With two games left in the season there were three different teams fighting for the last playoff spot. Just so happened that we had a game against one of the teams. Just so happened that tied 1-1 in the last minute they had to win to have a chance to make fourth. Just so happened that if we won the game we were guaranteed 4th where a tie would make things a whole lot worse for us...
... So they did what they had to do and pulled their goalie... and we did what we had to do and scored to win the game... with 10 seconds left... a pulled goalie and 10 seconds helped us out of bottom 4 and playdowns and took us into top 4 and playoffs... and it seems to me just a little...
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
So Why Are We Even Here?
... because you wanted to come!...
Is how we can sum up our second trip to Venice in close to as many weeks. It was bitter cold, especially overcrowded, and way overpriced due to the fact that Venice is like ground zero for Carnival. Sometimes this kind of crowd can bring a lot of energy to a place... but nothing was explained and everything was confused... everyone going in different directions trying to figure out the absolute worst map/brochure combination I've ever seen in my life... and in the confusion we had to battle through this mass of people on extremely narrow streets...
...The main palace that looked so cool and was the reason I wanted to come back in the first place turned out not to be as cool from the inside. The art-work that the gondola driver said we HAD to see was really nothing at all, or if it was it wasn't explained...
... This is what I did learn... Venezians are zealous about their independence and thus they chose St Mark, represented by a lion, as their patron saint... as I guess he was independent from the powers of Rome as well as the East... (they got rid of their previous Grecian saint (who had slain a dragon) when they became independent as a testament to this)... and therefore perfect... his remains were even stolen from Alexandria and brought to Venice in accordance with their belief that when he shipwrecked on the lagoon an angel welcomed him and said 'greetings Mark, this is where your body will find rest' (in whatever language Mark spoke at the time)... and so the Venetians decided to self-fulfill their own interpretation of this prophecy... but anyways... now the Venetian flag as well as most metaphorical artwork about Venice have a huge lion...
... And even in the turmoil the two things I couldn't help but like were... first... the tour took you through the how the rulers in Venice got and maintained power... the handout to the plebs in the grand hall of congress where all Venezians were able to accept or reject the appointment of the new Doge and feel as if they could keep in check all other workings in the government... the inner workings of the 300 seat senate entrusted with daily matters, only to be held by noblemen... the more ancient of the senators presiding as one of the 30 judges dealing with political prisoners... the even more private workings of the 10 person committee to expadite important matters bogged up in the senate... to the even more private 3 person council to watch over the 10... and lastly the 2 person sensory board that was supposed to be a last safety valve and watch these watchers...
... and then moving over into the armory, where Venice actually boasted quite a substantial military presence along the Adriatic for centuries... and yet prevented military coups by the fact that no citizen of Venice could have more than 25 soldiers under their command...
... and lastly walking over to the prisons on the 'Bridge of Sighs'... the final say on political unrest... (with scrawlings on the wall preserved for some of their most famous prisoners)... even now it gives a sense of despair and hopelessness... a direct route from the chambers of the 30 judges... yet running through a possible detour and the committee of 10 where your sentence could be overturned...
... the balance of power was so fine that Venice was able to avoid coups through all its centuries of history that so many other city-states fell victim to...
... Being in these same walls that were the lifeblood to a city as well as for some time an empire can inspire some little sense of awe... from a historian... with enough imagination...
... Secondly I liked what art they did show in these areas... most of the art was either portraits of doges... but there were myths about gods and goddesses... biblical scenes and prophets... and my favorite... depictions of ancient battles... My favorite depicted a massive army trying to make it across the water on huge rafts (held up by barrels) to attack the city... the Venizians are shown swimming underwater to the rafts and cutting the ropes holding the barrels in place and sinking the rafts... the soldiers on the rafts... in full armour... can do nothing but wait to drown...
Is how we can sum up our second trip to Venice in close to as many weeks. It was bitter cold, especially overcrowded, and way overpriced due to the fact that Venice is like ground zero for Carnival. Sometimes this kind of crowd can bring a lot of energy to a place... but nothing was explained and everything was confused... everyone going in different directions trying to figure out the absolute worst map/brochure combination I've ever seen in my life... and in the confusion we had to battle through this mass of people on extremely narrow streets...
...The main palace that looked so cool and was the reason I wanted to come back in the first place turned out not to be as cool from the inside. The art-work that the gondola driver said we HAD to see was really nothing at all, or if it was it wasn't explained...
