Sportmanship Lives

Although I have no written a blog on sports yet, I am a huge sports fan. Particularly of football and futbol. One thing however that consistently disappoints me about most professional sports is that the lack of courtesy and respect involved for those playing the games and/or the game themselves.

When sports reaches any type of professional level it seems like sportsmanship goes out the window. As a kid, at least when I was a kid, the point of the game was fun and winning was a bonus. You would shake hands with your open before the game, let everyone have a chance to play on the field whether they were any good or not. The parents brought snacks for the kids and having fun was the main object. Now understandably when billions of dollars are invested the purity of the game gets tainted. Winning becomes paramount. I have no problems there.

Where I have problems is when you look at individuals that sacrifice the integrity of the game itself for personal gain. I’m looking at you Barry Bonds - we all know you know you took steroids and are too selfish to admit your mistake. I’m looking at you Bill Belichick - you are a cheater and although you had several games in hand, you chose to run up the score on your opponents. I’m looking at you Latrell Spreewell - your spoiled ass chokes coaches and bitches that you can’t “feed your family” on $11 million a year. There are so many others who repeatedly piss on the game that supports their fame and fortune. Too many to list here.

Part of the reason I love futbol/soccer is that some semblance of sportmanship is still incorporated in the professional game. Opponents pick each other up off the field when they fall, if a player is down and injured, either team will put the ball out of play to ensure medical attention is given, and in general there is respect for your opponent on the field that is not seen in many sports. But I want to point attention to a story I heard on ESPN the other day which showed me that there is some hope for sportsmanship. Granted this is college and a women’s game but hey, any sign of hope is good. Below are excerpts. The full story is here.

Western Oregon senior Sara Tucholsky had never hit a home run in her career. Central Washington senior Mallory Holtman was already her school’s career leader in them. But when a twist of fate and a torn knee ligament brought them face to face with each other and face to face with the end of their playing days, they combined on a home run trot that celebrated the collective human spirit far more than individual athletic achievement.

Both schools compete as Division II softball programs in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Neither has ever reached the NCAA tournament at the Division II level. It was a typical Saturday of softball in April, right down to a few overzealous fans heckling an easy target, the diminutive Tucholsky, when she came to the plate in the top of the second inning of the second game with two runners on base and the game still scoreless after Western Oregon’s 8-1 win in the first game of the afternoon.

“Sara is small — she’s like 5-2, really tiny,” Western Oregon coach Pam Knox said. “So you would never think that she would hit a home run. The score was 0-0, and Sara hit a shot over center field. And I’m coaching third and I’m high-fiving the other two runners that came by — then all of a sudden, I look up, and I’m like, ‘Where’s Sara?’ And I look over, and she’s in a heap beyond first base. “While she was doubling back to tag first base, Tucholsky’s right knee gave out. The two runners who had been on base already had crossed home plate, leaving her the only offensive player on the field of play, even as she lay crumpled in the dirt a few feet from first base and a long way from home plate.

Umpires confirmed that the only option available under the rules was to replace Tucholsky at first base with a pinch runner and have the hit recorded as a two-run single instead of a three-run home run. Any assistance from coaches or trainers while she was an active runner would result in an out. “And right then,” Knox said, “I heard, ‘Excuse me, would it be OK if we carried her around and she touched each bag?’” The voice belonged to Holtman, a four-year starter who owns just about every major offensive record there is to claim in Central Washington’s record book.

Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace lifted Tucholsky off the ground and supported her weight between them as they began a slow trip around the bases, stopping at each one so Tucholsky’s left foot could secure her passage onward. Accompanied by a standing ovation from the fans, they finally reached home plate and passed the home run hitter into the arms of her own teammates. Then Holtman and Wallace returned to their positions and tried to win the game.

“It kept everything in perspective and the fact that we’re never bigger than the game,” Knox said of the experience. “It was such a lesson that we learned — that it’s not all about winning. And we forget that, because as coaches, we’re always trying to get to the top. We forget that. But I will never, ever forget this moment. It’s changed me, and I’m sure it’s changed my players.” For her part, Holtman seems not altogether sure what all the fuss is about. She seems to genuinely believe that any player in her position on any field on any day would have done the same thing. Which helps explains why it did happen on that day and on that field.

