Valentine's Day - What A Bunch of .....

Yeah I said it. No I'm not  unromantic. I just think that this day is not needed.


Out of 365 1/4 days, there are a few days that man must remember when he is in a relationship. Her birthday, your anniversary and yes, valentine's day. Now that may seem simple enough to the women who are reading this, but in actuality...nothing could be further from the truth. Men are wired to remember sports related stuff, car stuff and such like but we do make the effort to remember these dates. I would be the first to agree with most punishments dished out if your fellow in question happens to forget your b'day (I mean come on, if not for your birth he wouldn't have you in his life...now would he) or anniversary.


That leaves the last day, Feb 14th....


This day, for as long as I can remember has been 'hyped' as the day to show your loved one just how much you care or if you have your 'eye' on a certain someone..announce it to them (although, I do have some vivid memories of this not working out too well...but that is another blog).


Now here is where I start to have an issue.


Let's take scenario number two, I have a crush on a certain lady and to bring this to light I choose Valentine's Day. I can already hear the ladies swooning and awwwwing and making the comment 'That's so sweet' and yeah sure it is...but lets be honest here...would me bringing my feelings to light on any other day make it less romantic?


Scenario number one...you are in a relationship and for the most part you two are in sync , yes there are disagreements and what not (I mean it has to happen, we aren't exactly The Borg here now are we) but when all is said and done when you think about this person you get those 'butterfly feelings' in the pit of your stomach (or is that just me *shame*). Now you are going to make a big production out of this one day....SERIOUSLY??? I'm not saying that everyday has to be dinner at a restaurant, 12 long stem roses (or which ever flower is her favourite), I'm saying that everyday he/she/it should know that they mean the world to you. Calls in the middle of the day to say 'I Love You', showing up at their work and taking them to lunch (again...this can go oooooooohhhhhhhh so wrong lol), a hand written letter left in her bag...stuff like that. 


Am I the only one that thinks romance should be part of a relationship? That time should be taken to learn each other? 


Maybe my 'logic' is like MS DOS. Maybe I'm the last of a dying breed.


God I hope not.

Sellout

Sellout as defined by Dictionary.com

A person who betrays a cause, organization, or the like; traitor.

A person who compromises his or her personal values, integrity, talent, or the like, for money or personal advancement.

Over the years, this term has been used to describe people from all walks of life/areas. Lately, this term has been used by fans of the music industry to let the world know what they think about their favourite artist going 'mainstream'. My question is...Have they really sold out?

Follow me on this one. 

An artist is discovered, his/her/their music hits the public in all ways possible, artist has a following, artist becomes rich. Somewhere along the line, a few followers fall off the bandwagon for some reason or the other, but the main reason is because the artist has decided to 'sellout' and go mainstream. Now I get that as fans we easily identify with an artist mainly because their music 'speaks' to us on some level and we use this as means to escape our reality. To lose this ability to escape reality for even the duration of the song would be a tragic event and we would look to blame the culprit, in this case the artist. 

I too have fallen into this 'trap', until I sat down and thought about this situation (yes I admit, I was bored out of my cotton picking mind) and came to a rather interesting conclusion/observation/revelation. We aren't angry at the artist because we believe he/she/they have sold out, we are angry with ourselves that we fell for the 'game'. What 'game' you may ask...the mind game that the artist is actually making the music for us. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the artist doesn't love making music or doesn't have love for the fans....I'm saying that at the end of the day, they are in it to make money. Where is the money...that's right main stream

There are many examples we could choose from but Black Eyed Peas and to a lesser extent Ludacris are standing out in my mind. I know a lot of you are saying BEP?? Ludacris?? They sold out? For some people BEP, pre-Fergie days and post-Fergie days are two separate entities and there are some people that say by appearing on a track with Justin Beiber, Ludacris has in fact sold out. I actually think that they didn't, they haven't 'sold out' or betrayed anything. They came into the industry to make music and make money. Check and Check (well technically the second would should be Cheque...HA!!! I kill me!!!)

So with this new found 'wisdom', I realised that I no longer was annoyed/angry/upset when the artist went 'main stream', what did get me worked up was seeing people still falling for the 'game'. 

