WUMF: December 2013 Edition

Hey, I’m still consistent.  It’s after the New Year and I’m just now getting out the WUMF.

Maybe this will be the last one.

Seriously, it’s hard enough to come up with some blog posts let alone a random wrap up of the month, but here it goes, anyway.

Steelers’ Season

I admit, I quietly cursed Succup for missing that field goal but then realized, “I’m blaming Kansas City’s kicker and the refs for the Steelers not getting into the playoffs.”  Really?  They were 8-8 and blew games against New York, Minnesota, and Oakland.   If they had won those easy games, they would have been 11-5 and been in the playoffs.  They just didn’t get it done this year.  And let’s not blame Ben Roethlisberger on this one.  He looked better than ever on paper and on the field.  The first four games were the death of them.  But looking back at the other games, New England is the only team that blew them out on offense.  Otherwise, they were on pace with scoring.  The defense was the culprit on a lot of these losses.  Ryan Clark and Ike Taylor need a good stern talking to.   It also doesn’t help that half of your star players were out with injury throughout the year.   That team had an identity crisis with the revolving roster and no banned table game time is going to fix that mess.  Better luck next year.

YouTube

I’ve actually finished some walkthroughs.  WOW.  With Sims 3 and Minecraft ongoing, I’m looking to start some more.  If I could get the PS3 box to record right, I would have put up me and Bailey playing Little Big Planet or even me playing GTA V.   I still can’t figure it out and there’s no alone time to play those games.  Bailey is kind of getting herself into a lot of vids, which is fine, but I can’t be as bad as I usually am with language or situations.  But she’s doing her own adventure maps for me to play… which is pretty neat for a six year old.  She’s got quite the sense of humor when it comes to this stuff, so maybe we’ll see some humor incidentally from her work.  With Limbo and Little Inferno done, I need to get back on the Design It series since Game of Thrones will be back up in a couple months.  I still have probably 10 design videos to record.  I’d also like to do some shorts.  I got a new phone with a better resolution and video capabilities… so, here’s hoping.

Pandora

HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS!?!?!?  I’ve been using YouTube to get my music fix but with the new phone, Pandora has been awesome.   I’m joining the 21^st century, I guess.  The only thing that sucks is well, the ads, and that I can’t get skip too many songs before I get stuck on something I don’t like.  I can thumbs down it, but it may actually be a song I like, but just not at the moment.  I tried I Heart Radio and it’s not bad if I want to listen to my local stations where I can’t.

PNC Float

OK, if you have a checking account with PNC, you’re going to notice that it’s free but it isn’t.  The reason is that you need to have at least $1000 in direct deposit into your account in order to keep them deducting $10 each month.  But, if you do have that, they still deduct it and then put it back in the next day.  So, you get your $10 back and they get the interest off of $10 times their total customer base.  It’s called a float I guess and even though it might be a miniscule amount of cash in that 24 hour period, the number of customers they do this to can add up in terms of total profits. 

I know, people say, “Get a credit union.”  Yeah, well, that would be fine if I could hit up an ATM for my credit union wherever I am.  PNC has that luxury.    They’ve slowly started to strip out all the benefits from being a customer.  I guess that’s the cost of doing business with a bank looking for every available loop hole to make money off its customers.  

This was a pretty easy write up… maybe the WUMF will stick around.  Be sure to post your thoughts on me, my writing, or anything non-spammy.

Happy New Year.

Comet

I give about as much credence to organized spirituality as I give to something like serendipity or fate.  It’s just how I am.   That being said, I have a hard time not seeing meaning in certain things.  For instance, the frequency with which a bright and shining object comes back into view, repeatedly, after the same period of years, has to be more than just a coincidence.  There has to be a reason why it happens.

At the age of 21, I didn't understand a lot of things.  I was a little over a year away from a disastrous relationship that challenged what I thought was real about the nature of the universe.  I was complaining that most interactions were flippant and lacked the stimulating nature I was seeking out.  I was not built for that kind of reckless abandon that was customary in that setting.   I wanted something deeper and meaningful.  I wanted something luminescent.  I wanted something not found in everyday life.

So, as I lamented my lack of luck, my coworker told me this story about a comet.   Now, I didn't give much credence to this story because after all, it's a comet.  It's like all the other comets in the universe, but he insisted this one was special.  He said it was probably the brightest, most beautiful, and coolest object that I would ever see my lifetime and that it was making its way back into view.   "Trust me, you'll love it."  Was what he said.  

