Why do people have to die?
To make life important.
When it’s ok to lie
If you’ve read my blog for a while you’d know that I really think that honesty is important. Being honest keeps you out of trouble and also gets you out of trouble. If Jerry Sandusky just says, “I rape children” instead of making a mockery of the ordeal and he gets sent to jail, I really feel people will be relieved that justice was served. Instead he claims innocence and now he goes through our judicial system which is severely flawed (think OJ). He’s going to have kids testifying against him which is horrible in itself because it’s nearly impossible to prove what happened if no one saw it. If people just tell the truth all the time, the world would be a better place. With that being said, there are times to lie and I will explain them.
At the bball game on Monday I rolled my ankle and was sitting on the bench for the end of the game talking to one of our few spectators. We were talking about running and she was telling me how she was doing some run in Allentown near some landmark or something and she asked “do you know where that is?” I didn’t but rather than have her explain it to me I just said “yes.” There’s no point to saying no and having her explain it to me. It’s meaningless data that just takes up time with no purpose. This was a little white lie that can’t hurt anyone.
It’s OK to lie when random people ask how you’re doing. “How are you” is not a question that people want an answer to. It’s just another way of saying hello. I’m consistently “well” or “fine.” This can sometimes be a lie and I’m pretty sure I can get away with it 100%. People don’t want to hear the answer “I’m feeling shitty.” It basically warrants a follow up question which then leads into a conversation which everyone is trying to avoid.
When you know peer pressure is coming, lie, lie, lie. You don’t want to do something but your friends are going to try to make you do it. Leaving the area is usually the safest way to avoid doing it but lying to avoid doing something you don’t want to do is OK too. I sometimes will give the silent treatment but I feel like lying might be the better approach. I’m not sure I have any really specific examples but from time to time I might not want to do something that people want to do and I corner myself because I feel bad lying. In the future, I might just start lying because of this blog post.
Astro FTW
I watched an X Factor performance tonight. It was the first time I’ve watched the show and I saw Astro sing “I’ll be Missing you” by Puff Daddy. Let’s not mistake that this song originates from The Police “Every Breath You Take” which is a phenomenal song off the incredible album Synchronicity. Since this is the first episode I’ve watched I’m obviously seeing the best of the best. I give Astro high marks. His personality is that of a star. He gives a performance. I think he’s like 15 and you can just see that he is fit to be take it to the next level. Labels will jump all over him even if he doesn’t win. Can he write his own songs? Probably not but he has talent so we’ll see where he goes. Obviously he won’t write his own songs but you get the point that he doesn’t have to which separates him from true artists who create their own music. Thus 9/10 tops.
I just watched Lakoda Rayne and they did some Fleetwood Mac songs. All 4 girls are definitely bangable. I agree 100% with Simon that they shouldn’t need a gimmick to win over fans. I think they were comparable to Fleetwood Mac but they are just missing that extra umph. Very good but didn’t floor me. I’d give Stevie Nix an 8 and these girls a 7.
Next was Drew (I’m starting to get a kick out of this) and she did “With or Without You” by U2. I stand her next to Bono when she sings this song. She’s no Bono. She’s a tiny 15 year old girl. The song was slow and I prefer Bono, no homo. I’d kick her off despite what Simon says. She’s boring and Bono put her to shame. There was no uptempo to her song and I wasn’t entertained. I don’t care how well you sing, I care how well you entertain.
Marcus Canty took the stage next and he sang one of my least favorites Janis Joplin. He was pretty good but the song wasn’t a good choice for him. Probably because I hate Janis but his talents were wasted. The other judges are idiots and just want his dick (Nicole and Paula) and La Reed just says he’s awesome because he’s coaching him. Simon is correct in this kid was trying to be someone he wasn’t. 8/10.
Worst Songs of 2011
5.) The Situation – The Situation
I don’t even know how to comment. On the plus side he doesn’t really do much but I just can’t imagine where someone thinks that this is going to help is reputation. The Sitaution isn’t talented. He’s just a regular guy who got lucky being a douchebag on a hit TV show. Give it up trying to make him something he’s not.
4.) I’m Hot – Angelina Pivarnick
I’m picking on the Jersey Shore cast for the first 2 but someone has to. I saw this was added in 2010 but I heard it a few months ago and this is pathetic. I just sat here for 4 minutes to listen to it all the way through and it is mind numbing. You come out of this song feeling dumber. God Awful.