... This is what I did learn... Venezians are zealous about their independence and thus they chose St Mark, represented by a lion, as their patron saint... as I guess he was independent from the powers of Rome as well as the East... (they got rid of their previous Grecian saint (who had slain a dragon) when they became independent as a testament to this)... and therefore perfect... his remains were even stolen from Alexandria and brought to Venice in accordance with their belief that when he shipwrecked on the lagoon an angel welcomed him and said 'greetings Mark, this is where your body will find rest' (in whatever language Mark spoke at the time)... and so the Venetians decided to self-fulfill their own interpretation of this prophecy... but anyways... now the Venetian flag as well as most metaphorical artwork about Venice have a huge lion...
... And even in the turmoil the two things I couldn't help but like were... first... the tour took you through the how the rulers in Venice got and maintained power... the handout to the plebs in the grand hall of congress where all Venezians were able to accept or reject the appointment of the new Doge and feel as if they could keep in check all other workings in the government... the inner workings of the 300 seat senate entrusted with daily matters, only to be held by noblemen... the more ancient of the senators presiding as one of the 30 judges dealing with political prisoners... the even more private workings of the 10 person committee to expadite important matters bogged up in the senate... to the even more private 3 person council to watch over the 10... and lastly the 2 person sensory board that was supposed to be a last safety valve and watch these watchers...
... and then moving over into the armory, where Venice actually boasted quite a substantial military presence along the Adriatic for centuries... and yet prevented military coups by the fact that no citizen of Venice could have more than 25 soldiers under their command...
... and lastly walking over to the prisons on the 'Bridge of Sighs'... the final say on political unrest... (with scrawlings on the wall preserved for some of their most famous prisoners)... even now it gives a sense of despair and hopelessness... a direct route from the chambers of the 30 judges... yet running through a possible detour and the committee of 10 where your sentence could be overturned...
... the balance of power was so fine that Venice was able to avoid coups through all its centuries of history that so many other city-states fell victim to...
... Being in these same walls that were the lifeblood to a city as well as for some time an empire can inspire some little sense of awe... from a historian... with enough imagination...
... Secondly I liked what art they did show in these areas... most of the art was either portraits of doges... but there were myths about gods and goddesses... biblical scenes and prophets... and my favorite... depictions of ancient battles... My favorite depicted a massive army trying to make it across the water on huge rafts (held up by barrels) to attack the city... the Venizians are shown swimming underwater to the rafts and cutting the ropes holding the barrels in place and sinking the rafts... the soldiers on the rafts... in full armour... can do nothing but wait to drown...
Monday, February 16, 2009
MTV's Boiling Points
The Time Limit Will Be 15 Minutes...
Four of us went out for a meal tonight after practice... a common enough thing when the alternative is... go home, under cook your pasta and over cook your bland chicken, add canned pasta sauce and vegetables... and stare at a TV/computer the rest of the night... coincidentally the exact same thing you do every other night... and getting one thing straight... Youtube and 'Party of Five' reruns can (only?) take you (only?) so far...
... So as we settle into food, drink, and another meaninglessly enjoyable conversation about nothing in particular... a run-down on the troubles of the world... 2012... Obama and the Stimulus Plan... hockey rumors... all the craziness we saw on Youtube... how all this might affect the exchange rate... and what Ron Paul has to say about it... some random hockey fan walks up to the table... eyes us down... 'ahem'... interrupts... 'M'ESCUZIE'... louder... grabs my arm... introduces us all to... 'Frank!'... himself... pulls up a chair... grabs his beer from his table... sits down... buys us a round of beers... 'PROST!'... and proceeds to carry out a 20 minute, completely one-sided conversation about how we have to win... 'Imperative'... (with fingers touched to thumb in his best George Bush impression)... how he likes soccer better... 'Because I am Italiano'... and how much he's had to drink today... 'BURP'... (and suddenly with crazy eyes) 'watch out because if you say something bad about soccer we'll have trouble later'... now rinse and repeat those same lines for 19 more minutes... an I don't even thing he was THAT drunk so as to feel compelled to repeat the same things due to the annoying ('I love you man') drunkard forgetfulness syndrome... I honestly think they were the only words he actually knew in English...