Eventually, I forgot all about the story, and went on with my life.  I had found, what I thought was, a bright object of my own, but I didn't know it was false light.  As I was once again, in a state of despair, I was sitting in the darkness and something came out of nowhere.   It was the comet.  It was everything my friend said and much, much more.  I wanted to reach out grab a hold of that comet, but, it was an impossible feat, given my place in the universe at that particular time.   But, can you really catch a comet?
 
Unlikely.  It moves too fast.  It slips away too easily.  And you can't tell a comet to wait until you catch up, because even if you could speak in the awesomeness of the space that it occupies, your words would make no sound.  It doesn’t matter, anyways.  It’s a comet and doesn’t know what it is.  It has no concept of your admiration for it.  It wouldn't understand the words you would use to describe it.  It just tears up the skyline, blinding you from afar, giving you glimpses of what could be.  Even if you could reason with a comet, you're stuck where you're at and it's on its way through the universe.   And try as you might, to slip the surly bonds of Earth, you'd be lucky to see the comet still in view once you finally reach escape velocity.


Every so many years, that comet comes back.  You either spy it, or somehow it just shows up looking to be found.  For a brief moment, you can appreciate it from afar.  You may even think you can get close enough to finally catch it, but again, you're waiting for that rocket to break free and the comet is moving faster than you.   Always moving. 

Is it coincidence, or predestined path that will continually intersect with you?  How much time do you have before the comet disappears forever?  And does the comet care?  After all, it's a comet.  It's not made for this world.

WUMF: May 2013 Edition

STOP THE PRESSES!  He has a WUMF out on time!

Yes, don’t let it fool you.  I’ll be back to my lazy, procrastinating ways in a month.  But, for now, enjoy this WUMF on time.

YouTube Report

OK, so it’s been about four months since I began the YouTube thing and it’s still very much a work in progress.   I can, however, report that I have finally seen some positive analytics.   I AM ON MY WAY TO MAKING $0.28!!!!!!  

I have only Dead Island Riptide’s lag to thank for that.     I bought and played the original on PS3, but thought it would be a great way to get some views by playing the new one on PC and recording it.   Well, I was wrong.   FRAPS and DI:R are not a good mix for smooth FPS.  The video lagged so bad I thought I was in a reject bullet time sequence from a Bollywood version of the Matrix.

Instead of putting up a playthrough of me whacking zombies with household objects, I put up an angry rant at how bad the lag was and it has been one of the most viewed videos out of my entire collection.  So, I shifted  my focus away from straight playing and onto stuff like tips for recording old school games.   I put out a couple of one off videos of me playing with no dialogue and only music.   It harkened back to my days as a videographer in high school, when I would put together music videos, finding the right music to match the montage.   It felt familiar and fun again.

But, I just don’t have the time to do all that.  So, I continue to play games, but I am trying to spotlight more indie games than big name companies.   Helping out the little guy seems to be a good way to gain karma in the online world.   So, I’ll keep doing a regular mix of big name and little name gameplay videos.

OBX Fire Safety Week

I just want to remind you all that next week is mandatory Fire Safety Training in the OBX.  For those of you unsure of what that means.  Here you go.   And then, the cops showed up...

Seeing as how I now have a YouTube channel, maybe I’ll do a vlog this year.  Maybe.  No one wants to see the big ugly mug in 1080 HD, I’m sure.

Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Let’s Go Pens.  That is all.

Facebook

People.  Please.  For the love of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, stop believing everything you read on Facebook.   No one will share their mythical Powerball winnings with you.    That picture won’t do something spectacular if you share or like it.   All your good deeds, here on Earth, will not be negated by scrolling past that picture of Jesus.  Just stop.  STOP!

Unicorn

How does one reconcile that perfection does not exist in nature? 

How do we break down preconceived notions about something that we were led to believe was the zenith of existence?  Something almost ethereal?

How do we change our approach to dealing with this new data? How do we continue, knowing that what we thought was perfect, is in fact just like everything else, flawed and in transition?

Our lives are built upon processing experiences and formulating a response to those experiences.  That’s why we believe in first impressions so much.   In those first few moments of interaction, we build the façade that will inexplicably be linked to the memory of that object forever.   Anytime we recall that object, whether we have contact with it or not, our first thought goes directly to that prefabricated image.   And when we come back to it, sometimes years later, and see the fallacy that is our preconceived notion, we can’t process it.  We struggle to realize that our brain was wrong.  It is not “X” but something closely resembling “X” with other variables interacting.  Maybe it’s Y.  Maybe it’s 42.

