Smug & Inept

Sorry for not responding to this as of yet but lets get to it now. Bryant Gumbel said the following on his HBO show on Feb 7th–

“Finally, tonight, the Winter Games begin. Count me among those who don’t care about them and won’t watch them…Because they’re so trying…Like, try not to be incredulous when someone attempts to link these games to those of the ancient Greeks who never heard of skating or skiing. So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world’s greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention. Try not to point out that something’s not really a sport if a pseudo-athlete waits in what’s called a kiss-and-cry area, while some panel of subjective judges decides who won. So if only to hasten the arrival of the day they’re done, when we can move on to March Madness’ for God’s sake, let the games begin.”

First off, I love the Winter Olympics, even more so than the Summer Olympics. I know that might sound crazy but the simple truth is I like the idea of some less successful country being able to compete in a crazy event like Snowboard Cross simply because they had an athlete who was so far beyond driven that they committed themselves to being out in the freezing cold because they loved it or they had nothing better to do. Now that is not the case for all of the events such as Ice Skating or Hockey but it is clearly the case when you look at Cross-Country Skiing, Curling or even Speed Skating. The joy of the Winter Olympics is that they are loaded with unknown/underdog athletes and their unusual personalities (aka Flying Tomato or Zorro) while the Summer Olympics are always defined by the favorites and the media due to the ratings they garner. This is simply my opinion but I believe I can back this up with some historical data but that was not the point of this note.

My main point is that Bryant Gumbel is an ass. He always has been one and he always will be one. These comments were clearly devised to arouse controversy and ratings by pulling the race card prior to a major sports events which he (and HBO) has no leverage in covering/discussing although it is his profession to do so. Why didn’t he say before the NBA All Star game this weekend that this is not a true All-Star game due to the lack of Hispanics. And before you agree that this was a ratings stunt but still with a valuable and honest issue at hand remember that this is not 1969 again and the Olympics are far greater than the USA Team which is a fact that Bryant is simply and conveniently forgetting.

The Olympics are made up of over 70 participating countries many of which have had normal (This is a bit hard to define but you get my drift) race relations within their countries for over a century if not more. The Olympics are far bigger than the Caucasian race and you can see this in watching a great Japanese women’s figure skating team or a triumphant Korean mens speed skating team as well a gold medal winning black speed skater from Chicago (A minority, but how many Irish people win a medal in Luge by the way). What Gumbel is also forgetting is that the athletes choose what they want to participate in and times and scores are what count, not race.

Trust me that I do understand (As much as I can) how environment and economic prosperity can work against a minority athlete and be an major impact in their inclusion but what Bryant is forgetting is that this is not an event dominated by simply US or cash-rich nations. Incredible athletes come from varied countries such as Norway, Russia, Germany, Korea, China, Sweden, Kazhakstan and even Australia. These athletes are not from the elite class but generally make up that countries ethnic and religious breakdown.

I also find Bryant’s attack on “pseudo-athletes” to be a pretty thinly veiled attempt to attack gay athletes and sports which do not live up to his masculine ideals. Is he thinking that an athlete is not as good or deserving because of their sexuality or because their sport is not up to his standards? Is a triple axel completed by man in a frilly, sparkling costume less athletic than a dunk by a 6′6 black man in short shorts and a tank top? And how many athletes in the NFL or NBA are gay Bryant? If you knew Kobe was secretly gay would that make him less of a baller?

In closing Bryant could never comprehend that anything is bigger than himself and that is where his overall fault lies. The beauty is that this has been exposed time and time again with Bryant’s stints at NBC and CBS and I have the choice to continue to not watch him and hopefully convince a few other folks to do the same down the road.

Great Guinness Experiment

I am 31 and I have never had a Guinness in my life.

Now that I have my confession out of the way I can continue on with a) why I have never had Guinness and b) my plan to rectify this in a correct and calculated way. I have never had Guinness due to the fact that I dislike beer and stay away from it no matter what. I also love liquor so I am always more inclined to take the quicker and stronger route to the ultimate goal…Shitfacedom. Now many o’ souls have told me that Guinness is not just beer and therefore I should not lump it into that category and relegate myself to not enjoying this truly “god-like nectar” (Quote from a friend).

So my plan over the next 7-10 days is to try Guinness in the following ways to see if I do like it and if so which way I prefer it. Let the options fly (Inspiration and ideas courtesy of Cargo). Please feel free to add any suggestions to the list but I would appreciate if you would decline from attacking my manhood at this time.

• Guinness (Self explanatory)
• Black & Tan (Guinness & Ale)
• Black Fog (Guinness & Chambord liqueur)
• Black Shandy (Guinness & Lemonade)–This is the one I am most excited by.
• Black Velvet (Guinness & Champagne)
• Snakebite (Guinness & Hard Cider)

Expect a few follow up messages regarding this as the grand experiment begins.

Liquid or Solid?

