I am not that good at keeping up on blogging. Last semester, I also had to keep a blog for Professor Amidon’s class. The class was Business and Technical Writing and all the students were required to have about 35-40 blog entries over the course of the semester. I always had such a hard time filling out my blog entries for the class because I often felt like I just didn’t have anything to say. The blog was not about business or technical writing per se, but a place for Professor Amidon’s students to discuss ideas about a general topic each student had chosen earlier in the semester (which was supposed to be concerned in some manner with business). I chose to write about the effects of blogs, but often, students just chose to follow their favorite football team.
Again this semester I am having a hard time making sure my blog is kept up to date, but since nobody in class has my site link yet, I guess it is not too late to catch up. I think the reason that I have such a hard time keeping up my blog is because I feel like I am talking (on my blog) just for the sake of writing. I understand that it is an important outlet to focus on writing openly and creatively, but I just have a hard time shaking the feeling.
I guess this feeling comes from a resentment of people that talk simply to hear themselves speak. Everybody knows about the kind of person I am talking about. I do not know if these people just generally resent silence or are scared of not being the center of attention, at least, for part of the time. I was at this thing last Saturday taking a tour with a group of, more or less, extremely intelligent people. Now every four or five minutes, the tour guide would stop and politely ask if anyone in the crowd (there was approximately fifteen of us) had any questions. One girl had to ask at least one question every single time the tour guide stopped. Literally, she asked as many questions as the other fourteen people on the tour combined. It drove me crazy. And trust me, most of these questions were not exactly well thought out, pre-planned questions. The questions were more like, well the guide asked if anyone has questions, so I better say something. The thing is, I actually had a conversation with the girl later that day and she seemed like a really nice person. I’m not making the claim that people that do it are bad people, it is just one of those personality traits that annoys me.
Now I feel bad, because I also hate people like me that just complain about other types of people without ever saying something directly to that person. I mean who the hell am I to judge other people? What makes the girl that asks a bunch of questions on a tour, worse than the boy that sits back and rips into her because he has a hard time thinking of things to talk about on his blog?
Because really, the fact is that the girl that had to speak to hear herself speak, which I thought annoyed me, was really a God send because it gave a boy, who couldn’t think of anything to discuss on his blog, something to write about. So, I would like to thank that girl on the tour that would not stop talking for giving me something to write about.
Sincerely,
The boy with nothing to say
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Fun as a kid
Do you ever have the opportunity to watch a movie later in life that you really enjoyed as a kid? I’m not talking about a Sesame Street sing along, but a movie that you liked when you were nine or ten. I guess what I am getting at is a movie which is actually supposed to have a plot and be entertaining to some degree. I watched 3 Ninjas on Encore Movies yesterday and…wow. It’s not so much that I feel bad for watching the movie as a kid, but the fact that I probably forced my mom to watch it several times as well. I felt horrible about it. The acting is atrocious and the story is ridiculous. There really is no redeeming quality to the movie. I almost wanted to call my mom and apologize for forcing her to watch that when I was a kid.
But, I was just a kid. There are lots of things that you should enjoy as a kid because you can’t (or at least shouldn’t) enjoy them as an adult. However, there is one thing that has seemingly flipped as in which age group in society is supposed to enjoy it. It used to be an activity that was for small kids, but now kids are not allowed to play it, at least in many parts of the country. In addition, now there are many adults that play the game (I even think there is some pseudo-professional league on FX). I’m talking about dodge ball. In many places kids are no longer allowed to play dodge ball because too many parents think that it singles out the weaker students in the class. I really hate how much this country coddles kids today and shelters them from feeling any sort of rejection. I’m not going into any in depth debate on parenting. All I’m saying is that every kid should have the luxury to enjoy a gym class or recess with dodge ball. It’s a fun game that a lot of kids really enjoyed. And remember, while parents may be trying to shelter their kids now, they may also be preventing kids from playing dodge ball that may excel at it. Perhaps, excel at it more than anything else they will ever excel at in life. Then, parents will be forcing those kids to feel rejected by almost every adult in society when they are forced to join adult dodge ball leagues someday. And that’s not fair to those kids.