...the guy varies between trying to kiss all of us... 15 long and draaawn-out 'prosts'... poking our arms... grabbing the back of our heads and bring it in for a head butt... small slaps across the cheek... letting us know he might fight us at the end of the night... twisting a guys ear because he said he likes Uventes... and letting no conversation take place outside of his total of 112 word English vocabulatory rolodex... ...
... Needless to say we were cordial... with the occasional eye-glances to the ceiling... a couple of deep exhales... ignoring him as much as possible... trying to move the guys' chair to a different table when he left to go to the bathroom... daring him to go drunkenly hit on a couple girls that walked in (and by hit on I mean walk by and stare at them while scratching his belly button)... making him mad by dissing soccer and Inter Milan as much as possible... saying we would probably take him up on his offer to fight all of us (joking, of course.. ahem... punch)... a 'Just Friends' moment of trying to find Ashton and his hidden cameras around the room... 'ASHTON?!'... and then a swift retreat out of the place... with a varying mixture of anger about a stolen night, hilarity about a ridiculous night, and guilt about a ditching out on a lonely guy in a bar trying to make a connection with anybody... night...
Four of us went out for a meal tonight after practice... a common enough thing when the alternative is... go home, under cook your pasta and over cook your bland chicken, add canned pasta sauce and vegetables... and stare at a TV/computer the rest of the night... coincidentally the exact same thing you do every other night... and getting one thing straight... Youtube and 'Party of Five' reruns can (only?) take you (only?) so far...
... So as we settle into food, drink, and another meaninglessly enjoyable conversation about nothing in particular... a run-down on the troubles of the world... 2012... Obama and the Stimulus Plan... hockey rumors... all the craziness we saw on Youtube... how all this might affect the exchange rate... and what Ron Paul has to say about it... some random hockey fan walks up to the table... eyes us down... 'ahem'... interrupts... 'M'ESCUZIE'... louder... grabs my arm... introduces us all to... 'Frank!'... himself... pulls up a chair... grabs his beer from his table... sits down... buys us a round of beers... 'PROST!'... and proceeds to carry out a 20 minute, completely one-sided conversation about how we have to win... 'Imperative'... (with fingers touched to thumb in his best George Bush impression)... how he likes soccer better... 'Because I am Italiano'... and how much he's had to drink today... 'BURP'... (and suddenly with crazy eyes) 'watch out because if you say something bad about soccer we'll have trouble later'... now rinse and repeat those same lines for 19 more minutes... an I don't even thing he was THAT drunk so as to feel compelled to repeat the same things due to the annoying ('I love you man') drunkard forgetfulness syndrome... I honestly think they were the only words he actually knew in English...
...the guy varies between trying to kiss all of us... 15 long and draaawn-out 'prosts'... poking our arms... grabbing the back of our heads and bring it in for a head butt... small slaps across the cheek... letting us know he might fight us at the end of the night... twisting a guys ear because he said he likes Uventes... and letting no conversation take place outside of his total of 112 word English vocabulatory rolodex... ...
... Needless to say we were cordial... with the occasional eye-glances to the ceiling... a couple of deep exhales... ignoring him as much as possible... trying to move the guys' chair to a different table when he left to go to the bathroom... daring him to go drunkenly hit on a couple girls that walked in (and by hit on I mean walk by and stare at them while scratching his belly button)... making him mad by dissing soccer and Inter Milan as much as possible... saying we would probably take him up on his offer to fight all of us (joking, of course.. ahem... punch)... a 'Just Friends' moment of trying to find Ashton and his hidden cameras around the room... 'ASHTON?!'... and then a swift retreat out of the place... with a varying mixture of anger about a stolen night, hilarity about a ridiculous night, and guilt about a ditching out on a lonely guy in a bar trying to make a connection with anybody... night...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
25 Things About Me
1. I have the most beautiful, adventurous, southern raised and accented wife in the world who looks a lot like Jennifer Love Hewitt only a lot more good-looking
2. I’m self conscious about my upper body size and strength
3. I hate grammar Nazis... I say if you can understand it then go with it...
4. I don't see truth as something you can ever attain... at the same time I think that it is possible to get closer and closer to it... like a mathematical equation moving closer and closer to a limit
x - 1
f(x) = ,/x - 1
5. I have had a stutter most of my life and still do when I get tired
6. My biggest pet peeve is people that see a red light ahead and when I slow down they speed up to pass me, stop at the red light, and make me completely unable to pull off a rolling start when it turns green... uuurgh!... can’t stand it!!!... why!!!?
