The Best and the Worst Workouts

Best and Worst Workouts of 2010
It is always funny to see what kind of workouts they will come out with next. In fact I was watching TV the other day and came across an ad that advertised a workout machine for your abs. It was sort of like a pumping T shaped thing that you sat in a chair and pushed up and down to different weight measures. Like really? What happened to go ol' fashioned situps!?

My favorite workout of the year is P90X because i have heard nothing but good things about the program. I hear it kicks your ass and kicks your body into shape, but you have to make sure you do all the workouts and fix your diet to go along with the workouts and you will be ripped in about 90 days; marketing at its finest.

The worst workout routine of the year; hands down, the shake weight. I hope you all have seen the South Park episode in which the shake weight is used metaphorically has a sexual stimulating device use to solve marriage problems. That episode regarding the shake weight is probably the only you could ever get any real value out of it, and that is just entertainment. I mean if you just think about the purpose of the shake weight and what your actually doing with it; you will of course feel silly and would just end up wanting to go to sleep-mode (shout out to South Park)

Today's Happenings 11/30

Strong Fall from Affluence
Everybody who is born or moves to America wants to live the American Dream; a big house, nice cars, good job, healthy family, and of course the white picket fence in the front yard. The Martin family lived that dream due to the selling of Mr. Martin's former company. The family, after taxes, had a reportedly 10 millions dollars and boy did they use it. They took the American Dream and stomped all over it, spending so much money that now they live in a dinky little apartment near the firing range shed in Wamego, Kansas.

This guy spent so much money in so little time. They bought so many properites including ones in England, NY, Vermont, and other places and bought the amentitis suitaboe for royalty. Now they are basically broke; should have gotten an accountant.

Jolie for President!
Just kidding of course. Bosnian women groups are in an uproar after discovering what Angelina Jolie's directorial debut movie is about; the relationship between a Bosnian woman and a Serbian man during the war. The catch is this man rapes this girl, and they still fall in love. The women in Bosnia are very angry and want Jolie to step down as a goodwill ambassador to the UN. I feel that's a bit harsh, afterall she isn't glorifying the rape but taking the rape, and turning it into a ball of love. Why hate on a happy ending, no matter the means of getting there?

Don't Yell at Me!

The Cardinals basically got their ass beat on national television by the 49ers last night. Quarterback Derek Anderson led his team out of the division, out of the playoff race, and right to critics and reporters; with his mouth. I saw some kid holding a sign that said "All I want for Christmas is a new Quarterback". I laughed at that sign because its funny slash true. Anderson's only starting becase their backup squad are like 10 year olds leartning how to ride the NFL bike and the training wheels aren't comin' off for a while. So obviously Anderson was heated after the game, but at the same time was laughing and being giddy with right guard Deuce Lutui late in the game.

That's not chill.

During the press conference a reporter called him out on it and Anderson erupts in a a very defensive argument. He stated he wasn't laughing but talking; cameras say otherwise. Guy can't do that to his team, coach, and reporters. He has to be calm and collected and vent frustrations in other ways like swimming or playing chess. Andy wasn't very leader like and just maybe he won't get the starting nod next week.

The Meeting

After every NFL game, coaches will meet in the center of the field to offer a handshake, along with words of wisdom, or words of fire.

The last one seems to be the best bet, after Kansas City head coach Todd Haley snubbed Broncos coach Josh McDaniels after the Broncos trashed on the Chiefs in the mile high city. The picture shows McDaniels extending for a handshake and Haley, not only denying the handshake, but pointing at McDaniels, which looked a stern talking to; a father to his son when he swears in the house.

Why would he snub Josh like that?

Probably because the Broncos did not stop coming at the Chiefs, even when the were up 32 points. So it brings the question up, is enough, enough?

I tend to think that if you have a gameplan as a coach, you want to continue with that gameplan no matter the score for many reasons. One being the fact that it keeps the other team competing hard till the end and another being you want to keep your players fired up and not be lazy. NFL coaches are in it to win it and they are going to come full throttle for a full sixty minutes. You don't want to teach any bad habits do you?

I like the fact that the Broncos kept playing hard, Haley didnt; but hey, it will make the Broncos Chiefs game even more entertaining to watch than it already is.

