It must be nice to have this type of network. With already 21,000+ likes and lord only knows how many more within the first couple hours it’s dropped, this is popularity at it’s finest. The video is creative and well done which you’d obviously expect from someone who has the smartest and most talented people working on your team. The song is pretty generic but I’m sure you’ll hear it 100 times in the next week.
I’m underneath her.
Team Kegs and Legs at the 2013 Kicking Cancer Kickball Tournament
This weekend was the 2013 Philly Kicking Cancer Kickball Tournament. We had 2 “practices” leading up to the tournament but it was safe to say we were all novices. This tournament draws 44 teams with 10+ people per team. I woke up at 7 and got some breakfast feeling pretty good from the night before where I was at the Eagles pre-season game taking it easy. I headed to Evan’s to meet up with fellow team members and headed off to the fields. I was running low on gas and decided to put a few gallons in to ensure we would have enough for the trip. This proved to be disastrous. In the haste of filling up my tank, I left my phone on the top of the car. About midway through the trip to the fields, Evan said, “I think a leaf just fell off your car.” I immediately felt my pockets and realized I didn’t have my phone. I went to the fields, dropped off Evan and the Shee, and then double backed to where I thought the phone might have fell. I was unable to find it and moved on not letting this debacle ruin my day.
The tournament started around 10 and our first game didn’t start until 11:30. At fundraisers like this, the standard is to drink. I cracked open my first beer around 9am and was probably one of the first to do so. It was interesting watching the first couple games and we were getting prepared by throwing a few back. When game time arrived we did a pre game ritual fireball shot and we took the field.
Getting acclimated to the rules took about 1 inning and we were off. I think the other team scored first when they booted one over Evan’s head. Before this happened I recall Evan saying something along the lines of, “never let anything get over your head.” Aside from that one play, the other team was pretty bad and we benefited from their constant mistakes in the field. We won the first game 6-1.
Our next game was an hour later and the fireball ritual took place again. Feeling nice and hyped, we got down 1-0 to a formidable team. Each game goes 25 minutes so it’s a bit of a rushed feeling when you get down. With about 8 minutes left, Cait (our leadoff hitting star) booted a triple over some outfielders who were playing her as a typical girl. Evan drove her in on the next hit and we had the game tied. I came up with a man on 1st and booted a dinger to a girl outfielder in right field. It probably would have been caught by a normal person but this ball was perfectly placed for the situation and made the game 3-1. Our defense held and we won the game.
In between games we played some flip cup and worked on “twerking”. I was starting to feel a bit tipsy at this point and some girls came by and handed out some vita-coco. Our coach, hometown honey, made everyone drink it up to restore electrolytes. It tasted like shit but I drank it anyway. At this point I was substituting a beer for a water each game. We only had a wee bit remaining for fireball shots but this proved fruitful once again. In game 3 we were down 2-1 with only 5 or so minutes to play. 2 base runners got on and I was up to bat. I told the Shee that I was going to let the pitcher’s first pitch go by and then boot a homer out to the right field girl. As fate would have it, I did just that. I launched a nice high ball out to right and the girl never stood a chance. We ended up winning the game 4-2.
At 3-0 we made the playoffs however we were out of Fireball. This proved to make a difference as we were beat by a better playing team. I’m not saying they were better than us, but they played better than us this game. They executed nice kicks to spaces that we weren’t covering. I blew a game changing peg towards a runner at home that can’t be described as anything but an error. We lost 4-1 and that was the day. It was a very fun day all things considered. The weather was beautiful, company enjoyable, and fun times were had by all. I’d recommend this to anyone interested.
I’m posing a series of questions that I find thought worthy. I have put some thought into the wording and ideas behind each one and hope that they make you pause and think for a minute. My pictures were also carefully chosen which I’m going to try to more of in future posts. I hope you enjoy.
Texting Times
If 90% of texts are checked within 1 minute, are you being rude by not responding within the first 5 minutes? Is the grace time 1 hour? Do you give it a day? Does no response at all make you dislike the person? Should how you respond to a text dictate how people perceive you whatsoever?