In a recent lunch with the Federalist Society (Supplemental history of the Society) Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and member of the Federalist Society, Antonin F. Scalia stated that one has to be an “idiot” to think the constitution must have “flexibility” to evolve as society does. Does this trouble anyone else out there? Is it true that our forefathers had the insight to write a document which would be etched in stone regardless of the changes in society? If we believe they had this foresight to know this then do we believe they were right with what they wrote in the first place? Would we trust anyone to write such a binding document if we knew this was the case?

My opinion is that the constitution is a living, breathing document that is open to current and future interpretations. If this is not the case then we have to review all 19th and 20th century law history and challenge every so-called “advancement” in law and principle. This seems to be a pretty striking fundamental difference between Republicans and Democrats and has far greater implications than R. Vs. W. Is it not the right of the people to continue to govern and decide upon the law of the land or are we bound to one sheet of paper forever?

I also have a bit of a problem Justice Scalia with giving the US Constitution the same weight as another locked in document…The Ten Commandments.

Happy Valentines Day

According to the 2/14 Chicago Tribune Edition–

• $128–”Amount average man will shell out for Valentines Day”
• $74–”Amount average woman will spend for Valentines Day”
• $12,000–”Amount average guy can spend a year on the woman in his life”
• $590,400–”Average cost over a 50-year marriage–not including inflation”

When I read this I thought it was the beginning of a Mastercard commercial and I was expecting a few more lines like the following–

• $500–Lawyer Fee
• Prenuptial Agreement–Priceless.

802,791 Combinations and Counting

The Cereal Bowl is a new restaurant in Miami which offers (almost) endless cereal and topping options. As someone who was purposely neglected by their parents regarding the variety of their cereal this concept is intriguing and overwhelming. My parents never allowed “sugar” cereals into the house so I have been very sheltered and stuck in a Cheerios/Kix world for many years. I am not quite sure that I would not freeze up once inside this place but I am hopeful that I could stay focused.

Now I am not claiming that they were the first by any means as I do not want to take anything away from Cereality but from a business perspective it is a pretty interesting struggle that these guys went through in regards to opening this place and I could imagine this being quite successful with the right marketing and location.

I do wish them both continued success as I would like to someday enjoy a nice Cookie Crisp with Mini Malt Balls, Yogurt Flax Bark, Prunes, Mango and Maple Syrup bowl.

You want equality…

…here you go you junkies and booze hounds.

Suprising

The Grammy’s were a fairly pleasant surprise tonight based on the fact that most of the performances were fantastic and most of the awards seemed deserving. A few highlights included U2 with Mary J. singing One and Sir Paul singing Helter Skelter with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. It was also quite nice to see Sir Paul, Linkin Park and Jay-Z (Just great to hear him again) sing a little Yesterday. And although I am not a Kelly Clarkson fan it was a strong performance by a classy (Fully clothed) and talented artist and that was refreshing.

On the low end of the performances, Mariah Carey continues to over-sing, over-act and over-everything everytime she performs and makes me yearn for Whitney Houston. And as much as I respect Bruce Springstein his Dylan imitation is getting a bit old. On a sadder and more suprising note, Kayne West had a bit of a lackluster performance and might want to leave Kato, aka Jaime Foxx, at home occasionally.

On the award side I was pleased to see U2 win a few awards including top honors for Album of the Year for How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. As a huge fan I felt that this latest album was a bit forgotten/critically neglected in comparison to the last one due to the strength of the last albums monster singles and also the general timing involved (All That You Can’t Leave Behind coinciding with 9/11) so it was nice to see them win. On the other hand I have no idea how Green Day won for song of the year for Boulevard of Broken Dreams as Gold Digger and Kanye West should have won that award easily. I also would have liked to see the Foo Fighters win, but seeing John Legend win made up for that a bit and you cannot get everything you hope for.

However, it was the best Grammy show I have seen in my lifetime simply based on the performances and it did make me stick around to the end so mission accomplished.

Good or Bad?

My inbox is empty for the first time in about 6 months.

1920-2006

Sorry I was not able to be there at the end but you were always in my thoughts and prayers. You meant the world to me growing up and represented a strength which I only dreamed of. Your stubbornness and humor were always present and I hope they comforted you at the end as they will always comfort me. I am glad that you were able to meet the love of my life and I am full of sorrow that you, like my father, never met the joy of my life. I will however keep the stories and memories alive and make sure that the traits that made you unforgettable to me are kept alive for another generation. May God take you into his heart as you took me into yours. With Love.

PETA Peeves

I have to think that PETA is not too pleased with this new game being added to seafood restaurants on the East Coast. For a lowly $2 you can use a metal claw (albeit with a “Soft Grip”) and try to grab a live lobster out of a tank and if you get it you receive a free dinner starring your prize.

This is the first evolution in dining/gaming that I have seen but I have to believe that a few more might be on their way starring Pigs, Chickens and Cows. The options are really staggering and might change take out forever.