7. I try to have one decently smart thing to say about every topic...
8. I think out loud some of the time
9. School taught me to have an opinion about everything... back it up with like anything... even if you are only devil’s advocate... and if/when proven wrong admit it graciously... but make sure you save face by singling out the one part of a part of the part where you were right...
10. I don’t really feel like there’s anywhere in the world to call home right now...
11. I think hit teenage TV shows... ie. ‘90210’, ‘Party of Five’, ‘OC: First Season’... have a main theme of a show and each character deals with a similar yet completely different aspect of said theme... this particular ‘Party of Five’ episode has girls torn between two different guys... and a girl torn between a guy and work... and guys fighting over them... and the guys being complete idiots...
12. The last real job I had was close to 7 years ago
13. My name means ‘Strong in Victory’... but it never really says what I should do in a loss... or how I should even be in a tie for that matter...
14. I have very little to absolutely no fashion sense... mostly I think it’s because of getting hand-me-downs for the better part of my life from my brother... or things bought for me... still do...
15. Lately I’ve really gotten into reading Historical fiction...
16. I am an amateur conspiracy theorist... and Ron Paul is my new hero...
17. I have a hard time going to movies in Theatres... and try to only go when the movie is absolutely truly worth going to... or if dragged there by friends or parents
18. I think it’s my moral responsibility to only buy things that I absolutely need... but If there is one thing that I will always splurge on... it will be food...
19. I do all of my best thinking late at night... I have trouble being a morning person... weird because the rest of my family are morning people... and I know that any job I hope to eventually get will require me to be a morning person
20. I have a knock-off Gucci leather jacket (real leather) that makes me look a lot like Starsky... pretty much my favourite television show character of all time...
21. I read ‘The Lord of the Rings’ almost every summer when I was a kid... and now somehow I’ve started to feel like I’m past it...
22. I’m a serious head case... and I think way too deep about things... even to the point of playing darts in order to be better at scoring goals...?
23. I’m bad with silence... I get nervous... I have to have a TV, or computer, or book, or all three... even long walks or showers pose a problem...
24. I’m scared of kids... I don’t know how to act... I don’t know what to say to them... and I‘m terrified I’ll hurt them if I hold them... and absolutely say no to changing diapers...
25. I am an environmentalist in small meaningless ways like turning off lights and not wasting paper... thanks China for building 10,000 new coal plants this year...
2. I’m self conscious about my upper body size and strength
3. I hate grammar Nazis... I say if you can understand it then go with it...
4. I don't see truth as something you can ever attain... at the same time I think that it is possible to get closer and closer to it... like a mathematical equation moving closer and closer to a limit
x - 1
f(x) = ,/x - 1
5. I have had a stutter most of my life and still do when I get tired
6. My biggest pet peeve is people that see a red light ahead and when I slow down they speed up to pass me, stop at the red light, and make me completely unable to pull off a rolling start when it turns green... uuurgh!... can’t stand it!!!... why!!!?
7. I try to have one decently smart thing to say about every topic...
8. I think out loud some of the time
9. School taught me to have an opinion about everything... back it up with like anything... even if you are only devil’s advocate... and if/when proven wrong admit it graciously... but make sure you save face by singling out the one part of a part of the part where you were right...
10. I don’t really feel like there’s anywhere in the world to call home right now...
11. I think hit teenage TV shows... ie. ‘90210’, ‘Party of Five’, ‘OC: First Season’... have a main theme of a show and each character deals with a similar yet completely different aspect of said theme... this particular ‘Party of Five’ episode has girls torn between two different guys... and a girl torn between a guy and work... and guys fighting over them... and the guys being complete idiots...
12. The last real job I had was close to 7 years ago
13. My name means ‘Strong in Victory’... but it never really says what I should do in a loss... or how I should even be in a tie for that matter...
14. I have very little to absolutely no fashion sense... mostly I think it’s because of getting hand-me-downs for the better part of my life from my brother... or things bought for me... still do...
15. Lately I’ve really gotten into reading Historical fiction...
16. I am an amateur conspiracy theorist... and Ron Paul is my new hero...
17. I have a hard time going to movies in Theatres... and try to only go when the movie is absolutely truly worth going to... or if dragged there by friends or parents
18. I think it’s my moral responsibility to only buy things that I absolutely need... but If there is one thing that I will always splurge on... it will be food...