When you have decades of that speculative data lying around, you can destroy an entire mindset with one counter argument that has proof to support it.    “The Earth is not the center of the universe, the sun is.  That means the Pope is not the center of the universe.”  That thought undid centuries of belief.   It’s the kind of thing wars are fought over.  Innocent lives are subjected to torture and pain just to hold onto something that we thought to be true.

Your brain plays this scenario out, constantly.  Scientists build careers on demystifying the process of how minds struggle to accept new data in a place of such rigidity. 

When you see it with your own eyes and your mind begins to work backwards, going over all the data like that last scene in The Usual Suspects, there is something so cool about it.  It’s almost intoxicating to realize that perfection is not that great.  When you see something in a new light,  the flaws showing, you appreciate it more.   You see things you never saw before.   The imperfections give it a sense of “based in reality.”

It’s not mythological.  It’s not perfection.  It’s not a unicorn.  It’s real.  It exists.  You can touch it.

The overall luster is something forged by life and experiences.  And while it may look damaged, or imperfect, you realize that will all those outside influences including pressure, the elements, time, and life itself, it never broke.  It stood up to any resistance or erosion.

Not because it’s perfect but because it’s built well.  It's tough.   It's able to survive.

WUMF: February 2013 Edition

I was sitting there last night, waiting for my latest Build It video to compress into .WMV and thought, “What the hell am I going to post on Friday?”   Then, I realized, “CRAP!  I missed a WUMF.”  Maybe it’s because February is so short.  Maybe, I’ve just got the dumb.

38 Special

I turned 38 years old this week and as always, Mother Nature gets me the same thing, a blizzard.  Seriously, my streak is like 25-13  Every year, on or within a few days proximity of my birthday, a snow event takes place.  The Blizzard of 93 was like five days after my birthday.

And this year was stupid.   That snowfall was ridiculously overplayed and gone within a couple of hours.  The temperature did more to treat the roads than the local crews in my area did.   My kid even had school cancelled that day.   I think a 2-hr. delay would have been a substantial head start for the trucks to take care of business.   

But, it didn’t matter.  My wife took me to Dino’s in Greensburg for some wings.  I haven’t had Dino’s wings in a long time.  Which… is unfortunate, because I’ve been trying to lose weight.  Still crushed 15 for the hell of it.

40 and a hole

Speaking of losing weight, I’m still hovering at 28 pounds lost since Christmas.  I did have to do an emergency tracheotomy on my belt with my awl, though.  I had to add another hole to the inside because my belt was so loose.  I even managed to reclaim a pair of size 40 jeans in the process.  They are a tad snug, but I’m working on that.  Now that the damn groundhog prognostication is over, the weather can actually get nice and I can get outside and walk some.

Modern Empire

The Minecraft server, where I had been playing and recording videos from, is kind of defunct.  Not really sure how or why.  I was on a few days ago and one of the guys told me it was shutting down.  It was pretty razed by the time I got there.  Someone came through with world edit and sponged a lot of stuff.  I never see any of the admins or mods or even the owners on anymore.  I got directed to a new server where I was given mod status and I can pretty much build at will.   I plan on doing that once I get settled into the Mongo Smash series which aired its first video last week.  

Mongo Smashes

Yep, I done did it.  I posted the first video of me just playing Minecraft, live without a net.  I managed to record about two hours worth of material which will be chopped up into probably six or seven videos to be posted over the next month and a half.    Once EA gets their shit together, I’d like to go get SimCity and try it out.  Hopefully, I can record it.  For now, here’s the first episode of Mongo Smashes Minecraft: The Bad Seed.

Come join the Angry at TheAngryCast

That’s your WUMF, only a week late. 

WUMF: January 2013 Edition

Welcome to a new year and a new WUMF.

Super Bowl

As a Pittsburgh fan, I was initially torn.   I don’t necessarily want the Forty-Niners to win because they would tie Pittsburgh for the number of Lombardi trophies.    I didn’t want New England to win because that would give Bellicheat and Cry-Brady to have four Super Bowl wins, matching Noll and Bradshaw.  The Ravens… well, it’s a Harbaugh and Ray Lewis.  The Falcons were the least offensive team in the running.   However… that wasn’t going to happen.   So, we got San Fran and Baltimore.

