Pick Your Poison-And by Poison I Mean Topic

So here are 10 topics for my next article.  I'm gonna try and let my audience choose what I write about.  At least topically.  It will still be my voice and my original ideas you're picking from, but I think it gives the reader a great chance to read what they feel like reading.  Whether it's about Sports, Technology, Movies, Politics, The Law, or local events or personal stories.  If no one votes, which is a possibility, I'll just pick the one I want to write about.

Simple right?

Ok, Here are your Options.

1) The Obama Administration and Trayvon Martin.  A look in the mirror.

Going in I'm thinking about how race is still inextricably linked in this country's fabric and to not awknowledge it is detrimental to our country.

2) StatePatty's Day: The Mutation

Talking about the start of State Patty's innocence, and then following it through until it's present day incarnation

3) Diablo 3:  Attempting To Perfect Dungeon Crawls
Somewhere amongst my peers include video game geeks.  This would be more up that alley, but I would attempt to bring the game to non game fans in a language they could understand.

4) Beware The Super Team
It seems to be happening more and more.  Teams that were not the best going into their respective playoff systems emerged Champions, and more and more picked teams flounder.  Touch on media hype and influence of rankings.

5) Summer In The Valley
 Exploring Summer at Penn State and State College.  From both a student and non-student view.

6) Work Neighbors
Examining the networks of business proximity.  For example, are large groups of Chilis staff friends or familiar with Staff from Pickles, or Jersey Mike's?  Do the employees at the Gap hang out with the employees of American Eagle? 

7) Walk-Off Shot
Detailing my journey as a walk-on to Penn State's football team.  And my departure.

8) Ron Paul, Jews, Racism, and Israel.
Pretty obvious where this is going to go right?



9) Taking Your Girl to the Dude Movie
The reverse of Guy is taken to Chick Flick

10) Platonic Dialogues Discussion
I dare you to pick this one.



So to make a vote, just post what number you want as a comment.  You don't have to use your name if you don't want to. 

Facebook: After The College Years

During my Junior year of school, something was introduced that would change the world.  A free interactive social site that would allow friends to interact, post pictures, join groups blah blah blah.

I'm not going to make this post about how Facebook works, because I assume you know essentially how it works.

If you're reading this, there's a 95% chance your doing so because you linked to it from my Facebook feed.

Instead I will be addressing the vast change that has occurred in Facebook as I've matured and Facebook opened it's doors to the people that exist beyond college life.

Part 1.  What Facebook Was Initially.

Lets not get it twisted.  Facebook was used initially as a way to connect with the people you partied with.  I don't know how this could be disputed in any real way.  Almost every single early picture in any Facebook album upon it's inception involves alcohol.  The reason is obvious.  It debuted as a College internet device.  This exclusivity, which Zuckerberg seemed to be very much for in it's early incarnations was in part what drove the social website.  Yes there were other uses, keeping up with classmates or showing off your vacation but lets be real.  Facebook was used initially to help you figure out who you were hanging out with at school, and more specifically what you were doing when you weren't studying at school. 

And college students party when they aren't studying. 

We (as College students) had a specific audience of peers that we wanted to entertain and impress upon our values of fun, sexiness, rage, and whatever else we thought was cool.  Before Facebook, there was AOL Instant Messenger, which was actually similar in that you could make a profile, put quotes, song lyrics and links to whatever.  And you knew that only a few select people that you knew and chose could access it.  But Facebook took that model and improved upon it 10 fold.  Though it's chat feature would be a little bit farther away and AIM existed simultaneously for a while, today AIM is obsolete.

Initially in college we used Facebook to tell people who we were and we did it unapologetically.  Facebook was nothing if not absolute connection with another person's immediate psyche. We would update about breakups, beginning relationships, if we got a job or if we got wasted (which was the most likely thing to update about)  In someways that is still the true, but the rules began to change sometime after the whole world got their hands on the program.

Part 2.  Your Parents Want to Be Your Friend.

This is bullshit.

Being part of the initial Facebook experiment that wanted to use this website to show our peers our nightlife, our fun life, this is about as sacrilegious as you can get.

In sociology classes (or maybe psych, my memory is a bit fuzzy now)  we learn about the different roles we play given certain circumstances.  We act differently in front of our friends versus in front of our bosses.  We act differently with strangers than we do with family.  We maintain that we are the same person through out, yet our actions differ depending on who we are with.  It's fine.  It's natural.

That wall was broken to some degree with this new development.  There is a bit of a social impasse with Facebook's 'friending' system.  While people whom you may consider to be close or 'friends' to say that they aren't your 'Facebook friends' creates a system where you are explicitly say 'you are not close enough that I trust you to see what I've done in college.'

In other words....