But, I was just a kid. There are lots of things that you should enjoy as a kid because you can’t (or at least shouldn’t) enjoy them as an adult. However, there is one thing that has seemingly flipped as in which age group in society is supposed to enjoy it. It used to be an activity that was for small kids, but now kids are not allowed to play it, at least in many parts of the country. In addition, now there are many adults that play the game (I even think there is some pseudo-professional league on FX). I’m talking about dodge ball. In many places kids are no longer allowed to play dodge ball because too many parents think that it singles out the weaker students in the class. I really hate how much this country coddles kids today and shelters them from feeling any sort of rejection. I’m not going into any in depth debate on parenting. All I’m saying is that every kid should have the luxury to enjoy a gym class or recess with dodge ball. It’s a fun game that a lot of kids really enjoyed. And remember, while parents may be trying to shelter their kids now, they may also be preventing kids from playing dodge ball that may excel at it. Perhaps, excel at it more than anything else they will ever excel at in life. Then, parents will be forcing those kids to feel rejected by almost every adult in society when they are forced to join adult dodge ball leagues someday. And that’s not fair to those kids.
IU basketball
So obviously Indiana basketball has taken a prominent place, for all the wrong reasons, in the news as of late. I find it so funny in the world of college athletics, which is a multi-billion dollar industry, impermissible phone calls are such a big deal. There is so much pressure to win, especially at a top-tier program like Indiana. The pressure is even greater because IU is the only school in the Big Ten that makes more money off of its basketball program than it does off of its football program. This is important because men’s basketball and football programs have to make a lot of money or other athletic programs like baseball, golf, or any female athletics program would have to be marginalized.
I am not saying that what Coach Sampson did was right or that he shouldn’t be fired for it. I’m just saying there must be a lot of pressure on a coach to land that next big recruit to make sure the program remains at the top, which in turn keeps it profitable. There also has to be a little bit of irony with Indiana (along with every major university) demanding that, not just coaches, but players be held to such a high standard of ethics, when the university literally makes millions of dollars off the interests fans have in watching their talents on television. But, on the other hand, Indiana uses that money to help other college athletes achieve their dreams. Indiana is a great university that has always had a very high standard of not just athletic, but academic excellence which, in part, comes from operating under very high ethical standards. And I don’t doubt that the school will make the right decision.
I just wish that Indiana was in the news for some reason other than the alleged recruiting violations that the school is currently facing.
I am not saying that what Coach Sampson did was right or that he shouldn’t be fired for it. I’m just saying there must be a lot of pressure on a coach to land that next big recruit to make sure the program remains at the top, which in turn keeps it profitable. There also has to be a little bit of irony with Indiana (along with every major university) demanding that, not just coaches, but players be held to such a high standard of ethics, when the university literally makes millions of dollars off the interests fans have in watching their talents on television. But, on the other hand, Indiana uses that money to help other college athletes achieve their dreams. Indiana is a great university that has always had a very high standard of not just athletic, but academic excellence which, in part, comes from operating under very high ethical standards. And I don’t doubt that the school will make the right decision.
I just wish that Indiana was in the news for some reason other than the alleged recruiting violations that the school is currently facing.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Week III
Well, there has certainly been a lot going on this week. So instead of picking just one topic and writing about it, I figure I’ll just go over some of the things that I have been paying attention to lately.
First, I want to thank the graduate students that helped teach class last week. They were all very courteous and were able to keep a laid back atmosphere and get all the class exercises done. Thankfully, none of them took their authority position too seriously and were very helpful in guiding the rest of us. I even got home in time to see the tip of the IU game. That brings up another topic for this week, sports.
The Super Bowl was amazing. I don’t like the Giants, but that was definitely the best football game I’ve seen since USC played Texas in the 2006 Rose Bowl. However, as much as I enjoyed the Super Bowl, it is always a sad time of year for me. Unfortunately, I now have to wait seven months before the 2008 regular season begins. I guess it really doesn’t matter though, because I am a Buffalo Bills fan. I should actually be glad football is over because it will be seven months without feeling constantly disappointed and having almost every week start off on the wrong foot because the Bills lost. I can now let other things in sports disappoint me instead. For instance, I can now be disappointed with the Indiana Hoosiers, which after losing to Wisconsin last Thursday, are now 0-3 against top 25 RPI teams. In addition, I can be disappointed that Bobby Knight, the greatest basketball coach ever- of all time- ever is retiring. Finally, once basketball runs its course, I can turn my disappointment to the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox, with the league’s fourth highest payroll, will probably continue to underperform in 2008. Not only that, but their weak spot is middle relief pitching. So they are often winning for a good portion of the game before they disappoint me two and a half hours into the telecast. That should keep me disappointed right through September, but hey, at least football will be back by then…and the cycle of disappointment can continue.