I gotta go with San Fran.  I know it’s a hard pill to swallow, but it’s better than deer antler extract.  Ray Lewis has become the story of the NFL.  He’s the hero.  Figures.  This just shows how corrupt and hypocritical this league and their savior, Roger Goodell, is.  They glorify a man who pled down a double murder charge to obstruction of justice and pointed the finger at two other guys, neither of which did any time.  The justice for the families of the victims is that Ray Lewis stayed free and played for 13 more years, becoming the face of the team?  Only in professional sports do we glorify criminals and not bat an eye.  The news, that he used a banned substance to come back from his triceps injury,  has been scuttled to the miniscule sidebar on ESPN.com and no one wants to admit that this guy is a cheat and criminal.  Meanwhile he spouts religious rhetoric and claims that the devil is the reason behind all his detractors.  No, Ray, you’re just a murderer with deer antler extract in your system.  Who says cheaters never win?  Oh yeah, since New England got caught cheating their playoff record has been dismal. 

MongoTV

I made a decision to start another experiment.  The first one was this blog, which has been going for just about five years now.   The second was the shirt business which is just about four years old.   Now, I’m turning my attention to YouTube.  So, I bought FRAPS, which is a recording software for your computer, and I also have Windows Movie Maker on hand.   I hope to do some of my own videos on shirt designs, maybe some tutorials.  Of course, I’ll play some games with commentary… usually, how bad I am at stuff.    I plan on monetizing the videos, which I know is a pain, because I hate ads, but we’ll see.  I will have a full post, in the works, on what I’m planning.  Stay tuned.

For now, here’s my first test after fiddling with Minecraft and FRAPs.

And here's number 2..

ComCrap

I was without my cable box and DVR for about a seven days thanks to Comcast sending an update to the TV guide causing it to error out and die.  Those of you who have been reading the past five years know my DVR is usually at 90% or more capacity.   I had almost two seasons worth of Supernatural on there, thanks to my wife saying, “I want to see those.”    Well, the box shit the bed and I had to wait for a week because Mandino at Customer Care screwed up.  More on that in a later post.

Mother Nature

OK.   We went sled riding in my back yard on Saturday.  I went to work without a coat on Tuesday.  Now, there was ice and snow on the roads on Thursday.   KNOCK IT OFF!  If you’re going to be cold.  BE COLD!  Don’t tease me like this, you bitch.

J.J. Abrams to direct Star Wars VII

Dear Internet, stop editing videos and pictures of Star Wars and Star Trek mixed together.  You are destroying the fabric of space and time and the geek universe can’t take much more of this.

WUMF: October 2012 Edition

Boo to you fellow surfers. Another month ends and that means it’s a roundup of what’s been going on lately.

Post Anemia
Work has been taking up a lot of my time and my post counts have been lower than I’d like. I am sort of trending in the wrong direction and I apologize to those four and half people that read this stuff. I will try to keep it going as much as I can.

I will say, that my posting on the Store blog has increased immensely. I’ve been putting out a post on each of my designs for the Westeros League.

It’s a group of designs centered around a fictional sports league for 14 teams from the world of Game of Thrones. There are specific sports attached to each but there are clear influences from real life professional sports teams among the NBA, NFL, and MLB.

Hurricane Sandy
First off, I want to give a shout out to all my friends on the East Coast and hope they stay safe and somewhat dry as Sandy becomes a bigger bitch to them through Halloween. However, apparently, Pittsburgh weather reporters felt it was necessary to scare the poop out of folks in Southwestern PA. Seriously? We’re getting some rain, but to nearly empty stores of milk, bread, and TP is ridiculous.

Will we get a lot of rain. I’m sure of it. Will we get snow? Eh, jury’s out. Depends on the wind. It could be a Noreaster come Halloween night. But, I do not believe it will be as bad as Snowmageddon was back in 2010.

In any case, we did catch a sigh of relief. The trick or treating in the Pittsburgh and surrounding areas was pushed back to Saturday, November 3rd at 6pm. Sucks having to get your kid out on a weeknight and then come home to go to bed before really getting a good start on their candy.

The Election
Whichever way you choose to vote is up to you. I am not here to sway you one way or the other. It has always been my opinion that elections are not about picking the person who will do the best job. It’s about picking the one who won’t be worse at it. Now, I also believe that I am not voting for a candidate but for an electoral vote. The electoral college can vote however they like regardless of who has more individual votes… and they have done it before.