Enjoy the music for what it is, what it does...it just might add a few years unto your life

The 'Pussyfication' of Sports

Like 99.23456% of the males of the world, I enjoy watching sports...whether it be NBA, NFL, Volleyball and such like. My favourite sport is basketball, to play, to watch and lately even coach (although I think that last one will give me the most stress)


My first introduction to basketball 'hardcore' was during the '91 NBA Finals, Lakers vs Bulls, MJ vs MJ...apparently it was what they called 'Destiny Manifest'. I didn't quite get why they said that (again, this is my first serious watching of the game) but from what I was told, these two players were the best of the best at their respective positions and I soon saw why. Johnson a 6' 9" point guard with 'eyes all over his head' and Jordan...NUFF SAID.


After that first game I was hooked, over the years I followed the game...researching it's history to some extent, getting acquainted with the faces of the players and most importantly the rivalries...cause after all, what is sports without a good rivalry?? As many of the rivalries in the NBA, at this time the best was Chicago Bulls vs New York Knicks. Every game lived up to the hype (well as far as my memory goes...Derek where you at?) Hard fouls, good plays, tough defense and most importantly TRASH TALK. As a player there is no sweeter feeling than making an amazing play, whether it be a dunk on a defender or 2, hitting the game winning shoot, breaking someone ankles...you get where I going with this and then letting him know about it.


As we moved along the '90's and into the new millennium, I started to notice a trend...the 'art' of trash talking was on a decline. Was it due to the players not 'practicing' it. No. It was a conscious effort by the powers that be (damn you David Stern) to make the league more 'casual fan' friendly. Now I am all for making your product more marketable, but not at the expense of main clients/supporters. Along with this, I also noticed a more friendly NBA, no longer was there this 'dislike' for the opponent...that was out the window and replaced with fist bumps/high 5's/smiles. Even in the post game interviews, everything seemed so 'friendly'.


The other sport that I mainly watch is NFL. *puts on best Katt Williams voice* This shit right here nigga, this shit right here. *back to normal*
Now if there was one sport MADE for trash talk, this is it. You get big hits and big plays TD celebrations and again rivalries. I will admit that I'm not as 'up on it' with the NFL as with the NBA but I wouldn't say I am a slough either. Once again, the powers that be decided to make the league more 'friendly'. Gone are the really good/funny TD celebration dances. I will admit, the trash talk in this sport is arguably at its best now....take for example the upcoming Jets vs Patriots game. Already there has been enough back and forth between these two teams to keep the press going for a month, but yet on some sports shows I see the panel or 'experts' saying that this is wrong. Seriously??? How does this hurt the game? If you think the opposing team's QB is an a**hole...then that's what you think. Would it be a wise thing to poke the bear, especially after the last time you played him said QB pelt his foot so far up your ass, on national tv mind you, that you STILL get indigestion from his show spikes....not really but then again this may be how this player 'gets up' for games.


Is it so bad to play games with a 'chip on your shoulder' or have a 'dislike' for the team/person you are going against? Why must everything be so 'friendly'? Yes I get that the 'friendly' version gets you the casual fan vote, but do you risk offending your 'die hard fans' just to catch that vote? After all, they are just the casual fan, when they decide to stop watching what then? Hockey is probably one of the most violent games being played (they do have a rule that allows you to fight) but yet they don't 'water down' their product.


I say all of this to make one simple plea....


STOP THE PUSSYFICATION OF SPORTS. PLEASE!!!!!!!

The Voices Have Their Say....

Over the years, a few of my friends have gotten into blogging and I must admit at first I was like 'Oh ok..that's cool'. See I was never one for writing, partly because I sucked at it. I could see the words in my head but in putting pen to paper (in this case fingers to keyboard) it always lost 'something'. As time passed, or as I got older (somehow those that know me would have a big laugh if I said 'as I got more mature'...hell even I have a big ass grin on my face just writing that) the concept of blogging/writing became more appealing but I just put that voice to the back of the line where it stayed with minimal fuss...until today. It got so loud that I had to give it a shot.


I suppose this first blog should be an introduction to me and the many 'voices', but I somehow think that it just might be more fun/interesting if the blogs themselves introduce me to you. I can give you some basic background info...Male/30/Working (lolol). Truth is, I can be very simple but yet the most complex person I know so telling you stuff about me may not make much difference, the main thing is that the 'voices' that get to have their say in this blog space are truly me.


So welcome to 'my world', won't always be pleasant but I can guarantee that it will be one hell of a ride....


Stay tuned


Marcuz and the voices signing out for now