RSS

Category Archives: Random

Teetering Over Tebow

09 Jan
I just don’t know what to think about Tim Tebow. The Denver Broncos quarterback is all the rage, especially after winning his first NFL playoff game yesterday in divine style. Tebow mania has grown to be a polarizing phenomenon due perhaps to his outspoken faith, his “unconventional” play, and his undeniable fame…and it’s got folks on both sides hugely passionate. It seems you either love him or you hate him.
 
But I’m somewhere in between. I just can’t seem to get on the Tebowing bandwagon, but I also find it hard to dislike the guy. I’m not one of those who believes that The Man Upstairs is in your huddle to the exclusion of the other team, so the whole “Tebowing” thing is just not my style. And I tend to cringe a little inside when I hear players “thank the Lord” for their athletic skills or give Him the glory for their last-second field goal.

Sorry, I just can't get on the Tebowing bandwagon.

 
 
However, I am prone to support underdogs, which Tebow most certainly is.  He seems to be a guy who can only get better, because truthfully, he’s not that great in the skills department. He’s not a run-first quarterback in the spirit of Randall Cunningham or Michael Vick. No, he’s more a throwback to the old leatherheads who ran because their passes look like wounded ducks. 
 
Despite that, he is managing to win games, so you can’t help but notice. And he has shown stretches of greatness. When he hit Demaryius Thomas for the winning 80-yard pass-and-catch in overtime, it gave him 316 yards passing, and a 31.6 yard-per-pass average against the Steelers.  Those are great numbers, but what has Twitter all a-flutter is the eerie coinky-dink to the biblical John 3:16 passage, a number which Tebow famously wore (as do many other athletes) in black under his eyes when he led the Florida Gators to victory in the 2009 national championship game. Twitter later announced that 9,420 tweets per second were sent immediately after the winning play, setting a new sports record for the social media site.

3:16 is not how much time is left in the 4th quarter.

 
Having worked in a professional sports league myself, I can appreciate the value of ratings, talent, and hype – and these are most certainly coalescing in the NFL playoffs, thanks in large part to Tebow’s success. The Broncos-Steelers game pulled in a huge 25.9 rating for CBS, becoming the highest-rated AFC wild-card game since 1988.  Even more crazy, the final quarter-hour rating for the game was, you guessed it, 31.6. 
 
If Tebow and his divinity can find a way to dethrone Tom Brady and the heavily-favored New England Patriots next week, prepare for even more Tebow mania as he continues to win over admirers and fans everywhere.
 
Maybe even Yours Truly.
 
 
 
Leave a comment

Posted by on January 9, 2012 in Random, Thoughts

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Does your camera enhance or interfere with life?

06 Jan

Babies are cute. There’s no doubt about it. And with the integration of multimedia tools in everyday technology (read: iPhone) it’s easier than ever to spend your time documenting this cuteness, instead of living in it.

A friend of mine recently wrote:

“It’s very cool that we can capture photos and video via mobile on the fly–no more missing those little moments. At the same time, I can’t help feeling it turns us into voyeurs in our own lives, more intent on capturing the moment than being in it.”

And so that got me thinking – this need to capture every moment and post every photo and tag and check in – does it get in the way of life, or does it enhance life?

Over the holidays, I captured this video of our precious little twin babies and posted it to YouTube. Yes, it’s cute and yes, they’re adorable – but unless you’re in my will, you probably don’t care. Go ahead, have a look. But I’m just warning you now, it’s 2 minutes of babies on their tummies, cooing, and trying to roll over.

For me, there is a certain pressure and obligation to document enough of these “moments” not only for posterity, but to share with family members not in attendance. We recently even harnessed technology to live videocast a private event for my son to his godfather who lives in another state.

It used to be that families would get together over the holidays, sit around and watch the old Super 8 silent family films as they flickered across the white dining room wall. Nowadays, you can stream your turkey dinners live to faraway places. So it’s a battle between being in the moment and capturing it in a way that doesn’t interfere with it (the Hawthorne effect, from my psychology days).

Does anyone else encounter this issue?  What ways do you have to strike the right balance?

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on January 6, 2012 in Family, Random, Thoughts

 

My Top 10 Movies of 2011

22 Dec

As the curtains draw to a close on 2011, it’s time to reflect back on the year that was. In film. So here’s my list of the top 10 movies I saw this year. My list includes box office as well as video releases.

10. Due Date
Funny stuff. Downey plays a perfect straight man and Galifianakis is great as the odd goofball (although by now I don’t see how he’ll ever get a different role).

9. No Strings Attached
I liked it despite knowing where it was headed from the beginning. Cute but predictable amid the usual bevy of wacky supporting characters. After looking all black swanish last time, Natalie is gorgeous in this one.

8. My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend
Wow. Yes. Finally a romantic comedy/drama worth watching. Two great twists make this buck the formula. Nice soundtrack. And Alyssa Milano!

7. The Switch
Pleasantly surprised, enjoyed it. Big Bateman fan.

6. Puss in Boots
My 10-year old gives this a 4.5 star rating, and I concur! Fun movie!

5. Crazy Stupid Love
Ryan Gosling impresses again, and spoiler alert: surprising reveal intertwines everything. American Beauty meets The Kids Are Alright.