I do not want my Mom to see pictures of me getting fucked up with my best friends.  I don't want my future boss to see pictures of me getting shit faced or high when I was just trying to have a good time.  That time was a time I do want to remember, but not a time I want to share with every single family member or work contact I may possibly have.  Yes, you are a family member.  Yes you may be a work contact.  But that does not mean I want to share those experiences from my youth, though I myself may want to remember them.  I'm not ashamed of them, but I don't think you would understand them and I absolutely think you will hold them against me.

Part 3:  Acceptance Into The System

Now we have it figured out.  Have we changed?  Have we matured?  That is debatable.  But we have managed to work around the Facebook system.  We know that at any point in time, we can be sought out via the Facebook network and some defenses are there for those that feel that they need them.  Girls often do not post their last name and instead use a middle name.  There are nicknames.  Settings are set to Private (though there are still loopholes that a dedicated stalker COULD work around).

As we give in and become Facebook friends with our bosses and Family we now edit and are careful about what we broadcast.  Our language changes to reflect it.  The pictures that we tag ourselves become self monitored.  We look to presentable to ALL audiences and not just the our college peers.  This difference is monumental.

The pictures of our days in school are now protected or gone altogether.  Sadly the whole reason I initially used Facebook is gone.  No longer will you get an honest view of my personal psyche, but rather one that is edited to appeal to everyone.  There will be few (and in the time to come, probably fewer) pictures of me being anything other than sober and straight laced. 

I still use Facebook to give my friends and contacts an accurate portrait of how I feel, but no longer do I use it an effort to communicate directly to my college peers.  That time is gone.

This is not true of everyone though.

Part 4:  F*** it.  You're Still In College

 I really can't imagine College without Facebook, going over the incredible pictures of my past, they STILL define me.  I can't imagine not having my status updates over incredibly stupid things.  The parties, the relationships I did and did not have.  The fact that I was willing to open myself up and be as vulnerable as possible to people who were going through the exact same things as I was made helped give me the strength to persevere through a challenging time both academically and socially.

I'm not saying go get smashed every night.  I'm not saying go act reckless and without respect to others.  But I am saying that you should not be scared to make mistakes and make them publicly.  They help keep you from making them in the future.

Take pictures.  Say funny shit.  It is a universal truth that time can't come back and the only thing we will be left with is the memories that we make.

Don't be scared to make them.

Sunny Side Up

There is an official day of Spring.  Based on the earths rotation around the sun and the amount of sunlight based on the Earths axis.  That day is March 20th.

Today would be the unofficial first day of Spring. 

Today was the day when the weather would allow you to do anything you like outside in a comfortable fashion.

The sun broke the sky and the citizens of this town took to the outdoors in some form or another to enjoy it.  

Some took to running or biking.

Maybe some went fishing.

Perhaps you went for some beers and grilled outside at a friends house.

But everyone in the town can absolutely FEEL the difference in the day.  And the results in peoples moods is very apparent.

If one was forced due to their job or school to not enjoy the splendor of the day, one would imagine they would curse their luck. 

Bars and restaurants with patio seating become the most desirable place to eat a meal.

Maybe its slightly less understandable if you happen to live in warmer climates, but speaking at least from the perspective of someone who has lived in central Pennsylvania all their life, the break represents almost a whole new beginning.

And perhaps this Spring is special in State College for another reason.

Make no mistake about it, we were stuck in dark winter, one in which a legend lost his job under questionable circumstances, and then lost his life.  I believe the town is still struggling to reclaim their 'Happy' Valley.

But days like today, where the sun cannot help but shine through and touch your skin, it's difficult to not be filled with the hopes and dreams to continue living as best we can. 

It's hard to keep from smiling.

Fan view. Lakers Look Like A Team In Win Over Miami

The Lakers looked very much like a team yesterday.  Not in the sense of how shots were divided amongst players ( a poor way to look at the value of a team in my estimation.), but rather as players that were playing for each other and to win the game.  With grit and determination on defense, and with skill and execution on offense.

They played as a team.

Yes the post players played well.  If you look at their numbers, there performances were actually pretty routine.

Both Gasol and Bynum average about 16 points.  Pau actually played under his statistical averages.  Bynum turning in typical numbers except for his blocked shots.  But even then, he is supposed to be a clog in the lane every night, so that's not surprising either.

Kobe played great on offense, scoring efficiently and was great at setting up various sets for the Lakers to run.  But again he played under his averages in both assists, and rebounds.

Fisher had 4.

The bench combined for a measly 12 points.

The ONLY thing difference...and it's a stark one, was that Metta World Peace showed up and played well beyond what he's shown this season.  He scored 17.  Three times what he has averaged.  He rebounded at double the rate he had shown.

He played great.

But this is beyond numbers.  This is not a statistical overlay about production.  This is about why the Lakers looked on Sunday like they could be a real threat for a championship.  They competed about as hard as I've seen a team compete this early in the season.
 