Still, it’s your right and duty to vote. So, get out and vote…. And for those of us in PA, don’t listen to the ads that are still playing about Voter ID. The courts overturned it. The commercials are wrong. Don’t be intimidated by ads or people. VOTE people! And… make sure you just don’t vote straight party and not look. There are other issues, individual issues that need voted on, not just people. Pay attention to the machine or ballot and complete it all.


Missing the Point
Kids are precious. If anything ever happened to my daughter, I'd go into Liam Neeson mode... but I am not as good. I'm more like Peter Griffin in that sense. In any case, whenever a kid goes missing, I can sympathize. I think about my kid in that situation and try to instill in her the idea that strangers are bad, and even you know the person, if they do something that makes you uncomfortable, make sure you are heard. Scream yell, and run like hell.

However, when I see the various Facebook posts about missing kids, I tend to be a little less sympathetic. A lot of times, I see people passing around posts about missing children and they are not even in the same area of the country. If people would only take the time to check snopes or Google and see if it's a valid claim. Further still, when I see the pictures that these people use to promote the idea that a kid is missing, I hate when they use Facebook profile pics or dumb duck face shots from over their head. PEOPLE... if you want to legitimize your concern and get help, post a better picture. Do people not have school pics of their kids? Hell, take a photo of one of them and post that.

I was driving home today and there were two electronic billboards with a missing teen's picture offering $1000 reward and all I could think was, "Unless I see a kid that looks like Daffy Duck, I'll never know this girl if I see her. I know that sounds cruel, but you want to make sure you have a picture of what your kid will look like at any given moment, not something they post on Facebook for the sake of wanting people to like the picture.

WUMF: January 2012 Edition

Happy end of the month. That means it’s time for another thrilling installment of WUMF!

I started this bit last year as a way to kind of wrap up the little things that happened throughout the month that don’t normally make it into the regular posts. Of course, that is hard to do because that means I have to remember stuff. It’s not like I could write it down. That requires planning and organization and it really throws off my chaotic mess of a life.

That being said, I give WUMF for what I can remember about January.

S#!t My Kid Says
People tell me I could write a book just based on the stuff my daughter says in everyday situations. I don’t think I could exploit her like that for profit. I mean there are so many other good ways to exploit her for profit that I hate to narrow it down to just one medium. I don’t know. Maybe t-shirts. Lolkid? Hmmm.

Anyway, this past weekend, for some reason, my four year old was enthralled with how the toilet works.  She asked, "What's in there?" pointing to the tank.  So, I explained that was where the water comes from in order to cause the toilet to flush and how the water line works and fills the tank back up.  I also showed her how the water shuts off all by itself.

Her response?  "Wow, the potty is soooo cool!"

Traffic Woe #458
We had a landslide on the Parkway East right before the West bound entrance to the Squirrel Hill Tunnels. It happened after or at the end of morning rush hour and they cleaned it up pretty good by 4PM so that both lanes were flowing. Yet, traffic heading East bound through the tunnel grind to a screeching halt. Why? WTAE Channel 4 news vans were parked outside the tunnel with tripods set up.

Did commuters think they would see Sally Wiggin out there? Are we that sad as a society that the local news anchors are that big of a celebrity that we have to grind traffic to a screeching halt because we may catch a glimpse of them? Don’t get me wrong, I’d feel a little star struck if I actually met Sally. Hell, I felt a bit in awe of meeting Jennifer Miele outside a restaurant and my wife knew her growing up. Still, is that a real reason to slow down afternoon traffic. Look, if you want to see the news, hurry home and you can catch it on television.

All Star/Pro Games
Can we all just agree that these are a joke and hold no real value. I mean, other than getting to see your favorite player if you don’t get to see them on a regular basis because they play in a different city than you is the only real reason to watch. It can’t be to see an actual sporting event because nobody does anything. The defense might as well not even show up at the NHL and NFL versions because it’s not like they are supposed to actually do anything to stop the score from being a zillion to a gajillion. (I’m still working with the Math kings to get that into an actual number.) And the voting process is crap for all of them. Four Ottawa Senators playing?

It seems like the only game that holds any meaning is the MLB All Star game because the winning side (AL/NL) gets home field advantage in the World Series. I think they need to make these games more enjoyable. How about like Rock and Jock was back in the 90s. Obstacles, like cows, out in the field that you have to maneuver around. For the NFL? What about something along the lines of American Gladiators style competitions. NBA? How about a big ole game of HORSE or two on two games. Maybe even take it back to the old Bird/Jordan commercials and do shots from the stands or ridiculous bank shots.