3.) Last Friday Night – Katy Perry
With 132 million views it’s hard to imagine this as one of the worst songs but just because people watch it doesn’t mean it’s good. We can’t deny that it’s a catchy song but the lyrics are frighteningly bad. Is this a hickey or a bruise? Rhyming ginger ale with epic fail? That is just trying too hard to use the phrase epic fail. The music video has some great cameos from Corey Feldmen, Kenny G, Rebecca Black and Hanson. You’d think I’d put It’s Friday by Rebecca Black on this list but I sort of see that as a mistake rather than an attempt at a huge hit.
2.) Red Solo Cup – Toby Keith
I share his love for a red solo cup but this is too far. The lyrics are obviously bizarre considering the solo cup is the main focus but the chorus is unbearable. Country people might eat this up but I can’t fake liking this nonsensical bs.
1.) 5 in the Morning – Tpain feat Lily Allen & Wiz Khalifa
This song is what made me create this list. The lyrics to this song are beyond stupid. A girl is after a guy to come back home and she’s horny. The chorus is mildly catchy but this song is so lame. I can’t get past the lyrics to this song. They suck.
It’s small but…
The picture is small but if you click on it you will get a full view. My site topped the 1,000 visitors mark for one day yesterday. Obviously this was due to the fact that there were new episodes of Storage Wars yesterday and my blog gets hits from people searching for Brandi Passante. This is also the reason why I posted a summary of the episodes yesterday even though my interest is starting to wane. Nevertheless it’s nice to see that many people come to my website even if its for some stupid reason. I’m benefiting exactly 0 from this surge of traffic but that’s OK. It at least gives the site some validity.
In other news, I rolled my ankle during the basketball game Monday and will probably sideline myself for a week, maybe more. Bud was joking that it’s like Daniel Thomas and he’s just always questionable. I see how that happens with athletes. They have a nagging injury but they can probably still play as long as they are willing to risk injuring it further. I’m not an athlete and really can’t see any reason to risk anything. These intramural sports aren’t worth getting seriously injured over. I did use the treadmill yesterday though and ran 4 miles in 23:30 which should give you an idea the extent of the injury. I’m still not taking any chances though.
Yesterday was an interesting day in that I went to the dentist and they said the crown I have isn’t fitting properly and I need to get it taken care of. I’m not going to go into the entire story but that just causes a chain of annoying events. The woman who cleaned my teeth showed me how to floss properly in a hilarious conversation that started with “do you know how to floss?” I’m like “uhhh, yeah obviously.” Then she showed me her technique and that wasn’t how I did it at all. She brought the floss into a V on every tooth and I”m just not that thorough. After that I bought some new running shoes which was way overdue and then a pair of new jeans which was also overdue. I have 7 pairs of jeans but I only really like 1 pair to go out in so I’m hoping I now have 2 pair. I’m really picky for some reason. I like a combination of comfort and look and if one small thing is off about a pair of jeans, I don’t wear them. Reasons like too wide in the waist, too small pockets, a bit short, too tight… You’d think these could be avoiding by trying them on but I don’t like to use dressing rooms. In a final topic of blog entry, I’d still recommend Workaholics because last nights episode was pretty entertaining. If Der’s Hunter’s Kick doesn’t make you laugh, I don’t know what will.
New Storage War Episodes 11/15/11
I’m watching the brand new Storage Wars episode, Driving Miss Barry, and the show has changed. Brandi just spent $6,750 dollars on a locker. Season 1 Brandi could have never spent that much money. She (and the rest of the cast) obviously were making mad money while filming this new season doing something (like signing a contract). Like I’ve written in previous posts, them becoming popular and making more money is going to change the dynamic of the show. She is looking phenomenal though. Tight stomach, pretty face and a full rack. She was wearing this great tank top too to accentuate her assets. I noticed the crowd was also bigger too for the auction but I still can’t figure out why the cast are the only people who seem like they are bidding on certain units. It’s like the outsiders are told not to get in the way of the bidding process for certain units, thus ruining the realism. The Barry part with his mother was pretty lame and I thought the bidding action wasn’t great either. Plus Barry says “my men will take care of this while I check this out.” Barry has men now? This episode wasn’t exactly knocking my socks off.