Blog vs Blog

The internet is being taking over by the blog. The reporter might see there profession become extinct with the amount of blogging that is taking place over the internet. The reporter served as a middleman between the source and the readers but the blog takes the necessity of a middleman out of the picture.

Blogs can come straight from the source, eliminating the middleman. Blogs have all different types of being; there can be professional blogs, fun blogs, serious but fun blogs, blogs for kids, blogs for adults, blogs for newspapers, blogs for sports. The two blogs I am comparing can be considered professional and serious but fun blog. The serious blog is written by Geoff Edgers who is a Boston Art blogger for the Boston Globe. Edgers writes very professionally and although it is in typical blog fashion, there is a sense of organization and professional overtones as the Boston Globe is a highly respected newspaper. The bias is there but not open and you can tell this guy really knows his stuff.
The serious but fun blog is actually written by myself and the content of my blog is strictly surrounding the Boston Bruins. It is very biased, but the knowledge of not only the bruins but the game of hockey is omni present throughout every article. Unlike the Globe, my blog is written in more a stream of thought type of wording and can be sarcastic, witty, and hated by non Bruins fans, but i love the controversy.

It is great to able to sit down at your computer and blog to get your thoughts and ideas out for everyone on the internet. Blogs can be professional or just for fun; you just have to pick your poison.

Goddamn Brett Favre

What do you think of Brett Favre?

His last name isn't even spelt like it's pronounced and yet it is still a household name. His name is always found in the media whether it be for his poor play, his great play, his sexy pictures (sarcastic), his next move, or his next or current injuries.

Brett Favre, what will you do next?

Yesterday he led his Vikings, whom have not had their desired season record through week 9, to victory over the Arizona Cardinals, coming back from a 24-10 deficit to win in overtime. It is stuff like this, that puts Brett Favre into the good spotlight again. We weren't sure of the status of his chin after getting knocked out of the game last week against the Patriots, but he played as though that chin was 100 percent.

Did you see him curled up like a ball on the golf cart, holding his chin? i haven't felt that bad for someones chin since i watched Jay Leno.

Even still, Brett Favre is the household name people want to love and hate.

I hate it.

I respect him.

Stop complaining, stop throwing red zone picks, stop sending nude photos to young women who are WAY out of your area code, stop being indecisive, and just be Brett Favre, the household named Brett Favre for your accomplishments on the field,

NOT for throwin pics and sextin chicks,leave that to Tim Tebow (ouch).

The Surrender!!

The Surrender
NY Times - 1865


Ok this may be a little outdated and not very recent, but General Lee's surrender the General Grant at Appomatox Courthouse was a big moment in the history of the United States. It was more than just the surrender man. It was the surrender of slavery, the confederacy, and all pro ponents of slavery.

It was the surrender of a generation.

I was able to find an editorial from the NY Times surrounding the event and man was it interesting. On the front were big bold letters describing the surrender and immediatley I was engrossed by the article just because of the monumentous title. In the editorial there were even quotes from both generals. It stated that over 18,000 men were surrounded and it really is kind of nostalgic to think about. Not because i was there obviously, but just because o the sheer importance of the event.


Editorials from then and now are not so different from one another as they both pick a side a giver out the adavntages and disadvantages of both sides before stating which side they are actually on. This editorial clearly proponed for the Union and it was extremely interesting to read the point of view of a unionist during the civil war.

Reporting the "Middleman"

Steve Boriss wrote an article about reporters being the "middleman" in regards to receiving

and disclosing information. He makes a claim saying that a reporter is dying profession

because of more convenient media outlets, such as blogs; straight from the source. I would have to accept Boriss’ description of the reporter as the middleman because of the way the reporter receives and distributes information. As a reporter your goal is too obtain details and the information of a certain story, and produce an article directly related to the story so consumers can read and retain the information and therefore have knowledge of the story. Then the story can be passed through word of mouth and the story gets around. The reporter is obviously the middleman because they are the median between the real story and the consumer. Boriss is saying that reporters are becoming obtuse to the journalism industry because of new media places such as blogs and podcasts. For example I wrote a blog for the Boston Bruins, I didn’t need to contact the Bruins for information but took already made news and made inferences and opinions on the situations at hand and people that read them became knowledgeable of the situation. People do not need to go to the paper for the story but just people whom blog about subjects they are looking for. Bloggers do not need to specify the source because of the pubic information that is displayed on the Internet. Boriss says this is the reason why the middleman, or the reporter, will become a transparent profession in the future as it was in the past before the printing press. As a blogger and someone who reads blogs to obtain information, I agree with Boriss in his argument of the middleman. They just recycle news that can be found elsewhere, so who needs them?