Now I don’t know if Holtman is just being modest or really believes that what she did was not a big deal, but the fact of the matter is that this is not something anyone is used to see at any major level, college or professional, of sports. Can you honestly see Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens lifting up some just called up minor leaguer who just tore their ACL after hitting what would be their only home run in their career and carrying them around the bases? Barry would probably point and laugh and Clemens would likely throw a bat at him.

The games that these professionals play are their golden goose. They played it for free when they were kids. I am sure at that time, they respected the rules, they respected the game and those that played it. Unfortunately too many athletes are so short-sighted that they look out for their own personal gain and damn the rest. I know that I’ve stopped watching pro basketball because of the overblown egos and lack of team play and I know a lot of people that have stopped watching too. Spoiled brat athletes that do not appreciate that they are multi-millionaires for playing a game and have forgotten where they came from. Its good to hear about players like Holtman once in a while and since I know that many star athletes read my blog I’m sure it will make a huge difference in the character of players you will see at your next neighborhood game. Don’t worry you can thank me later.

Idiocracy

It came to my realization that although I have a category on my blog named Idiocracy, it’s likely a large percentage of my readers have no idea what I mean by that. Idiocracy was a movie made by Mike Judge (of Office Space fame) that was released a couple years ago. And since I’ve watched it, I tend to see more and more of it coming true in my daily observations of life.  I’m lazy so I’m just going to copy and paste the plot as listed from IMDB and post a few YouTube clips of some the best parts. Enjoy and be afraid for you have seen the future!

Plot Summary:

Joe Bauers, an Army librarian, is judged to be absolutely average in every regard, has no relatives, has no future, so he’s chosen to be one of the two test subjects in a top-secret hibernation program. He and hooker Rita were to awaken in one year, but things go wrong and they wake up instead in 2505. By this time, stupid people have outbred intelligent people; the world is (barely) run by morons–and Joe and Rita are the smartest people in America.

Introduction:

Best of Idiocracy pt 1

Best of Idiocracy pt 2

If you don’t know where you are, how do you know where you’re going?

Now for years and years we have been hearing about how bad Americans are in geography and general world awareness. Recently a National Geographic report has come out that tested over 500 young adults (18-24 year olds) that continued to prove this point. Now the report itself is almost 90 pages long, so I’ll just break down some of the more shocking points for me.

• 63% of respondents could not locate Iraq or Saudi Arabia on a map of the Middle East.
• 75% of respondents could not locate Iran or Israel on a map of the Middle East.
• 75% of respondents could not locate Indonesia on a map.
• 88 % of respondents could not locate Afghanistan on a map of Asia.
• 74% of respondents believe that English is the most widely spoken language in the world (It’s Mandarin Chinese)

Now a major point with this set of statistics is that all of these locations have been mentioned ad nauseum in media. Indonesia was mentioned mainly during the tsunami but coverage of Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Israel and Saudi Arabia can be found on just about every news outlet on TV and print. Apparently Americans, especially young Americans, are not aware of anything outside of their own national boundaries. As far as they are concerned, these anonymous countries on the other side of the world are just a way for the good ol’ US of A to test their newest way to put a boot in some infidel ass!

So what you say! They don’t know need to know anything about any other countries. As long as they know about the greatest country in the world that’s fine. I mean who cares about all those third world nations anyway? I send Sally Struthers my $5 a month to help them. Well here’s some news for you…

• 50% of respondents could not locate New York state on a map of the US
• 43% of respondents could not locate Ohio on a map of the US
• 67% of respondents could not locate Louisiana on a map of the US

Beyond that, geographic and world awareness skills are deemed as not vital skills by the majority of the group.

• 38% of respondents said that speaking a foreign language is “not too important” vs. 14% that said speaking a foreign language is “absolutely necessary”
• 32% of respondents would miss a conference call scheduled with colleagues in another time zone. (cannot compute time differences between time zones)
• 21% of respondents said it’s “not too important” to know where countries in the news are located.
• 34% of respondents would go in the wrong direction in the event of an evacuation. (a fictional map and scenario were given in which they were told a hurricane was advancing and to identify the city to the northwest in which they could go)

The second and fourth bullet points are pretty important things to know if you are going to survive in your job or in the world in general. We are moving toward a global economy and twice as many young adults feel that knowing a foreign language is unimportant. As a country, we need to get our heads out of our asses if we still want to be competitor in the global economy. We are already in a bad situation. We are a country that isn’t educated about personal finance (evidenced by our growing national debt and bankruptcy rates) and world awareness. We do not have discipline as evidenced by our growing obesity rates and the behavior of children (you really didn’t think you were going to get a blog where I didn’t mention that did you?!).

