How Hot Topic Killed Bob Marley

So those of you who have a Twitter may have noticed that Bob Marley was trending the other day. May 11 was the 30th anniversary of his tragic death from cancer. Apparently the reason it was trending though, was not that people wanted to commemorate the anniversary of his death. Apparently a large number of Twitter users actually thought that Bob Marley died four days ago, May 11, 2011. How could that possibly be?

I'll tell you. Bob Marley has ceased to be a musical icon. He is no longer the figure of peace and love that he was when he brought his Reggae music to the masses. He has become a figure that college stoners put up on their walls to say "Look at my Bob Marley poster, I live on the edge, man." These kids buy t-shirts and posters with his likeness on them when most of them probably couldn't name more than five of his songs. They just think that because they have his poster, they automatically become a cool kid. Believe me, I don't claim to be a big Bob Marley fan. He's not my cup of tea. But these kids are disrespecting a revolutionary musician by claiming to be fans of his and not knowing anything about him. Get your facts straight, kids. Take off the hemp necklace, put out the incense, and actually take time to get to know something about the man you claim to be a fan of.

Thanks to Billiam for the heads up on this, follow him on twitter at bbop7

Parking Problems

I was at the bank earlier today depositing some money. When I finished up my transaction and left the bank, I stepped into the parking lot and saw probably the worst parking job that a human has ever managed. A woman had parked her giant, red SUV far past where the designated parking spots ended, at an angle that left the back of her behemoth partly in a fire lane. I'm sure in her mind it was fine because she was "just running in for a second." Well for the time she was in the bank she blocked one of the only ways to navigate around the parking lot without either pulling out into the street or going through empty parking spots. If she hadn't left a small child and a dog in the car I would have hopped in my car and rammed straight into hers. Well...not really. It's my dad's car so I couldn't actually do that, but you get the point. The woman actually seems to believe that laws don't apply to her because she's in a hurry. How ignorant and self absorbed do you have to be to think that parking like that is fine because its convenient to your schedule? There were other parking spots a little further away from the bank that she could have easily fit into to. I guess NASA needed her to talk a space shuttle through a crash landing after she deposited her check or something. How else could you explain her utter disregard for courtesy?

Video Chat: The New P90X

I went to my local YMCA today to play some basketball. The court is small, but well kept and at 2 pm there is almost never anybody using it. When I got there, I walked into the court, laced up my shoes, and started to shoot. About five minutes into my shoot-around a woman came in holding a toddler in her arms, with another child (probably 4 or 5 years old) waddling behind her. The woman was heavy set and dressed in workout clothes that were not quite big enough to hold her frame. She sat down on the bench and the toddler and the older child started running around and trying to play basketball. I expected her to go out to the other area of the gym to workout and leave her kids in the gym unsupervised like every other parent at the Y does. Like I'm going to do when I'm a parent because what better way to get some time to yourself? But no. As she sat down the woman reached into her bag and pulled out her laptop. "Okay," I thought, "Maybe she has some work to do, I can understand that." Wrong. A couple minutes passed and I heard the familiar start-up sound of Skype. Shortly afterward I heard the woman start to have a loud conversation with another woman about how stressful her day had been. The woman was Skyping in the gym while her kids ran around. Are you kidding me? Why even bother putting on workout clothes, getting your kids in the car, and driving to the Y if all your going to do at there is have a video conference with another woman and complain the whole time about how tired you are? It took all of my energy not to run over, slam her laptop shut, and take her children to child services because obviously the woman has problems. If you can't stay out of contact with the outside world for more than 10 minutes while you're at the gym, you have a problem. I feel bad for her kids, it looked like they were expecting to have some play time with their mother. Instead they got to run around while their mom paid attention to her computer screen and not them. I left before they did, I hope to God she eventually got off her lazy behind and spent some quality time with those kids, they probably need it.

RonDon't

I am a huge Rajon Rondo fan. I think he plays the game in a unique and stylish way and will have a great career playing the way he does. That said, I think he is a terrible example for young point guards. Playing basketball at my local YMCA and the outdoor courts around Boston and the South Shore of Mass, I have witnessed a trend in younger, smaller players that I really don't like. Every kid is trying to play like Rondo now. I have news for you kids, you're never going be successful playing like that. Rondo gets away with it because he is freakishly fast, has the the wing span of a 7-footer, and hands the size of Vitaly Potapenko's bald spot (for those of you who don't remember him, just take my word for it. The dude's hairline was running away from the rest of his face like it stole his nose's wallet.)

All those natural parts of Rondo's game allow him to make plays that are not fundamentally sound, yet are spectacular. He can dribble up high and quickly bring it down to the ground like nobody I have ever seen before. He doesn't have to use his left hand on layups, he's quick enough that it does not really matter. He can wiggle the ball around in the air while he palms it and scoop in a layup. For everyone else out there that wants to learn how to play basketball fundamentally, he is not the one to watch.

As much as I hate to admit it, watch Jason Kidd or Tony Parker. They are solid examples of how fundamental basketball can lead to success, that there is no need for all the flash that Rondo has to have a good basketball career. Yes, they both have their moments where they make a crazy pass or a really fancy dribble-drive, but for the most part they take care of the ball and just make good decisions. If you do those two things well, you'll have a good career as a point guard.

Rot Your Socks Off

I bought a pack of 8 pairs of Starter Mid-calf socks from Walmart the other day. For some inexplicable reason the bag they came in was resealable. What possible reason would a person have for resealing a bag of socks? Are they afraid you'll drop them in water? Are they designed for sailors with poor grips?  It made me wonder if I should be concerned about the socks getting moldy if I just left them in my drawer. So far nothing has happened to them since I took them out of the bag. Nothing will happen to them because they are socks, not perishable food items. What a waste of resealable technology. Mr. Ziploc (I assume he was a real person as well as the one who invented the technology for the sake of this post) is probably rolling over in his grave, which I'm sure is very well sealed.

Fatherly Failure

Driving home today, Mother's Day, I traveled past a man on his ride-on mower presumably taking care of the lawn to please his wife. Thinking nothing of this, I turned my head and continued my drive. Before the man and his mower were completely out of my perif's I had to whip my head back and stare for a second in awe of his stupidity. In his arms was an infant, not a day over a year old. He was carrying his infant child under one arm while driving a vehicle with whirling death on the bottom. One slip, one bump, and his wife would never be able to celebrate Mother's Day again. I don't care how sure he is of his hands and his ability to steer that mower. Crazier things have happened.

The sad part is, this isn't the first time I have seen this particular mental midget carrying one of his children while mowing his lawn. Does he think its a ride? Stop being a cheapskate and take your kids to Canobie Lake Park for the day. I'm sure they'd appreciate the crappy old rides there a lot more than being subjected to your yard work.