Oral B vs Crest
If Oral B’s floss breaks between my teeth, is there ever any reason to give any of their other products a chance when my Crest floss not only fits perfectly between my teeth but leaves them feeling minty? Consider the downside of having 1 bad product in your offering and how that translates over to everything they produce.
Peart vs Moon
If Neil Peart thought he had a drum solo that he believed no one else could play and he was right, would that make him better than Keith Moon? Or would Keith Moon have many solos that Neil Peart wouldn’t be able to play as well? The idea behind being able to do something that no one else can do should be a strong consideration for being “the best”.
Until the End Of Time
Is there any healthier way of conquering something than by experience? Viewing the picture, how does a young boy challenge players who have played thousands upon thousands of games and have success? Does talent always trump experience?
Excersise vs Diet
Do you believe it is healthier to exercise and eat whatever you want (junk and fried foods) or do no exercise but combine that with eating healthy (fruits, veggies, diet)? Obviously doing both would be preferred but if you had to choose one, what style is preferred?
Lady Gaga has done something else that is unusual by baring it all in this video. To quote billboard “Lady Gaga has teamed with Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic for a bizarre tutorial/testimonial video in which the singer chants, stands in a river, walks blindly in a field and spoons a giant crystal.” It’s both a bizarre (She has 2 penises on her head at 1 minute) and annoying (the chanting will drive you nuts) video. Her tits aren’t too shabby though and she’s in great shape.
Gaga in the Marina Abramovic kickstarter art project.
Let’s not forget the Blurred Lines video where Emily Ratajkowski stole the show with her slamming body and huge rack (this post was fun to make). The song was the summer smash and I’m sure this video had something to add onto the catchy nature of this tune. Who knows if it would have been as popular without Emily’s jiggling funbags.
Justin Timberlake tried to outdo Robin “I’m So” Thicke with the Tunnel Vision video which didn’t seem to have the same effect. It’s basically a video shoot with some naked girls dancing around to a song that makes you want to fall asleep. It’s 7 minutes long and I could barely watch 2 even with the nakedness going on. The internet has desensitized me.
There is obviously a theme going on here that naked women sell! It’s nice to see our culture move from the 1900’s when one piece bathing suits (she was arrested in 1907 for indecency for this piece) weren’t allowed, to baring it all is accepted and proving that sex isn’t as big of a deal as it used to be. The one negative impact is that all women are going to think they need to look like these women and that obviously is bad for self esteem. Keeping everyone covered up allows the imagination to take place but reality can be harsh. Society still hasn’t accepted the exposed dick yet but at this rate, who the hell knows. I’m not sure where to draw the line between art and this is getting out of hand but you can expect this to continue to “be improved” or one upped. Either way, I’m not complaining about this current trend, long live the naked body.
Here is Emily Ratajowski, from Blurred Line video, looking fine as hell.
I prefer the Irish.
Drinking coffee was an addictive phase for me. For the majority of my life I had never touched a cup of coffee. Then one day about 2 years ago I went to Dunkin Donuts and got a bagel and decided to get the combo with coffee instead of only the bagel. As the weeks rolled on I found myself urging the bagel combo with coffee more often. With what began as a morning breakfast started to turn into an everyday affair with a medium coffee, cream and sugar. I even evolved into Wawa coffee on evenings to help facilitate any work that needed to be done. I’ve decided that enough was enough, quitting coffee is going to happen.
Caffeine is obviously one of the tamest drugs considering there are hundreds of millions of drinkers around the world and you are not called an addict if you drink coffee. However, no one can argue that the longer you drink it, the more you need to drink to catch a buzz. I never elevated past a one cup per day, medium size but I know if I continued on this pace, I would. I drank coffee because it gave me the feeling of “waking up” in the morning and it would always lead to a nice morning deuce.