As sad as a realization as it is, all civilizations must fall. There are a lot of similarities between the fall of Rome and the path the US is walking. Before we know it, we’ll have a country full of these idiots.

Toy Juxtaposition

Accuse of me of being a consumerist whore or just plain being bored, but I like to skim through my direct mail on occasion. Even though I don’t pick up books as much as I would like to, I love reading. Magazines, blogs and even advertisements. So this Friday, I receive the Toys R Us circular pushing all of its summer toys. Now I’ve gotten the circular before and was amazed at the sheer grandiosity of the swing/play sets that are now sold. I remember when I was a kid I had a swing set. I thought it was pretty great. It kinda looked like the set below but with a metal slide instead of plastic and not as racial diverse mix of kids playing with it.

Anyway this particular swing set is the 2nd cheapest one listed on the Toys R Us website. I lived in a upper middle class neighborhood growing up and this was about what other kids had. When I flip through this circular, the average “gym” was nicer than my first apartment. Look at this crap below. Rock wall, clubhouse, twist slide and I think the kids in the picture come with it so you can have sycophantic playmates. It just makes me realize how spoiled kids are these days…

But this is not the point of the blog. There were two toys in the summer circular that caught my attention. I went on the Toys R Us website to find pictures of the two to show and write about. Low and behold, they appeared on the home page and it seemed like an extreme juxtaposition to me. I am talking about are circled.

The “Natural Toys” is apparently the result of Toys R Us “re-thinking playtime with our exclusive new line of environmentally conscious toys.” Apparently an unpainted wooden toy car or train is a revolutionary change in toys. Nevertheless, it is a departure from complex expensive toys to something simple. A type of toy that makes kids use their imagination to play with it instead of feeding them some toy executive interpretation of imagination through battery powered medium. I am all for it but apparently you have to be a hippie to want to buy some unpainted wooden toys.

The second is a monstrosity called the Cyclone (see it enlarged here). Do you remember Slip N Slide? Well this is Slip N Slide for spoiled upper middle class kids whose parents are divorced and trying to buy their kids’ love. For a mere $500, your kid can become the most popular kid on the block with their own 180 degree tornado shaped inflatable water slide with splash pool! I remember trying to get my parents to buy me a $30 Super Soaker was a chore. Asking for a $500 inflatable water slide? I guess when you get a $2000 playset/gym, $500 is small potatoes. But I suppose after the water bill comes, it’ll end up costing you $2000. I’m not even going to get started on the amount of water wasted while millions live without potable water in third world countries…that’s another blog.

I just thought the juxtaposition of a simple wooden toys and the epitome of spoiled American consumer gluttony was fitting. I’m getting to the point when I look at the time when I grew up as a much simpler time. I suppose it was but I am concerned about how much as a society we give to our kids. Chances are several of these kids are just handed a $500 water slide or $2000 swing set without having to earn it in any manner, whether it be through good grades, chores or whatever. And then we are surprised when they grow up with a sense of entitlement and not knowing the value of a dollar. The thing is that only parents can stop it. The toy makers are reveling in the fact that we will literally pay any cost to satiate our kids ephemeral desires. They market to them relentlessly on TV and websites, which I am sure parents play close attention to. Watch an hour of Saturday morning cartoons and you will see how kids are trained to become consumers. It is the way of America. Unfortunately few parents do anything to counteract what media tells them, in fact they generally reinforce it. So parents enjoy the nagging for a Cyclone! And once you buy it, let me know so I can come over and play on it…

Those Swedes sho’ kno’ how ta make dem greens!

Just something funny that I saw in our local Weis Supermarket this afternoon. I was not aware that yams, collard greens, fish frys and sweet potato pie was so European. Despite how European Sylvia looks, I’m think there was a mistake here.