The second episode Winner Winner Chicken Dinner makes one thing abundantly clear, the show needs Dave Hester. Brandon and Darrell can’t carry a show and Brandi and Jarrod just seem like they are trying too hard to take over as the new big dogs. Dave Hester would have never let what happened happen. Their back and forth bidding was sort of stupid for one simple reason, money isn’t important to them anymore. I swear in the first few episodes Brandi and Jarrod couldn’t afford to lose. Now they don’t look at money the same way and it shows in their attitudes and bidding strategies. If they lose, they lose, they can afford it. It takes the show down a notch because the realism is gone. I still find the items interesting but I can’t help but get the feeling they are finding these items on purpose. The main problem though, THE CHARACTERS HAVE LOST THEIR IDENTITIES. They’ve turned regular folk into stars and the show is paying the price. Still watchable, but I can’t find the same enthusiasm I did when I first started. Now I just wonder if the first shows lockers were staged?
Morality Check
I think people who know me (and are in it) will get a kick out of this post. I’m going to go over a couple of examples of things that happen to me in my every day life and my thoughts on how I prefer to handle the situation. I think posts like this connect me to my readers locally and even though I know it’s a small segment, I think it has the potential to grow. Hopefully it becomes one of those he reads it and tells someone who tells someone who tells someone and so on. I went through a mini spaz out phase where I said I was going to discontinue this blog and the real problem is that I can’t think of any good side projects to work on, so rnningfool.com will remain for a while. To the purpose of the post.
The Shee commenting on my last post is wonderful. He took 1 minute of his time, said he liked the post in a comment, got my annoying error message and made me feel good because I wrote something even 1 person enjoyed reading. Being on this end of a blog is challenging when no one tells you they like a post. Now that could be I finally wrote a good post and he’s the only individual who ever liked a post but just a comment like that makes me want to continue doing this. Enough said on this point because I belabor it often throughout these pages.
A funny, yet interesting, set of circumstances occurred with a stand up individual that I want to point out. One of our guys didn’t play bball and Bake counted his money as part of our entrance fee. Since Bake never got it, each member of the team owed an additional 15 dollars. Now after the game Bake brought it up for the 2nd week in a row just reminding everyone. Now in his position, I know it’s annoying asking people for money. I had my wallet in my car and said I’d get the money. He said “don’t worry about.” I said “I’ll get you the money.” “Give it to me next time.” I ran to my car and gave him the money. What I’m showing here is a situation where he’s being too nice. I’m a class act (most of the time) and I don’t owe people money but when he keeps telling me to give it to him later, the cycle just continues. So I ran to my car, got the money and forced him to take it. Stupid I know but if I’m there, he’s there, I have the money, I want to give it to him, no delays and the issue is over.
Ck4 is going to own this next paragraph and it once again deals with money and payments. Ck4 and I have been effectively the closest friends for the past 7 years. I’m not necessarily sure we’d take a bullet for each other but you get the point. Neither of us ever owe each other money and we will spot each other whatever amount no matter the situation because we know we’re good for it. BUT, here’s one spot that Ck4 is going to get scalded for and rnningfool.com is teaching a life lesson. When you are living with roommates things get used up and they need to be replaced. Who should replace things is obviously a question mark. We all throw things in the trash but who should buy the trash bags? Now I’m pretty good about buying things when we run out. Ck4 is questionable. However, if I buy something that is a house item, he will 100% of the time offer to pay his share. Now this is all fine and good but here’s the point, I don’t want the money. I’d prefer if Ck4 took the responsibility of replacing something without anyone telling him to do it. Now I know how his brain works and he’d prefer to overpay for something just so he doesn’t have to do it himself. I don’t even mind pointing this out to the mass public because Ck4 and my friendship goes beyond a minor detail.