Why have I decided to stop drinking coffee? It’s purely an experiment. First to show that I can stop drinking it even though it has an addictive nature. The second is to see if I feel better without coffee in my life. After the first almost week without consuming it, I don’t really notice much of a difference either way. Aside from the natural addictive instinct to “want” coffee, it doesn’t seem to impact negatively or positively either way. For this post, I did some minor research on the ill effects and didn’t really come up with anything horrifically bad on why I should quit drinking it. That being said, I’m going to continue on this scientific path and expect to launch into the stratosphere by eliminating a drug from my life.
Every year Susan goes on holiday with her flat mate…….
TV is at the pinnacle when considering the abundance and the quality of shows out in 2013. It’s no longer network (ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox) television that reigns supreme. They certainly have the shows that cater to the masses in all singing and talent competitions but that’s not good TV. Networks have been coming out of the woodwork and delivering high end entertainment for many years now. A TV series packs more punch than a sitcom or movie because it has more time to develop characters and enter into a more detailed story. I want to run through a few of the various networks and what they are delivering.
AMC – In case you didn’t know, Breaking Bad’s final (part 2) season premieres this Sunday and that should get people excited. AMC has broken through as a network that has the ability to produce quality shows like Mad Men (never watched), Breaking Bad (2nd best show of all time), and Walking Dead which was good initially but has fallen off a bit. I’d doubt many of you know but ACMX is the stock ticker for this network which has been constantly on the rise due to extreme interest in the shows.
Showtime – Showtime is killing it right now with Dexter and Ray Donovan. Dexter fell off through it’s middling seasons but has really picked it up going in the finale. Ray Donovan is also garnering interest because of the many layers in the characters and the twists and surprises that are superbly unveiled. Jon Voight deserves an Emmy (or whatever they get). Showtime also brought us Homeland (best initial season I’ve seen), Weeds (way ahead of it’s time but fell off), and Californication (which I thought was great early on).
HBO – HBO is the staple of series programming. They brought us the Wire and Sopranos which are 1 and 3 in the realm of TV shows. Curb Your Enthusiasm is being anxiously awaiting as well as Game of Thrones. Eastbound and Down and True Blood provided filler. Entourage, Flight of the Conchords, and 6 Feet Under also top the list of well made shows. I’d say that even though they were the front runner in years past, they have been usurped, but I don’t think that will last forever.
Netflix – This is the dark horse. I’m watching Orange is the New Black and it’s wonderful. The cast is hilarious, the story is fantastic, and there are no restrictions to what they can show. The new Arrested Development was also good and I hear House of Cards was also entertaining. Netflix is just getting it’s legs under it and they will be a powerhouse for years to come.
I’ve developed the reputation as a stickler of the rules when playing golf. From what I can tell, most people don’t appreciate this type of approach to the game. The standard golfer drops wherever, counts however, and most certainly takes putts that they will more often than not miss. I played with Bill on Sunday, who caddies at a private course and has seen hundreds of groups play golf, and even he took note of the fact that I wasn’t too lenient with my gimme putts. He even told a story of how he didn’t give a 2 foot putt to his playing partner one time and the guy didn’t talk to him for a year and a half. That’s some serious stuff but it should give an idea of how personal people can take this game and is it really worth abiding by strict rules when everyone is trying to have fun.
The most obvious reason for abiding by same set of rules is so everyone is playing the same game. It’s fine if there is no competition angle, and everyone is playing for shits and giggles, but the moment a match or bet is on, guidelines have to be set. Competition is a good thing in golf as long as it’s friendly. Bill and I played for 3 total dollars and even that was enough to keep things interesting. The other reason to play by the rules is because it makes you better. You won’t improve as a golfer if you are constantly taking 3 foot putts. Bill commented that I was pretty good at 3 foot putts and the answer to that is easy, I’m always finishing them so I’ve had a lot of practice. Rules generally make games harder which leads to higher standards and thus more thought and precision. This topic is hilarious though because people want gimmes. I’ve made the statement before but most people are pussies. They don’t want to blow up their score by taking 6 extra strokes from 4 feet. It is an extremely touchy subject.