Religious nut job = bad parents

From the Associated Press:

Parents Pick Prayer Over Docs; Girl Dies

By ROBERT IMRIE – 5 hours ago

WESTON, Wis. (AP) — Police are investigating an 11-year-old girl’s death from an undiagnosed, treatable form of diabetes after her parents chose to pray for her rather than take her to a doctor.An autopsy showed Madeline Neumann died Sunday from diabetic ketoacidosis, a condition that left too little insulin in her body, Everest Metro Police Chief Dan Vergin said.She had probably been ill for about a month, suffering symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, loss of appetite and weakness, the chief said Wednesday, noting that he expects to complete the investigation by Friday and forward the results to the district attorney.The girl’s mother, Leilani Neumann, said the family believes in the Bible and that healing comes from God, but she said they do not belong to an organized religion or faith, are not fanatics and have nothing against doctors.She insisted her youngest child, a wiry girl known to wear her straight brown hair in a ponytail, was in good health until recently.”We just noticed a tiredness within the past two weeks,” she said Wednesday. “And then just the day before and that day (she died), it suddenly just went to a more serious situation. We stayed fast in prayer then. We believed that she would recover. We saw signs that to us, it looked like she was recovering.”Her daughter — who hadn’t seen a doctor since she got some shots as a 3-year-old, according to Vergin — had no fever and there was warmth in her body, she said.The girl’s father, Dale Neumann, a former police officer, said he started CPR “as soon as the breath of life left” his daughter’s body.Family members elsewhere called authorities to seek help for the girl.”My sister-in-law, she’s very religious, she believes in faith instead of doctors …,” the girl’s aunt told a sheriff’s dispatcher Sunday afternoon in a call from California. “And she called my mother-in-law today … and she explained to us that she believes her daughter’s in a coma now and she’s relying on faith.”The dispatcher got more information from the caller and asked if an ambulance should be sent.”Please,” the woman replied. “I mean, she’s refusing. She’s going to fight it. … We’ve been trying to get her to take her to the hospital for a week, a few days now.”The aunt called back with more information on the family’s location, emergency logs show. Police and paramedics arrived within minutes and immediately called for an ambulance that took her to a hospital.But less than an hour after authorities reached the home, Madeline — a bright student who left public school for home schooling this semester — was declared dead.She is survived by her parents and three older siblings.”We are remaining strong for our children,” Leilani Neumann said. “Only our faith in God is giving us strength at this time.”The Neumanns said they moved from California to a modern, middle-class home in woodsy Weston, just outside Wassau in central Wisconsin, about two years ago to open a coffee shop and be closer to other relatives. A basketball hoop is set up in the driveway.Leilani Neumann said she and her husband are not worried about the investigation because “our lives are in God’s hands. We know we did not do anything criminal. We know we did the best for our daughter we knew how to do.”

How would this not be considered child abuse? They’re gonna let the other kids stay with this crazy bitch? Why?! Because she justifies her action with faith? How many more medical emergencies does she have to ignore? These kids don’t have a choice. You end up born as the unfortunate offspring of a mouth breather like this chick who believes “It is all in God’s hands” so congratulations! you get to die a slow painful death without anyone trying to help you in any significant way. Obviously God wanted this kid to die because her parents are fucking morons with an undying (pun intended) faith in Him. How much you want to bet that if the parent were suffering like this kid was their asses would have been at a hospital weeks before? The woman should be burned at the stake…I think God would have wanted it that way.

Heaven, Hell and the Funerals in between

I am a huge StumbleUpon user and I am generally amazed about how this little add on to Firefox can pick out some of the most poignant sites to present to me. Understandably, I have fed it several thousands of thumbs up and thumbs down so it probably knows me better than I know myself. Scary in a way. But sometimes it pops up something that really isn’t in my interest but fits in a timely way with my life.

This morning I stumbled upon this blog posting by someone named Tobasco De Gama. For those too lazy to click the link and read the short blog, the blogger talks about funerals and atheism. He basically talks about how his grandfather died recently and there were essentially two eulogies at the funeral - one by a family friend who described a man who loved his kids and grandkids, his stubbornness and how he was loved by family and another by a preacher who proclaimed the greatness of heaven and how the deceased deathbed conversion was the best decision he ever made.