Next, Monday’s fog was pretty ridiculous. I had to drive in it for a couple of hours and I must say I never remember fog being that bad in Fort Wayne. I felt like I could have been driving around in Sleepy Hollow. I am a delivery driver, which is a pretty sweet job for a college kid. I can talk on my phone all I want, listen to music, and make in the neighborhood of $15 an hour (could be more if gas wasn’t so expensive). Still, driving down Parnell, trying to find a street address with people behind me was quite difficult.
Finally, Super Tuesday was yesterday and wow there was a lot of media coverage. The funny thing is they have almost turned the election process into a sporting event. It is ridiculous. Come to think of it even Fox, on the day of the Super Bowl, was mixing its political coverage with the pregame show. It looks like John McCain is going to win the nomination for the Republicans now, but the Democratic nomination (since they don’t have the winner take all primaries) is still neck and neck. All I know is that I am really pulling for Barack Obama. But, if politics is now a sporting event and sports continue to disappoint me, than that means that Hillary Clinton will probably end up winning the nomination from the Democrats…and the cycle of disappointment continues.
First, I want to thank the graduate students that helped teach class last week. They were all very courteous and were able to keep a laid back atmosphere and get all the class exercises done. Thankfully, none of them took their authority position too seriously and were very helpful in guiding the rest of us. I even got home in time to see the tip of the IU game. That brings up another topic for this week, sports.
The Super Bowl was amazing. I don’t like the Giants, but that was definitely the best football game I’ve seen since USC played Texas in the 2006 Rose Bowl. However, as much as I enjoyed the Super Bowl, it is always a sad time of year for me. Unfortunately, I now have to wait seven months before the 2008 regular season begins. I guess it really doesn’t matter though, because I am a Buffalo Bills fan. I should actually be glad football is over because it will be seven months without feeling constantly disappointed and having almost every week start off on the wrong foot because the Bills lost. I can now let other things in sports disappoint me instead. For instance, I can now be disappointed with the Indiana Hoosiers, which after losing to Wisconsin last Thursday, are now 0-3 against top 25 RPI teams. In addition, I can be disappointed that Bobby Knight, the greatest basketball coach ever- of all time- ever is retiring. Finally, once basketball runs its course, I can turn my disappointment to the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox, with the league’s fourth highest payroll, will probably continue to underperform in 2008. Not only that, but their weak spot is middle relief pitching. So they are often winning for a good portion of the game before they disappoint me two and a half hours into the telecast. That should keep me disappointed right through September, but hey, at least football will be back by then…and the cycle of disappointment can continue.
Next, Monday’s fog was pretty ridiculous. I had to drive in it for a couple of hours and I must say I never remember fog being that bad in Fort Wayne. I felt like I could have been driving around in Sleepy Hollow. I am a delivery driver, which is a pretty sweet job for a college kid. I can talk on my phone all I want, listen to music, and make in the neighborhood of $15 an hour (could be more if gas wasn’t so expensive). Still, driving down Parnell, trying to find a street address with people behind me was quite difficult.
Finally, Super Tuesday was yesterday and wow there was a lot of media coverage. The funny thing is they have almost turned the election process into a sporting event. It is ridiculous. Come to think of it even Fox, on the day of the Super Bowl, was mixing its political coverage with the pregame show. It looks like John McCain is going to win the nomination for the Republicans now, but the Democratic nomination (since they don’t have the winner take all primaries) is still neck and neck. All I know is that I am really pulling for Barack Obama. But, if politics is now a sporting event and sports continue to disappoint me, than that means that Hillary Clinton will probably end up winning the nomination from the Democrats…and the cycle of disappointment continues.
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