LeBron could be the best player to ever play the game.  But he doesn't want to be.  He instead will insist on trying to be the best teammate in the world.  That distinction is important.

 The one who defers to Wade in closing moments, that tries to help Bosh score some easy baskets, passes out of double teams for open 3's.

But I believe that some of those decisions are wrong.  That sometimes the higher percentage play in order to score and win the game is take a "bad shot" against a double team, that splits and challenges defenses.  That a "selfish" shot is the right shot for a team.

The Lakers balanced and supported the "selfish" shots of Bryant, Gasol and Bynum and to some extent Metta World Peace.

If this is the case, the and players support each others styles rather than demanding they change them, then they are better off for it.

For example.  If Kobe wants to post 1 on 1 versus Shane Battier the players are in agreement that match-up favors Kobe.  Exploit it until help comes.  If Kobe is still hot, you may be able to ride him for a whole quarter.  If the shot seems forced, or impossible to you, it's still OK because the principal belief you have in him 1 on 1 with Battier.

Last night, there was no hint of dissension within that team.  No one arguing about shots or minutes.  The Lakers absolutely played together, and won because of both the collection of talent and the support and confidence that they bring out in each other. 

The eyeball test is not used in basketball analytics very often.  But don't be surprised if this Laker squad begins to heat up.  The value of belief in one another is a very difficult thing to quantify.  

Barack Obama Goes After the Biggest Demographic. The Sports Fan Vote.

Today, on ESPN.com you can watch Bill Simmons, who is a pop culture and sports writer interview the most powerful man on the planet.  About the Chicago Bulls.  About the first pitch in games, and about Jeremy Lin.

Today I want to address why that happened.

The allure from ESPN's perspective is obvious.  An interview with the President is going to score ratings in one form or another.

But what is to be gained from the Presidents side?  Why open himself to obvious attacks that will be coming from his opponents saying that he concentrates too much on basketball and sports to be a fit president?  The same argument was made not long ago in a similar fashion with George Bush and Baseball.

But I think those gripes are minor compared to the possible gain Obama could gain if he is successful at garnering an audience and vote rarely appealed to.  The sports fan.  Or maybe the obsessive sport fan.  Sometimes these days it's hard to tell the difference.

The business of athletics is enormous.  Physical Trainers, Stadium Designers, Doctors, Electronics, Sports Apparel, Television, Radio, Newspapers, Bars, T-Shirts (to some degree cotton and leather,) lawyers, accountants, politicians, gambling and Casinos.

Indeed it may be that sports and athletics are our biggest export.  The championships are elaborate spectacles on many different levels.  And at the highest level they're even more so; The Super Bowl, World Cup, and the Olympics are the biggest events in the world right now.  Everyone watches.

Sports matter in this world, possibly more than ever.  And even if you could care less about the sports themselves, to not acknowledge their impact on society is absolutely foolish.

So while Obama never really references politics specifically he does touch on why he likes sports and why at their core so many Americans do too.

"The mythology of sports is deeply embedded in us"

"People, for all our differences politically, regionally, economically.  Most people understand sports.  Partly because it's one of the few places where there is a true Ameritocracy.  Ultimately there's not a lot of B.S.  Who's winning who's losing?  Who's performing, who's not?  It's all laid out there."

Boom, knocked it out of the park. 

The best part, about this interview is the brilliance of keeping the topic sports.  Because most sports fans hate politics.

If you were to try to poll sports fans in bars about who they're voting for, the most likely response is "I don't care, I'm trying to watch the game"

If Obama talked about War, the economy, anything of importance politically, the sports fan would be turned off and would be more likely to turn the channel and disliking Obama more than if he hadn't seen him at all.

So Obama keeps things in the realm of the hallowed sports of baseball, golf, basketball and football.  If he appears knowledgeable or likable in these exchanges he endears himself to the sports fan.  And even if this is not a presiding factor on how you may vote, the fact that you may even slightly like him more because of his love of athletics is worth the political risks mentioned earlier.

The humanizing of a president is important.  People want to feel like they have something in common with their leaders.  If sports is that common denominator, it would seem to put him in a far better position than if he wasn't.

I believe that is what Obama attempts to do here.

He talks about how he never cheats in Golf, that he's honorable and does not allow for any 'gimme' putts.

In short he seems to be selling us that he is a dedicated honest sports fan.  That appreciates competition in earnest and welcomes it.

I will be voting, and sports will not be a deciding factor, but I don't doubt that subliminally that this interview will have some affect in one way or another.



P.S.

By the way, I'm also betting that if you HATE Obama, then you probably hated the interview.  People that hate a certain person will hate anything that person does and will find some warped reason to say it was the wrong thing to do.

If you LOVE Obama then I'm sure you loved this interview.  Obama probably does little to nothing wrong in your eyes if your one of his biggest fans.