19. I do all of my best thinking late at night... I have trouble being a morning person... weird because the rest of my family are morning people... and I know that any job I hope to eventually get will require me to be a morning person
20. I have a knock-off Gucci leather jacket (real leather) that makes me look a lot like Starsky... pretty much my favourite television show character of all time...
21. I read ‘The Lord of the Rings’ almost every summer when I was a kid... and now somehow I’ve started to feel like I’m past it...
22. I’m a serious head case... and I think way too deep about things... even to the point of playing darts in order to be better at scoring goals...?
23. I’m bad with silence... I get nervous... I have to have a TV, or computer, or book, or all three... even long walks or showers pose a problem...
24. I’m scared of kids... I don’t know how to act... I don’t know what to say to them... and I‘m terrified I’ll hurt them if I hold them... and absolutely say no to changing diapers...
25. I am an environmentalist in small meaningless ways like turning off lights and not wasting paper... thanks China for building 10,000 new coal plants this year...
Venezia
In hindsight Venice is surprisingly close in proximity to Brunico. I wish I had known this in the dead of freezing winter these last few months when 3 hours could have taken us to sunshine, beaches, and positive degrees Centigrade. I also had no idea that Venice was an Island... or... in truth... many islands separated by canals... connected by bridges and 6 Euro ferry rides... and only one bridge to the main land put up 500 years after its founding...
I was told that you could do Venice in a day... but after climbing the clock tower to see all the islands that we missed... 3/4s of the city that we missed... and the 300 completely identical tourist trap shops (which Danelle had to go into each one) that we missed... I think Venice deserves more... In all honesty I think that WHILE Venice could be downed like a 2 Euro Jager shot and quickly move to the ‘also saw’ part of the vacation... it SHOULD be nursed like that one last drink you really don’t want but have to fake to drink (for me it’s my third as I’ve come to thoroughly enjoy elevated sobriety) because someone else bought it for you and to be nice you hold in your hand well into after all the ice cubes are melted... and slowly you sip at it... this is how you should treat Venice... like savouring a severely nursed watered-down cola...
Also in a weird way Venice is surprisingly similar to Brugges... canals... towers... surrounded by water... it was a similar distance away from Brunico than Brugges was from Tilburg... and it’s marketed to romantic couples... but... Venice is bigger... warmer... like a thousand years older... and about 90 more churches and castles... From the look of the shops I would have to say that 95% of the revenue in this town comes from tourism (with 5% from fishing)... and of that 95%... 90% of that comes from overpriced drinks they scam you with after they connive you in the door by offering underpriced food...
'yes, please, would you like an 11 Euro, 4 course dinner... yes I’ll sit... want some exra salted saltine crackers?... sure!... thirsty?... yes... oh! Well then have a 6 Euro no-refill coca-cola... no?... just water?... ok, 8 Euros...'
Of the many things that Venice has to offer... the 101 churches...the castle turned louvre-esque museum... the clock tower... the extremely overpriced gondola rides... by far the coolest thing is the glass making business... and in particular... their fishbowl glass with a tiny red fish inside spouting bubbles... every tourist place seems to have something that each shop has and every tourist wants... in Banff it is little white polar bears... in Paris it’s miniature Eiffel Towers... in Amsterdam it’s some form of STD I would think... and in Venice this fishbowl was definitely it... which has now become our wine topper... Other cool things were the home of Marco Polo and Casanova... both respectively going places where no other man had gone before... respectively...
I was told that you could do Venice in a day... but after climbing the clock tower to see all the islands that we missed... 3/4s of the city that we missed... and the 300 completely identical tourist trap shops (which Danelle had to go into each one) that we missed... I think Venice deserves more... In all honesty I think that WHILE Venice could be downed like a 2 Euro Jager shot and quickly move to the ‘also saw’ part of the vacation... it SHOULD be nursed like that one last drink you really don’t want but have to fake to drink (for me it’s my third as I’ve come to thoroughly enjoy elevated sobriety) because someone else bought it for you and to be nice you hold in your hand well into after all the ice cubes are melted... and slowly you sip at it... this is how you should treat Venice... like savouring a severely nursed watered-down cola...