Now this particular blog was relevant to me because earlier this week someone from company I work with passed. I did not really know her well but a good friend of mine did and it impacted him. I heard from several people (and based on the limited interaction I had with her) that she was an extraordinary person. Now normally I take that with a grain of salt because after someone dies even the biggest asshole becomes a saint in some people’s eyes.  But I don’t think that was the case here.  I know she was pretty active in a church community and after reading this I wonder if a preacher gave a similar speech at her funeral.

I understand the heaven thing is a device used to ease the pain of losing someone. It helps to think they are better off that way. Personally I think once we leave this mortal coil that’s it. Dirt nap. But I guess my main concern with a speech like that is that it reduces any of your actions in life and trumps them all with your belief. Tobasco’s grandfather… if he didn’t convert on his deathbed, would he not be worthy of heaven (if there is one)? The fact that he sacrificed for his family and country means nothing in light of belief. This woman at work…if she was not a member of the church community, would the great things she did with her family and those she worked with meant nothing? What if she wasn’t a member of the church community but an atheist that volunteered with a charity? It means nothing according to that eulogy. It’s that type of thinking that puts Hitler in heaven (as long as he repented) and Arthur C Clarke (RIP) in hell.

Nothing is wrong with faith but religion fucks it all up. Why does your impact on others and the world have little to no bearing in religion? It makes no sense. Irene Walker will be missed because of how she interacted with those around her. That puts her in heaven for those than knew her and I can only hope that the church was convinced enough of her faith to put her there too.

Great tool for Amazon users - Free Shipping!

One of the great things about Amazon is that they have an extensive selection and that a lot of their stuff qualifies for free shipping if you order more than $25. The thing is because their prices are so good, especially on CDs, books andDVDs,  you can sometime end up buying a couple items but being about $2 or less under the free shipping mark. Most of the time you don’t want to buy another book, DVD or CD since that will put you way over the $25 mark and it’ll make you feel like you didn’t really get a deal on shipping at all since you were forced to buy an additional item.

Well a great site that you can use when you’re in the predicament is www.filleritem.com. You enter the amount you are short and it will provide you a small cost item that qualifies for free shipping and will put you over so you can get your free shipping without having to buy another item that will put you way over. You may not actually need the item but consider it a significant less charge for shipping.

Yo, I got your Mallomar hookup. Meet me at 1pm and come alone…

“What does it take for a school to suspend an eighth-grader, bar his attendance from an honors dinner, and strip him of his post as class Vice President? If you guessed drugs, alcohol, or a firearm, think again. A bag of candy is reason enough. This week, a Connecticut school levied these very punishments on an honor student with no history of misconduct, just for buying a bag of Skittles from his classmate. School officials are hiding behind their “Wellness Policy”—which prohibits bake sales, classroom pizza parties, and the sale of candy—as justification for the harsh disciplinary action.”

(source: http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm/headline/3582 - which lists a few other absurd ideas like putting cigarette style warning labels on milk and dairy products)

Here is another prime example why zero tolerance doesn’t work. I understand wanting to keep drugs out of school but there is a distinct difference between a speedball and tylenol. I understand wanting to give kids healthy options in school but there’s a difference between having McDonald’s advertise on your report card  and having a snickers between class. Zero tolerance does not recognize that.

Would you be behind the same penalty for someone caught speeding 1 mile over the speed limit as well as 60 miles over the limit?  How about someone caught stealing a loaf of bread as someone that embezzled millions of dollars? Or better yet the same penalty for someone who litters fast food wrapper on the sidewalk as someone that dumps toxic chemicals into the drinking water supply? No one in the right mind would advocate these things yet we allow them in our schools.

Does anyone really feel that this crime deserves this punishment? An honors student on the student government is suspended cause he wanted to taste the rainbow?! Is this is the school’s biggest issue to be addressing? They don’t have kids fucking behind the bleachers, toking up in the parking lot or being harassed and beat up by bullies? Perhaps these would be better things to focus on instead of the eating habits of one of these star pupils. But maybe that’s just me…

Strange criminals in Ohio

“A 38-year-old Cole Avenue man reported that his home was invaded on Sept. 9. The man said he was sitting home alone masturbating and watching a pornographic movie when a man came down into the basement, holding a gun, and started to videotape him. The man said that before he left, the intruder fed his dog some mushrooms and the dog died.”

(source: http://www.yesbutnobutyes.com/archives/2008/03/the_lower_end_o.html)

I think I saw this video on Megarotic…