Couric's a Boss.

Katie Couric possesses all the characteristics that make up a good interviewer. One who can get down to the facts fast and hard and she is as real as it gets. Couric left NBC’s Today Show about 4 years ago and has really shined in her new spotlight on CBS’s “Evening News”. There has been recent speculation that Couric may replace famous, late night talk show host, Larry King. King has been on CNN for over 25 years and exclaimed that Couric would be an excellent replacement.

“She’s a good interviewer,” says King.

I watched a Couric interview and a collected a few aspects that create the enigma of a perfect interviewer. It is a list of sorts that describe the perfect interviewer because if you’re good interviewer, people gonna wanna talk to ya. Here it is, my “Katie Couric’s Indirectly Stated Good Interviewing Tips to be a Good Interview.”

· Girl is calm as hell, makes her interviewee feel at ease.

· Couric can use her tone to create an entertainment value to her questions, dramatic

· She knew her shit. Definitely in the DuBois Library all damn day.

· “Open Your Ears,” my mom always says to me. She doesn’t need to tell Couric twice

· Don’t be a hero. Couric isn’t trying to be the star, obviously, with that haircut

And last but not least

· Chill and go with the flow man. Conversation is fun.

Couric is the pro at each one of those bullets. She’s good at what she does.

Later Larry.

Firefighters Not Fighting Fires

A story out of Tennessee today has liberals shaking their heads and conservatives on the defense. In rural Tennessee, this guy, Gene Cranick's house catches fire and calls 911. Usually the fire department responds quickly and efficiently, hopefully putting out the fire before it does any real damage, but Gene's call was ignored.

Why?

He didn't pay his 75 bills.

His town of South Fulton makes its residents pay a $75 fire protection fee every year and Mr. Cranick thought he was above a fire and didn't pay the 75 dollars.

Look, I know people think the likelihood of your house burning down is very low, but what if one day your house catches a blaze and burns to the ground. You're going to need the fire protection, obviously. Firefighters didn't respond to the fire until Cranick's neighbor called 911, in fear the fire would spread to his house.

Indeed it did and the firefighters put it out and watched Gene's house burn, burn, burn.

Here is what I think; if there is a bylaw saying you have to pay 75 bills for fire protection, you pay the goddamn 75 dollars. These firefighters obviously wanted to help poor Gene and put out the fire, but their hands were tied. So liberals back off. I understand it is an issue of moral obligations and backhanded conservative ideology, but laws is laws. Sorry Gene!

Lou Grant

Lou Grant is the new city editor for the LA Tribune and he starts his job off with a bang. After learning of a possible police scandal through one of his reporters, Grant sees the opportunity for a big story that would uncover the scandal publicly. Grant's character shines a light on what true journalism is. When being brought to see the Tribune's publisher, Mrs. Pinschon, Charlie Humme, the editor, exclaims "don't tell her you worked in television, say you were in jail". This statement shows the possible hostility print media has against tv culture and how it takes away some print media business. Grant cannot stress enough how important it is for the news to be real. Him and his team find out the story involves cops in he 25th division getting down with some underagers. His main source, George Driscoll has a hard time dealing with the implications the story might bring and gets drunk to solve his problems. Grant is able to sway Driscoll into coming back to the newspaper and writing the story for how it really is. Pinschon tells Grant they can't run the story because of the amount of negative police stories already being established and they just cant take anymore. Grant exclaims he need for the truth and sure enough the story shows up the next day.

Watching this episode made a couple good point about journalism. One is that real is best way to go. Stories that are exaggerated and are seemingly true do not go as far as "the real shit". There is a fine line when discussing the relationship of print media to the police because the police is considered a source and often times are the story in the first place. The way an article is written can make or break that journalism relationship. Two is the balance of power that is necessary to run a newspaper. Grant has his reporters as he reports to the editor who in turn, all report to the publisher (no pun intended). There are steps to be taken for hirees and stories that are published. This episode shows that real journalism print real, hard stories that make the reader want to read on, and as Grant says "being on a newspaper is like being with a woman who doesn't shave her legs, it's all real". It sure is Lou, thanks for sharing.