*This post is at no person or particular round, just a topic I’m writing about.
I considered going with “The Never Ending Struggle Against Dehydration” or “My Body Hates Me” but settled for the title above. I don’t believe that the older you get the more you struggle with hangovers because I pay careful attention to how alcohol affects my body. I don’t care if you’re 20, 30, or 100, if you treat your body how I do, you pay the price. During the weekend I consume practically no water and only alcohol for extended periods of time. This weekend was no different and was incredibly fun with stories galore.
Friday was a pretty typical night beginning with some pre-gaming and ending with some madness at the bar. I specifically remember getting shot down by a 10 out of 10 within the first sentence I spoke. Sam was making some moves on some ladies who I’m sure he wouldn’t have had the balls to go after without some liquid courage. Everyone got back to 444 safely and the next day was where it really began. I met up with the Shee at 11am to have some breakfast and a drink called a “painkiller”. After we were finished eating we got the beer pong going. Inexplicably, Jonny and Gourlay were lounging around without their shirt on when our neighbor (who was going to bring over some females) stopped over and noticed the scene only to never return. This is where things start to get a bit hazy.
At 3 pm we all started to pour on the shots and then head to the free radio 104.5 concert that was being headlined by Panic at the Disco. I couldn’t tell you what time we got there but my memory remembers the concert being over in 30 minutes but I’m sure I was there for 3 hours. It was extremely crowded and easy to get lost from the group so we met back up after the concert. Things didn’t stop here though as we started playing some ping pong for shots. At this point you’d think we’d be tired after 10 hours of straight drinking but that didn’t stop as we went to one of Jeff’s friends house. People at the party could describe the events better than me but I was pretty shitfaced and had to be making an ass out of myself and hardly coherent. You’d think I’d have done this so many times that I wouldn’t be embarrassed by it but you’d be wrong. In incredible fashion, all 3 Stortz boys passed out on their couch at some unbeknownst time that was probably before midnight. I awoke at 5am surrounded by people on the couch and staggered out of the apartment to get a cab. Amazingly I was able to hail one and got back safely.
Why I played golf yesterday I’m not sure because I felt terrible. I haven’t played a round of golf where I was really feeling like playing in 3 rounds. This could be construed as a waste of money as not only am I not playing my best, I’m also not enjoying it as much as I should. Today was rough too but at least I’m feeling better now. You can always judge in what state of mind I’m in by tuning into the blog. If I’m posting regularly and my posts contain some thought, I’m feeling good. If I go 5 days without posting, I’m either missing or inebriated. I should have a nice week lined up though so I’ll keep the posts coming. Good weekend overall though with many funny times with good people.
I’m typing this from my Kindle Fire so I’m limited in my ability for pics and additional content. My words per minute are also way down but not horrific. After very little sleep last night, I awoke at 5am to drive down 95 on a sales trip. I’ve made this trip about a dozen times so I’m becoming quite efficient in who to visit, which way to go, and what my purpose is. I scheduled about 5 new stops which always keeps things interesting. Without boring you with the details of the trip, I’ll note that things went well and I have at least one sale under the belt. What I intend to blog about is how this particular trip plays out and my thoughts about it.
After mg visits, I stay in the same hotel in Alexandria each time. It is my furthest point South (most times) and a fine price in a unique area. In this particular spot, as a Caucasian, I’m the minority. This is only humorous because the last few times for dinner I had Boston Market and the line is predominantly white. I also like it because after I’m done for the day, I drive to a random park to do some running. Today I found Lake Acrimonk and I really enjoyed it. After the run I shower, visit the supermarket for honey bbq chips and parmesan goldfish, get my Boston Market and eat and review my trip while preparing for the next day. I’m like a programmed human who does what he likes to a t. The great thing is though that it’s exactly what I want to do. No one to answer to or tell me what to do, I could essentially do this in any part of the country and lead a more interesting, just as boring life. Yet this makes me happy.