4. Easy A
Very solid movie, not the typical high school angst movie. Great acting and some hilarity. Enjoyable.

3. Blue Valentine
Supreme performances but devastating plot. Not uplifting but truthful. Watch if you like studying acting or filmmaking. Skip if you’re in a fragile state of mind. Ouch.

2. 127 Hours
Amazing brilliant tour de force performance from James Franco. Gruesome, but triumphant. Look away if you are the least bit squeamish.

1. Horrible Bosses
Best. Movie. Ever.

Honorable Mentions
All of these are worth seeing, but they just didn’t have enough to make it to the best list.

  • Bridesmaids
    Expected a female Hangover but ended up being a sweet, touching chick flick. Definitely some very funny parts but woulda preferred a full on comedy. Melissa McCarthy steals the show and keeps this from being only a 2.5 star rating.
  • Tower Heist
    What a pleasant surprise. Didn’t expect to enjoy this but it was very entertaining. Oceans 11 meets bad news bears.
  • The Social Network
    Intense. Uncomfortable. Really makes Sean Parker look evil and Zuckerberg unlikable.
  • Black Swan
    That is one crazy messed up chick/swan. Can’t really argue that it’s an epic movie, but not really my cup of tea.
  • The Adjustment Bureau
    Sorta hokey premise about fate but suspend your disbelief and it’s moderately entertaining.

Agree or not? Which flicks should have made my list?

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on December 22, 2011 in Random, Thoughts

 

Tags: , ,

When the game goes wrong

20 Dec

As I sit here tonight watching Monday Night Football between the Steelers and 49ers in the comfort and safety of my own home, the Bay Area setting causes me to reflect on the brutal beating of a San Fran fan earlier this year.

20111219-233610.jpg

Bryan Stow

San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow, a 42-year-old paramedic and father of two, was visiting Dodgers stadium for opening day of the baseball season, when he and his friends were savagely beaten in the stadium parking lot by Dodger fans who took a simple sports rivalry to an unconscionable extreme. Nine months later, Stow is still relearning basic things like walking, brushing his teeth, swallowing, and even how to speak.

For the first time since the attack, Stow has been able to speak in an interview on camera.

Watch the video now.

As a former employee of a professional sports team, I have seen my share of ugliness between fans. One night at a Spurs-Mavs playoff game at the AT&T Center, I had to break up a scuffle as an obnoxious Spurs fan began physically confronting a visiting Dallas fan sitting right in front of him (neither guy knew I was an employee until they saw my badge…and then they fell in line. Unfortunately, I had to go back to sitting in the next row over for the remaining three quarters…AWKWARD!)  And while traveling with the Spurs during the 2003 NBA Finals against the New Jersey Nets, there was so much Sopranos-style bile spewed in our direction, I almost feared for my safety.

Almost.

I can hardly fathom that the events in Los Angeles actually could happen.

As I kid playing little league baseball, I was always taught that the spirit of teamwork and competition was equal to respect for the opponent. It didn’t matter if you win or lose, it was how you play the game that mattered. That’s what the coaches would always drill into us, day after day.

But these days, John Rocker, the “Malice at the Palace,” Eagles fans throwing snowballs at Santa, and a host of other recent sports misdeeds lead me to wonder if things have somehow taken a turn for the worse. Granted there will always be an extremist element any time there’s competition, but the boundaries of civility no longer seem guaranteed.

This holiday season, we should all take a moment to reflect on what’s important about sports and life, and resolve to actively work towards a return to that place where everyone can safely enjoy a game and root, root, root for their home team.

Even if, as in my case, it happens to be the Eagles. 🙂

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on December 20, 2011 in Random, Thoughts

 

Tags: , , , , , ,

Why Words with Friends should restore your faith in humanity

16 Dec

Over 20 million people are addicted.

The maker of some of the most popular video games on the planet, Zynga, has just made a fortune.  Yesterday, the company — which makes Words with Friends, Farmville, and other games played mostly on Facebook and mobile phones — priced its initial public offering at $10 a share, raising about $1 billion for the company. 

Not a bad day’s work.

But what makes this a big deal, literally, is more than the staggering amount of dough.  When you reflect on just how fragile an economy we have in the U.S.– a system plagued over the last few years by mortgage-backed investment scandals, Bernie Madoff, auto industry bailouts, TARP, and so much more — you realize how many things can go wrong.  It’s more than enough to discourage you.

When so many things can be corrupted, politicized, and made to fail, it’s nice to remind ourselves that the basics of our free market economy still work — despite a global economic downturn.  Zynga created (and acquired, in some cases) products that have such a huge demand, people were willing to part with $1 billion to grab a piece.  Their products are so good they’re addictive: 20 million people have installed Words, and 31 million play Farmville daily.  I’ve seen folks unable to remove themselves from picking crops for hours.  And recently, Alec Baldwin was so engrossed in his Words game, he couldn’t put down his phone during takeoff — an act which got him kicked off the plane in the process.

So my message is simply: have hope.  Even if the economy is rough in your neck of the woods, and corruption and fraud are seemingly everywhere, you can still succeed through basic supply and demand fundamentals.  Make a widget that everybody wants, and you can still profit richly.

That’s the American Dream after all, isn’t it?

 
1 Comment

Posted by on December 16, 2011 in Random, Thoughts, Work

 

Tags: , , , ,

← Older posts
Newer posts →