So this blog has pretty much dwindled into irrelevancy. I like keeping it up mainly as a piece of history if you want to see what I'm working on now, you should head over to puckbiscuit.com
Puck Biscuit is a hockey blog that I'm working on with my friend, Jon Luecke. Currently, it only covers the Southeastern Division, but there are plans to expand in the near future.
Thanks for stopping by!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
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Thursday, June 17, 2010
Track 27: Top 5 Reasons To Watch The World Cup
1. Country Allegiance--Your country needs you. I don’t care if your country is Algeria, Cameroon, or the United States. These tournaments end up becoming a show of strength in the world. If an underdog country like North Korea (the lowest ranked team in the World Cup) surprises everyone by winning, it’s something that their citizens and supporters will be talking about for the rest of their lives. Also, it’s a matter of national pride. With that said, Go USA!
2. The Vuvuzelas— Much criticism has already been levied at the vuvuzelas in this World Cup. If nothing else, you want something to talk about with other people, right? Between Sad Keanu, the BP Oil Spill, and the vuvuzelas, the internet can’t seem to get its collective head around anything else. I, for one, enjoy the intensity that the vuvuzelas add to each fixture, but that’s an opinion in the scant minority.
3. The Players’ Names— I get a fair bit of enjoyment out of hearing the announcers stumble over some of these ridiculous names. Case in point? Sokratis Papastathpoulos, a defender for Greece. By the time anyone says his name, his involvement with the play is long over. Another name oddity is North Korea having two players named Pak Nam-Chol. One of the announcers commented that it was the moment he had been dreading when both players named Pak Nam-Chol were on the field. Nearly half of the players on the Brazil team go by a one-word name as if they were some sort of deity. I guess soccer has just reached the same importance as religion there.
4. The Suddenness— A lot of people complain about soccer being a boring spot considering scores often end up 1-0. However, the game can shift momentum in a split second. If a player gets a red card, instant game-changer. This isn’t some five-yard holding penalty or two-minute power play. A red card means the player has to leave the field, his team can’t replace him in that match, and the player also serves a two-game suspension. This is the type of punishment that completely redirects a team’s direction in the tournament. A red card also has a great influence in more goals being scored, which the fans always clamor for during the World Cup.
5. Once Every Four Years— Heck, I’ll watch any sporting event that only happens every four years, because the build-up and anticipation is like none other. It’s also a global experience just like the Olympics. Billions of people all over the globe watching one singular sporting event. If that doesn’t make you feel like a global citizen, nothing will.
There you have it. Now watch some soccer!
EAVB_EGXUFENCGS
2. The Vuvuzelas— Much criticism has already been levied at the vuvuzelas in this World Cup. If nothing else, you want something to talk about with other people, right? Between Sad Keanu, the BP Oil Spill, and the vuvuzelas, the internet can’t seem to get its collective head around anything else. I, for one, enjoy the intensity that the vuvuzelas add to each fixture, but that’s an opinion in the scant minority.
3. The Players’ Names— I get a fair bit of enjoyment out of hearing the announcers stumble over some of these ridiculous names. Case in point? Sokratis Papastathpoulos, a defender for Greece. By the time anyone says his name, his involvement with the play is long over. Another name oddity is North Korea having two players named Pak Nam-Chol. One of the announcers commented that it was the moment he had been dreading when both players named Pak Nam-Chol were on the field. Nearly half of the players on the Brazil team go by a one-word name as if they were some sort of deity. I guess soccer has just reached the same importance as religion there.
4. The Suddenness— A lot of people complain about soccer being a boring spot considering scores often end up 1-0. However, the game can shift momentum in a split second. If a player gets a red card, instant game-changer. This isn’t some five-yard holding penalty or two-minute power play. A red card means the player has to leave the field, his team can’t replace him in that match, and the player also serves a two-game suspension. This is the type of punishment that completely redirects a team’s direction in the tournament. A red card also has a great influence in more goals being scored, which the fans always clamor for during the World Cup.
5. Once Every Four Years— Heck, I’ll watch any sporting event that only happens every four years, because the build-up and anticipation is like none other. It’s also a global experience just like the Olympics. Billions of people all over the globe watching one singular sporting event. If that doesn’t make you feel like a global citizen, nothing will.
There you have it. Now watch some soccer!
EAVB_EGXUFENCGS
Track 26: The Smart Discussion
Since when did it become a bad thing to be smart?
Now, hopefully you say to yourself, "It's not a bad thing at all. It's always an excellent thing to be smart."
However, I feel that there would be a considerable amount of people who would frown upon smartness. One only has to look so far as pop culture and media to confirm this unfortunate opinion.
What made me think of this topic was a character from the movie Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. This character would make incredibly smart statements, but she would then retreat and say the general idea in a much simpler manner. She explained that she always got made fun of for sounding like a nerd when she said something smartly. Ultimately, the movie reinforced a message of being an individual, so she no longer hid her smartness. Still, why is it that the media portrays smartness acting as a detriment to someone?
I've had an encounter with this type of criticism myself. Back in ninth and tenth grade, my friends convinced that I talked too intelligently. With some practice and consideration, I was able to curb my utilization of over-the-top vocabulary. Was this shift for the better? Probably. I think sometimes I tripped myself up trying to figure out how to frame my thoughts as smartly as possible. I believe I can now converse more effortlessly as well.
Maybe it is all too easy for an intelligent person to get lost in his or her own thoughts. Yet, it shouldn't be the place of others to criticize me for being smart. This discussion also reminds me of a Ford commercial a few years ago touting their new line of trucks. Ford basically claimed that the truck was designed by the nerds sitting in the front of the class learning some crazy hard physics. Of course, the commercial proclaimed how they designed the truck for you, the guys sitting in the back of the class goofing off and eating pizza.
This marketing only leads to discouraging smartness and to possibly impacting the education of America's future generations. Anyways, that's my little tirade for today. What's your opinion on how intelligence is displayed in the media?
Now, hopefully you say to yourself, "It's not a bad thing at all. It's always an excellent thing to be smart."
However, I feel that there would be a considerable amount of people who would frown upon smartness. One only has to look so far as pop culture and media to confirm this unfortunate opinion.
What made me think of this topic was a character from the movie Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. This character would make incredibly smart statements, but she would then retreat and say the general idea in a much simpler manner. She explained that she always got made fun of for sounding like a nerd when she said something smartly. Ultimately, the movie reinforced a message of being an individual, so she no longer hid her smartness. Still, why is it that the media portrays smartness acting as a detriment to someone?
I've had an encounter with this type of criticism myself. Back in ninth and tenth grade, my friends convinced that I talked too intelligently. With some practice and consideration, I was able to curb my utilization of over-the-top vocabulary. Was this shift for the better? Probably. I think sometimes I tripped myself up trying to figure out how to frame my thoughts as smartly as possible. I believe I can now converse more effortlessly as well.
Maybe it is all too easy for an intelligent person to get lost in his or her own thoughts. Yet, it shouldn't be the place of others to criticize me for being smart. This discussion also reminds me of a Ford commercial a few years ago touting their new line of trucks. Ford basically claimed that the truck was designed by the nerds sitting in the front of the class learning some crazy hard physics. Of course, the commercial proclaimed how they designed the truck for you, the guys sitting in the back of the class goofing off and eating pizza.
This marketing only leads to discouraging smartness and to possibly impacting the education of America's future generations. Anyways, that's my little tirade for today. What's your opinion on how intelligence is displayed in the media?
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