect him." First of all, he is a murderer of proper diction - an assassin to the English language, but I won't even hold that against him b/c he spent the first 38 years of his life perfecting pass-catching, blocking, and running his mouth...but the list of people in this world who think they are fantastic because they were near John Elway is insufferable, and continues to grow.
And Jim Brown was once a great voice in the NFL, but I fear that TV producers and the CBS "Show" of NFL football have stripped him of integrity, thought and real insight. Instead he is relegated to be the ringleader of a circus whose clowns have clearly taken control.
Stevie Johnson should be criticized for dropping 5 passes, including the bomb to win the game. He is a pro, and deserves scorn for failing on a big stage like OT against a perennial powerhouse like the Steelers. But he should be applauded for caring, for wanting to win, for voicing concern that he let teammates down, and he doesn't need a collection of has-been's who falsely think they played in a better league, and whose only validation in life is to constantly attempt to drag down the young stars who they know will soon trump their importance in the most powerful sports league in America.
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