Something, people! Come on!

Home Renovations
I bought a new light for above the vanity over Christmas. I finally got it up and running. The explanation requires more than a paragraph so be on the lookout for that fiasco and more home improvements, coming soon.

Stay Excellent!

WUMF: November Edition

Turkey Day is done and now we turn the corner into December and the downhill avalanche of the holiday season hill, which will inevitably lead to a crash at the bottom on January 2nd. How about another edition of WUMF (What’s Up My Friends)?

It’s Never Pleurisy
I started off this WUMF post with an update about my health, but it blew up into a larger story, so I shelved it for a separate post. Stay tuned. Needless to say, it’s not Pleurisy, though it feels like it.

Movember
I haven't shaved my mustache and goat this whole month and I'm sooo looking forward to tomorrow.   OK, so I'm not officially registered anywhere and I do have a goatee, but my face is hideous enough without the facial hair let alone with only a mustache.  The goat gives it some saving grace.   In any case, I did it, just to do it.

Now, back in 1994, I did a play at Pitt where I couldn't shave at all and had a full beard.  Nothing Kiesel worthy or even Dan Haggerty but it served its purpose.  I was so happy to shave it, then, too.

On the back nine of my 30s, my facial hair bears the brunt of my gray hair, more so than on top.  I like to keep it stubbly as much as possible.

Flea Bag Hotel
In addition to being sick, one of my cats has an upper respiratory infection so we took her to the vet. Turns out, not only did she have a URI, she has fleas as do the other three cats. So, on my day off yesterday which should have had me trying to recuperate from being sick, I was running around all over the house spraying Knockout E.S. and doing laundry and trying to just rid ourselves of the issue without resorting to napalming the house. My chest is killing me and after bending over and picking up stuff and moving around I was at the point where I couldn’t breathe or move last night.

My wife, God love her, is an animal lover and hates to see the strays from our neighborhood, mostly a product of our neighbor’s doing, go hungry. She buys, [read: I buy] the cheap Value Time cat food and puts it out. Well, apparently, they are all flea ridden and hitched a ride into our house. Our cats do not step foot outside, are all fixed, and are basically fat and lazy, much like their owner.

Radio Traffic Reports
Someone needs to get these folks some real time traffic, or at least a bookmark to Google traffic cams on their computer. Every day, I used to getting stuck in traffic around the Wilkinsburg exit on 376 East, heading into Pittsburgh. Every day, coming home I get stuck around the Forbes Oakland exit on 376 East heading out of Pittsburgh. Every once in awhile, if there is talk of huge accidents, I will take an alternate route. Although, a slight bump in the backend of a vehicle sets off a world of fail chain reaction causing air traffic over Pittsburgh to grind to a halt so the pilots can rubberneck.

However, when I hear the traffic report say that traffic is building normally and I immediately have to slam on the breaks because they neglect to mention that an accident in the Sq, Hill Tunnel has caused a backup of cars all the way to the ramp before Churchill, I feel a little stabby.

Pittsburgh DJs and traffic correspondents on WDVE and 93.7 The Fan, before you go onto to do your update, pull up a Google cam of the Parkways and just take a look at the various cameras to see where traffic is really jammed at. That way, us Walking Dead Club commuters won’t be late for work. Or at least, answer the phone when I call to bitch about your incompetence, instead of fast tracking a some Italian guy who calls in to say that he loves, “Felize Navidad” because he’s Italian. WTF?!?!

12 Days of Christmas Part 2
Last year, I participated in a giveaway hosted by some of my design friends. They gave away 12 shirts and 12 stocking stuffer items to 12 folks. Well, this year they are at it again and it starts tomorrow with 48 brands involved as well as other fantastic prizes. Click the link above to go see the official announcement. I have a post up on my Store blog and will do some tweeting to promote it. Follow me at @AngryMongo to keep up with the fun.

D-bag of the Year Awards
I haven’t put the final list together but really there is no question who should win. I won’t give it away but unless something happens in the next two weeks to change things, it should be a landslide. However, I’ll still bore you with the details over a couple of posts coming in December.

That’s it. Rub dirt in it and take a lap folks.