Also in a weird way Venice is surprisingly similar to Brugges... canals... towers... surrounded by water... it was a similar distance away from Brunico than Brugges was from Tilburg... and it’s marketed to romantic couples... but... Venice is bigger... warmer... like a thousand years older... and about 90 more churches and castles... From the look of the shops I would have to say that 95% of the revenue in this town comes from tourism (with 5% from fishing)... and of that 95%... 90% of that comes from overpriced drinks they scam you with after they connive you in the door by offering underpriced food...
'yes, please, would you like an 11 Euro, 4 course dinner... yes I’ll sit... want some exra salted saltine crackers?... sure!... thirsty?... yes... oh! Well then have a 6 Euro no-refill coca-cola... no?... just water?... ok, 8 Euros...'
Of the many things that Venice has to offer... the 101 churches...the castle turned louvre-esque museum... the clock tower... the extremely overpriced gondola rides... by far the coolest thing is the glass making business... and in particular... their fishbowl glass with a tiny red fish inside spouting bubbles... every tourist place seems to have something that each shop has and every tourist wants... in Banff it is little white polar bears... in Paris it’s miniature Eiffel Towers... in Amsterdam it’s some form of STD I would think... and in Venice this fishbowl was definitely it... which has now become our wine topper... Other cool things were the home of Marco Polo and Casanova... both respectively going places where no other man had gone before... respectively...
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Baldacci - The Whole Truth
Baldacci might as well be the Stephen King of Spy/Thriller books – and the first look at the book is a question mark... It’s kind of like watching the 6th season of 24 and wondering how in the world they could ever find something new to do with the show... how many new ways Jack can kill somebody... and being completely blown away
... NOT...
...with any amazing new action twists... fight scenes... spy tricks... or any sort of new invention that makes you feel like you could board a jet to Tehran the next day and destroy terrorist cells...
... BUT...
... with a plot that hits directly onto the things going on in the world today... Question... In a world where information is power... How do we know who to believe? How do we know truth? How do we decide truth? Or... how to we create truth?...
... For me this has wide-ranging implications in reality because with all of the bias, and spin, and hidden agendas within different news agencies/companies/countries/special interest groups/conspiracy theorists... take your pick... it’s hard to know who to believe..
... Even someone... say... like Barrack Obama... who’s to say I can believe the people that are giving him the information... the stuff that he takes and then passes on to me as credible... Consider the previous president as a case study... Because maybe we can... TRUST... that Bush was told there were WMDs in Iraq... somebody gave him the wrong intel... well... sad to say that the same thing could happen to Obama just as easily...
... So that’s the WHY this book is important... now I’m going into the HOW it tackles these questions in a credible way to help me make sense of some of the strategies used...
... from SHOCK AND AWE campaigns... Millions of people die from hunger, heart disease, cancer... but just like terrorism... it's the intensity and delivery that gets people going...
... to CREDIBLE SOURCES... just because the source is credible does not mean the information is...
... to GRASS ROOTS movements (like blogging and youtube)... where you would not think people had an agenda... when you lower your guard...
... to PROTESTS and VIOLENCE... where 500 people can look like a lot more with some decent camera work... and signs are convincing enough...
... to CONTROLLING COVERAGE... even 'unbiased' news has to make decisions about what they can show in a 1 hour spot... all their stories can be without fault or bias and yet present only what they want you to know...
... to PLAYING ON STEREOTYPES... this is why past crimes are inadmissable in a court trial...
... to INFORMATION LEAKS to the press...
... to DUMMY WEB SITES and FLAMING to monitor and gauge people’s reactions...
... And the craziest thing of all... at the end... you almost AGREE with the bad guy and his aims if you didn't LIKE the good guy so much...
... NOT...
...with any amazing new action twists... fight scenes... spy tricks... or any sort of new invention that makes you feel like you could board a jet to Tehran the next day and destroy terrorist cells...
... BUT...
... with a plot that hits directly onto the things going on in the world today... Question... In a world where information is power... How do we know who to believe? How do we know truth? How do we decide truth? Or... how to we create truth?...
... For me this has wide-ranging implications in reality because with all of the bias, and spin, and hidden agendas within different news agencies/companies/countries/special interest groups/conspiracy theorists... take your pick... it’s hard to know who to believe..
... Even someone... say... like Barrack Obama... who’s to say I can believe the people that are giving him the information... the stuff that he takes and then passes on to me as credible... Consider the previous president as a case study... Because maybe we can... TRUST... that Bush was told there were WMDs in Iraq... somebody gave him the wrong intel... well... sad to say that the same thing could happen to Obama just as easily...