I’m saving the best for last and they won’t even know its coming. I sometimes will hear a comment a week or a month ago and sort of store it away till the time presents itself for a post. It means that any time you are around me, conversation we have can be blog material. Jess Baker invited Bud to our Halloween party and his answer struck me as unbelievable. He said “I don’t like going to parties with people I don’t know, it makes me nervous.” (He couldn’t go because he had other engagements but this was part of the conversation) This comment might strike me differently than most but I think it’s fascinating. Bud is a class act. Selfless beyond belief and I think that he might actually take a bullet for me (totally the wrong decision but he’s that kind of guy). Bud also isn’t a party animal which is where this comment comes from. I look at this comment and find it humorous because going to parties doesn’t make me nervous in the least even with strangers. I fit in with the drinking games and can pretty much befriend anyone. This situation comes normal to me but it’s foreign to him. AND HERE’S WHERE I’M STUMPED. Mr Schmidt finds going to a party nerve racking yet he has the ability to get married! For Christ’s sakes marriage scares the shit out of me. Spending your life with someone is what I can’t do. Talking to strangers, no problem. Finding someone who doesn’t get on your nerves and likes you for you. This is where I struggle. My value system is warped, my mind revolves around money, I find people annoying, I can barely take care of myself, need I go on. I just thought the comment was the polar opposite of how I see things that I thought my blog audience would find it interesting. I could go on about this topic but I’m at 1,000 words and people don’t like to read past that.
Jukebox selection for a crowd
Your in a bar full of 100 people and it’s silent except for the noise of conversation. Everyone knows that people have more fun when there is music so you step up to the jukebox and decide to get this party started. I get the feeling that most people don’t understand the importance of this selection. Now I know that most people don’t think this way and will probably just choose their favorite song but I’m just pointing out that you are effecting every single person in that room and you don’t want them wondering who chose this shitty ass song. This is one of those important times to realize that the world is bigger than you. If you aren’t up to the task, don’t pick the song. I’m going to give my opinion on proper songs for proper situations.
A few years ago I was at PJ Whelihan’s in Bluebell and this situation presented itself. It was a Thursday night and I’d guess there were upwards of 100 people there. This location is more sports bar oriented with white adult males (25-40) to be more specific to who we are trying to entertain. To think you can please everyone in the bar is nonsensical but a solid pick is still possible. I went with The Rolling Stones, Paint it Black. Upbeat song that is one of the top 5 best bands top 5 song. The girl after me chose “Your Song” by Taylor Swift…
At the Bayou, a bar with a younger, professional crowd, one afternoon we were choosing songs. There were 2 or 3 of us trying to decide to pick one and we were deciding between Michael Jackson, Jay Z, and other popular artists. When no decision was coming quickly I chose Badfish by Sublime. It’s a laid back chill song that no one can really get mad at you for picking and turned out to be a fine choice. A few songs later Gusto and I were deciding on a Doors song and it turned out to be too long and a group that not everyone can enjoy, thus a bad pick.
After those two examples I’ve come up with a few simple rules:
You want to pick an artist that people have heard of.
Play to the audience.
Long songs tend to drag.
People prefer popular over obscure.
Play a happy song. (Bruce and Billy generally aren’t going to fly)
Here are some examples of songs that are hard not to like:
Dispatch – The General
Dr Dre – Still DRE
Counting Crows – Rain King
Nelly – Ride Wit Me?
Lionel Richie _- All Night Long
Wallflowers – The Difference
Best Characters from a TV Series
After listing my top 5 HBO characters, I decided to add a few to a list that wasn’t so confining. Here are 5 more that span cable as well as subscription channels.
Anders Holmvick – Workaholics
If you aren’t familiar with Anders, this is a good time to get acquainted. Anders is the “leader” of the gang on Workaholics which airs at 10:30 Tuesdays on Comedy Central. Anders is the self proclaimed leader of Adam and Blake and rightfully so. He is the most grounded of the group (not saying much) and has the ability to unleash “the Ders.” Anders seems like a hard worker but has a tendency to get sucked into whatever dumbass scheme Adam and Blake are caught up in. He’s extremely difficult to take seriously but always acts serious. Ders can also be combined with other words to make great nicknames like Blonders, Shaunders and Dersatello. Let’s not forget his love to buck. I actually find Adam hilarious too but the show wouldn’t be the same without “the Ders.” His “let’s see how close we can get without kissing” is memorable.