WUMF: August Edition

Late entry this month in the WUMF column. Unfortunately, I’ve been really busy with… actual work and it’s cut into my ability to tend to the side business. Anyway, enough excuses, here’s what’s been happening.

The Pirates
OK, I admit it. I got temporarily sucked back in by them this year. I was almost ready to board the bandwagon. Hell, I even designed t-shirts in tribute to them. Then, they went back to smacking me around after a hard day of drinking. And here I sit, dejected that I fell for it, almost.

Frankly, when they said in the beginning of the year that, in order for them to spend more money on the team, the fans would have to help by raising attendance, I scoffed. How dare they expect us to be the catalyst for this team’s rebirth. Then, a funny thing happened. They started playing better. All of a sudden, attendance increased. So, the fans did their part. Would the Pirates do theirs? They went out and signed two players ahead of the trade deadline. Um… yeah, that’s not exactly who we figured you’d go out and buy. Two guys who end up banged up or just a bust to start. Still, the bullpen held it together and the wins were coming. We were in first place. We were contenders. That was July.

Now, we are heading into September with a dismal percentage, out of the running for the division and slim hopes of breaking .500 for the season at this pace. What happened? We either suck the entire season or do really well for the first half.

Let me put this way. Back in my early days of Junior High, seventh grade to be exact, I joined the track team. Shocked? I am. I threw discus and shot put, not very well, mind you. Occasionally, they had what was called a hog race. That’s when the bigger guys on the team do a relay or run a 220 or 440 yard dash. Now, I will contest that even though I wasn’t the most physically fit, I could sprint pretty well. By pitting me against other guys in my body type, for short distances, I was pretty sure I could take them. I got into a 220 yard dash against other shot putters and discus throwers and felt pretty confident. The gun went off and so did I. I was way out ahead by the first turn. I had an even more commanding lead by the straightaway. At the 220 mark I was a clear winner. I was also in a 440 yard dash and didn’t know it. I stopped dead, thinking I was done while everyone kept running. By then it was too late and I was dead tired. I limped into the finish in last place. I WAS the 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates.

The only thing that would have made matters worse would have been if I were to come out at the next match and said, I am going to bet the school on every event I’m in and I just signed up for the mile run. That’s what the Pirates are doing by raising ticket prices. They blew their wad too early and now they are risking all credibility by saying, “Hey look what we accomplished doing it our way. Now, we’re going to charge you more to be half good.” Don’t be surprised if Andrew McCutchen starts to look away from Pittsburgh as the post season goes on without them. They haven’t thrown the money at him that he deserves, yet.

S#!t My Kid Says
I’ve long said that my kid is the funniest little shit on the planet. Even when it’s inappropriate she makes me laugh. Of course, I am the king of inappropriate.

Due to a scheduling snafu, she had to stay at my parents’ house overnight last week. On the way there, we gave her the usual rundown of rules. Be good. Eat the food she gives you. Go to bed when it’s time. Etc. We also threw in one special request. Don’t swear.

She’s four.

I know. It’s my fault. I let her watch things she shouldn’t and out of all the things she could pick up or imitate from a movie or show, she has to pick the swear words out. And it’s not that my parents are prudes. No way. I didn’t end up like I am because of society. I ended up like this because my Dad let us kids watch Monty Python and Benny Hill when I was my kid’s age. I saw Die Hard in the theater, when I was 12, but I already knew John McClane’s catchphrase prior to that.

So, there we were telling my kid not to say bad words in front of Grammie and she says, “Even asshole?”

Funny kid.

2011 VMAs
I have gone on, at length, about how I hate MTV, now. I can’t understand how they can hold an award show that rewards videos when they don’t even play them on their own network, anymore. The VMAs haven’t been the show they were since the late 80s and early 90s. I didn’t even watch it but saw clips and read about it which is more time that I would have wanted to devote to the subject. My thoughts are this…

• Why do we continue to honor or applaud Chris Brown? Props to Jay-Z for not standing.
• Why does Lady Gaga look like a cross between Ralph Macchio from The Outsiders and Billy Joe Armstrong?
• Why are we shocked and why do we care that she went drag? She wore a suit of meat before.
• Why is Justin Bieber allowed to drive a Black Ferrari?  And, how's the car doing?  Will he get sued a year later?
• Why is Britney Spears getting the lifetime achievement award when she’s not been around that long?Look at the list of recipients?  Granted, Madonna was named in 86 but her achievements far outshone Britney’s in the span of time before she received it.
• Is Beyonce pregnant? (That was a joke)

  

That’s it. I’m out.