... So that’s the WHY this book is important... now I’m going into the HOW it tackles these questions in a credible way to help me make sense of some of the strategies used...
... from SHOCK AND AWE campaigns... Millions of people die from hunger, heart disease, cancer... but just like terrorism... it's the intensity and delivery that gets people going...
... to CREDIBLE SOURCES... just because the source is credible does not mean the information is...
... to GRASS ROOTS movements (like blogging and youtube)... where you would not think people had an agenda... when you lower your guard...
... to PROTESTS and VIOLENCE... where 500 people can look like a lot more with some decent camera work... and signs are convincing enough...
... to CONTROLLING COVERAGE... even 'unbiased' news has to make decisions about what they can show in a 1 hour spot... all their stories can be without fault or bias and yet present only what they want you to know...
... to PLAYING ON STEREOTYPES... this is why past crimes are inadmissable in a court trial...
... to INFORMATION LEAKS to the press...
... to DUMMY WEB SITES and FLAMING to monitor and gauge people’s reactions...
... And the craziest thing of all... at the end... you almost AGREE with the bad guy and his aims if you didn't LIKE the good guy so much...
Friday, January 30, 2009
Graz
I think every game.. for the past 5 games.. has been 'the biggest game of our year' for us... mostly because if we lose then we're out of the playoffs and they don't pay us our last paycheck... 'it'll cost you more for a lawyer anyways, guys, and they know this'... and so in the most amazing way we won the thing.. and this meant that our coach was in a good mood.. and so he gave us 3 days off.. which is a lot, but still so little, since we don't have a game until next, next Thursday because of National Team Break...
My mind was set on going south.. South... was Milan... a spa... fashion models... and culture..
But somehow we ended up going north.. North... to Graz... cold... and... hockey?... (only while watching the game did I realize that hockey in the middle of hockey is just a whole lot of overkill)
WHY?
But, ya, Graz.. to see a former class-mate.. see Austria.. and also to see if I could ever compete at that level.. in case some miracle happens and I sign..
WHERE??
I guess a few years ago Graz was a 'Cultural Center' of Europe and so they built 3 buildings to commemorate it all.. A museum, a coffee shop, and a Jewish Temple... The museum and the coffee shop were both closed and the Temple was on the other side of the city... and no way was I driving through the city because the roads were laid out like a SpiderWeb on Crack - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHzdsFiBbFc
WHAT?
My mind was set on going south.. South... was Milan... a spa... fashion models... and culture..
But somehow we ended up going north.. North... to Graz... cold... and... hockey?... (only while watching the game did I realize that hockey in the middle of hockey is just a whole lot of overkill)
WHY?
But, ya, Graz.. to see a former class-mate.. see Austria.. and also to see if I could ever compete at that level.. in case some miracle happens and I sign..
WHERE??
I guess a few years ago Graz was a 'Cultural Center' of Europe and so they built 3 buildings to commemorate it all.. A museum, a coffee shop, and a Jewish Temple... The museum and the coffee shop were both closed and the Temple was on the other side of the city... and no way was I driving through the city because the roads were laid out like a SpiderWeb on Crack - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHzdsFiBbFc
WHAT?
(This next part works better if you can imagine the voice of the guy from Vlogbrothers saying it all - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7GvstxiH-M)
We paid 95 Euros for a hair cut.. 'This shampoo makes my hair feel good'... watched Bourne Ultimatum.. debated over whether or not Michaelangelo made the 'Thinking Man' or if both artists merely used the same inspired torso that is shown in the Vatican... 'No.. no.. you already owe me an elephant and a lion... I'll bet you a Tiger that it's the same guy'... Got put in my place for thinking the radio religion was the Phillipines when it was actually Papua New Guineau (watch yourself around other Harvard students)... USED actual German since no one could speak any English... 'Ich Mochte ein...'... Had McDonalds... went to a decent and classy Hooters where the food was amazing and the waitresses sported baggy shirts and jeans... Almost died from Smoke still being allowed in the bar... watched Graz win in a Shootout... Saw real refs that know the meaning of Offside... or... I guess... the meaning of onside... And then made up some long story in my head to stay awake the long drive home with no Ipod, radio, or coherent passenger... IF I ever own a yacht and sail the Mediterranean then I'll start believing in 'The Secret'...
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