Ruxin – The League
I had a really tough choice between Ruxin and Andre but I felt Ruxin earns it by a tad. Ruxin is played by Nick Kroll and he is starting to pop up in more movies so keep a look out. Ruxin plays a Jew lawyer in the League and is always making sure he gets the best of the sitiuaton. He has a smoking hot wife which he is always mentioning and “baby” Jeffrey whose name makes me laugh every time I hear it. I thought the scene where they were explaining that he didn’t know the power of his sarcasm was funny because every sentence he says could be construed that way. I feel like he carries the show which airs at 10:30 on FX. I’m not saying I don’t like Kevin, Pete or Jenny but without Ruxin (and Andre), I don’t think it would be as big of a hit.
Tyrion – Game of Thrones
Since I’m just about done the 5th book of this series, I’m a bit biased towards Tyrion. If I was just going off of the first season of Game of Thrones, I’m not sure I’d have him up here. Nevertheless, I’ve read the books and his chapters are my favorites. The actor is played by Peter Dinklage and he does a phenomenal job in the series but his acting days are far from over with this character. Why do I like him so? He’s intelligent. He’s always using his wits and it shows in just about every sentence he speaks. Not to mention he’s handicapped as a dwarf born into one of the wealthiest, most powerful family’s so it’s interesting to hear his take on the world. I’m excited for the 2nd season of Game of Thrones to see how HBO portrays him as it continues.
Brenda – 6 Feet Under
This isn’t really fair because I’m only 10 or so episodes into the series but it’s my blog and I’ll do as I want to. I like, actually hate, this character for the same reason I liked Tyrion, they make her smart. With her 180 IQ, you know that the directors are putting thought behind every one of her moves. With characters like these they make you think why they are acting like they do. I personally find myself wanting Nate to beat Brenda with a bat but I’ll hold my judgement until I finish the series. I think the phrase “love to hate her” might fit.
Arnold Rothstein – Boardwalk Empire
Arnold is played by Michael Stuhlbarg and I love every scene with Rothstein. Boardwalk can be a slow show and I find myself not relating to the the characters. I watch the show just because I’ve been watching it. I don’t know if I’m entertained or not but I just keep watching it because I have nothing better to do. Nucky and Margaret isn’t wild, Jimmy with Al Capone and the crew is ok, and all the politics is interesting but the pace moves like a glacier in the arctic. For some reason though I find Arnold’s scenes fascinating because he’s a thinking character. He’s based off of Arnold Rothstein in real life who was behind the rigging of the World Series in 1919. He’s a gambling man who is always looking for an edge. I thought his quote last night was genius:
AR – “Do Nothing. When you have no move, Mr Thompson, you do nothing.”
JT -“He’s under attack.”
AR – “All the more reason patience. I’ve made my living in a large part as a gambler. Some days I make 20 bets, some days none. There are weeks, sometimes months where I don’t make a bet at all simply because there is no play. So I wait, plan, marshal my resources. When I finally see an opportunity and there is a bet to make, I bet it all.
I was going to pick Dexter but I find it better to pick someone other than the main character. Let me know if I’m missing anyone on any good shows out there.
Nickelback Sucks?
If I didn’t know that Nickelback sucks, I’m not sure I’d know they suck. Now it’s pretty hard to say a band sucks when they’ve sold 50 million albums and are the 11th best selling music act of the 2000’s, but people are adamant that they are the worst, most overrated band on the planet. They were asked to perform at this year’s Thanksgiving game in Detroit and now the fans are petitioning that they find a new act. We’re talking one game on one day and fans are petitioning against them? That must mean that they are pretty bad. Yet I’ve heard some of their popular songs and they don’t strike me as the worst music created to garner such hatred towards them. Here are 5 songs from ONE 2007 album, All the Right Reasons, that I’ve heard “Photograph”, “Savin’ Me”, “Far Away”, “If Everyone Cared” and “Rockstar”. Are these good songs? They’re catchy for one. I’ve heard of them which is more than I can say about thousands of other groups. 11 million copies of this album were sold so I’d give them that. I think they get a bad rap because of their image. They are “hard” rockers who appeal to the general public with catchy choruses and a simple sound. I suppose most of their fans are teenage girls and stay at home moms and to have as much success as they do bothers people who are fans of rock and roll. I hear their music and think to myself, “its not my favorite but I’ve heard worse.” I don’t really think about Nickelback derogatorily. I don’t really think about them at all. Where this hostility towards them comes from is explained better in this article. I wouldn’t want to see them at halftime though if I paid for a ticket but I’m sure they could choose way worse than Nickelback.