Random Post #1: Mo Hunny, Mo Problems

I just had to post this because it combines my childhood love of Winnie the Pooh and pop culture.

Mo Hunny! Mo Problems!

That's it. Nothing more.

Fill Your Lungs With Thought

Want to Listen to This Post?

Watch below or check out more videos on my YouTube Channel.

Blame this on a carb heavy lunch of fettuccini alfredo

It takes a moment to breathe and a lifetime to exhale. Sometimes you wonder if it will ever be enough to just exist in the space between disasters. We pride ourselves on our ability to organize and get things done in a timely manner but those seconds slip away when chaos rears her lovely head up into your world. We want things faster, smaller and cheaper but we don’t have the time to enjoy a good, night time read with our children. We worry ourselves over the most trivial of problems, not recognizing that poverty and illness do not just live outside our borders but on our streets and in our communities. Why is it never enough to get through the day with a sense of accomplishment over a job well done instead of worrying “Was today my last day?”

We live for sound bites and 280 characters when the expanded version of the written word can be so much more enlightening and enjoyable. Technology has done little to free up our time and instead enslaves us to a new gadget or format. We create bigger gaps in our physical interactions and rely on social networks and texting to communicate with abbreviations, acronyms, and slang.

We maintain and hardly correct or fix things.

We patch and upgrade when we should redesign and rethink.

We’ve filled in the edges of the map but haven’t gone back and looked at things we've already discovered from different perspectives.

We crave attention but hide behind anonymity.

There is a shoe somewhere, ready to drop. The sword is precariously dangled o’er heads.

We look down not up.

Efficiency is a sometimes a cleaner word for cheap and done by someone else.

We cannot enjoy. We selectively surrender.

We cannot expand. We must consolidate.

We cannot think. We must be told.

We cannot breathe. We must prepare.

We cannot move forward. We must go back.

We cannot forget. We must recall.

We cannot destroy. We must create.

We cannot threaten. We must encourage.

We cannot cut corners. We must explore.

We cannot close off. We must invite.

We can change. We cannot settle.

We can plan. We cannot assume.

We can assure. We cannot promise.

We can discover. We cannot discard.

We can recover. We cannot recondition.

We can relearn. We cannot cheat.

We can win. We cannot quit.

We can begin.

We can find the answers to any problem if we only share it with others. We can listen to what others have to say, no matter how hard it is to hear. We can open our eyes and see that we are all in this together. This is what it is supposed to be like if you let it. This can be some kind of wonderful. The times of thinking only of ourselves have got to stop, but the time to rely on others has just begun. This is our time…down here. This is to be our finest hour. This will only take a minute. This is not better than you. But you are better than this. Let in the fear for five seconds and then make a decision. It takes seconds to speak but a lifetime to regret.

This is today.

This is now.

Breathe.

Farewell-Descent Into Madness

This is from my Facebook account...every so often I get tagged in little notes. This one seemed fun because of the randomness. Have a good weekend everyone.

RULES:
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.


IF SOMEONE SAYS 'ARE YOU OKAY' YOU SAY?
"King of the Road" - Roger Miller

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
"Cecillia" Simon and Garfunkel

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"Greasy Kid Stuff" - Bill Cosby

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"Tributary Otis" - The Refreshments

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
"Cold Hard Bitch" - Jet

WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO?
"My Hero" Foo Fighters

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Theme" Yeah, I'm pretty gangsta...

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"Barbossa is Hungry" Klauis Badelt Pirates of the Caribbean

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"Last Christmas" - Jimmy Eat World

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
"Plane Crash" - Ron White Drunk in Public

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
"Rosana" - Toto

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"What's Simple is True" - Jewel

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"Don't Look Back in Anger" Maroon 5 cover of Oasis

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Hush" - Christophe Beck BTVS Soundtrack

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
"Somewhere Only We Know" - Keane.....although it was really "To Make You Feel My Love" Garth Brooks

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"I Ran" Flock of Seagulls.....It's probably why I died.

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
"Proud Mary" CCR

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
"Bubba Ho-Tep" - Brian Tyler

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"Angie" - Rolling Stones

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
"The Whole World" - Outkast.......I'm going to be sore in the morning

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"You're Beautiful" - James Blunt

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
"Farewell-Descent into Madness" - Patrick Doyle Hamlet Soundtrack