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22 Apr, 2013

PSU Weekend

By |2013-04-22T22:37:17-04:00April 22nd, 2013|Golf Course Reviews, My Life|1 Comment

I had all day yesterday to post something and didn’t which I know is pretty weak. To start off this long weekend, Ck4 and I booked a 7:36am tee time at Center Square. I decided to take back roads towards the course and this proved slow and I arrived a few minutes before 7:30. Ck4 was already putting and had paid for everything so I got my clubs and shoes and headed straight for the 1st. Ck4 made a comment that my new golf shoes look like Curb Your Enthusiasm shoes which I suppose was meant that I looked like a clown, which they (and me) kind of do. For the 1st shot, Ck4 found the 9th fairway and I blasted one up the chute to get us started. We had absolutely no one ahead of us and cruised through the first 9 in a little over an hour. Ck4 was leading after 5 but quickly gave it away at 6. I was 45 for the front after missing an 18 inch par putt on 9. Ck4 was a respectable 2 back. We stopped at the halfway house because we were getting some rain and I had some breakfast which I needed. The back started with me clipping a sand shot, taking no sand, and recovering for a double. The next noteworthy event was when we both had regulation pars on the hardest hole on the course. Ck4 whiffed his drive on 15 and snowmanned 17 but still kept his game in check. On 18 from about 170 I did this:
18thcentersquare
This gave me a legit birdie op for an 87 but alas, I missed. Ck4 finished with a 93 and it was an enjoyable round and the way golf should be played. My short game was pretty off but I drove the best I’ve probably ever in my entire life with bomb after bomb in play and on the fairway.

We headed back to UD to pick up Sam G to begin the drive to PSU for the weekend. The whole Boston manhunt was ongoing so that gave us something to discuss and listen to on the way there. We got to PSU at 4 and checked into the house we were staying in. The owner was still cleaning up and informed us that we were taking care of their cat Rosie for the weekend. This proved interesting. The rest of the gang got to the house and we went out to get some food and supplies for the weekend. After some attempts at drinking games we decided to head out to the bars. We went to the Saloon which wasn’t too crowded because it was only 9. I had my first experience of a Monkey Boy and had a decent buzz at that point. We met up with the rest of the group at the Lion’s Den and the campus was starting to fill in with people. We waited in a line to DUO I think for a little while and this was a “club” I guess you’d call it. It was crowded and Sam G found some sort of stage and was laying down moves which was probably the highlight. I remember leaving with a few people and getting food and then going back to the house. I’m not sure I have anything of considerable interest from those late houres but I don’t think I can recall it exactly anyhow.

We woke up on Saturday morning and started throwing a few back. After some bizarre weather and what I believe was sleet, we went back in town to a bar to watch some of the “blue/white” game which was of no interest to anyone. After a car bomb and some beers at Cafe 210 we headed to the EndZone to score some touchdowns. This was an interesting experience that I won’t go into detail and after a Chick-Fil-a dinner I was pretty beat from the day. I passed out at 10 and woke up 2:30 but missed the bar for this night which was weak on my part but after some of my incidents in the past, I don’t force bad ideas on my own behalf. I know I’m probably missing some details of this trip but I think a general recap is sufficient. We drove back early on Sunday where I pretty much used the day to get my head back on straight. No incidents to report and everyone had a fine time. If anyone wants to expand on this you can use the comments.

18 Apr, 2013

Few Days Off

By |2016-10-29T13:24:17-04:00April 18th, 2013|My Life|1 Comment

I know the blog has been firing on all cylinders with 25 posts through the 18th but I’m going to be on a hiatus until Sunday. I’m essentially digging up blogging topics on a nice little excursion to PSU. I intend to come back with good stories that will hopefully provide some entertainment.

nintendo-power

alphabetgame

truth

life

gym

drivein

cookiemonster

darkside

warhammer

18 Apr, 2013

From Good To Bad

By |2013-04-18T12:18:09-04:00April 18th, 2013|Movies, Music, Tv|0 Comments

Everyone is a critic. Whether you want to be or not, at some point during whatever it is you experience, you have to decide whether you like it or not. Some people will go off their first reaction, others will dig deeper for meaning, and others still will analyze something until all meaning is lost. I tend to think I’ve seen enough movies, listened to enough songs, and experienced enough life that I can use my brain to produce original thought about something. I’m going to explore a few scenarios when TV, movies, or music start going south after being great. This happens fairly often when the initial story lines or newish appeal have been played out and the idea gets continued because it’s popular and makes a lot of money.

Django Unchained
djangounchained
The movie that inspired the post because I watched it recently. Fantastic movie for 2 hours and then Christoph Waltz parted and the ending was abysmal. What I loved about the movie was the budding relationship between Waltz and Foxx, the attention to detail in their interactions, and the antagonist DiCaprio had me constantly wondering what he was thinking of doing next. Then the actual climax of the movie occurs when DiCaprio insists to shake Waltz hand, carnage ensues, and unrealistic nonsense follows. I lost interest when Foxx had 25 guns pointed at him and walked away. The ending just got stupid. No hero bullshit could keep me from caring at that point.

Dexter
dexter
I think Dexter WAS a 1st class television show. The Ice Truck Killer, Lundy and the Bay Harbor Butcher, Miguel and the Skinner (the Skinner was actually kind of lame), and then the zenith with the Trinity Killer and Rita. 4 seasons of pure gold. Every episode had you on the edge of your seat wondering how Dexter was going to get out of the jam he got himself in. After season 4, there hasn’t been a quality season. Lumen and Jordan Chase, Travis Marshall, and finally Hannah McKay was all crap. Dexter just got played out and I think the villains make the show and the latter seasons just missed the mark. I’ll still watch the show but I know that it’s not what it used to be.

Family Guy
funny-family-guy-logic-demotivational-posters
After 11 seasons and 205 episodes, this show has gotten whack. I absolutely loved the first few seasons. Their ideas were fresh, they took the jokes to a different level, and the 22 minutes of entertainment was delightful. Somewhere along the way Seth McFarlene became bigger than the show itself and the writers took over. This new thought doesn’t have the same pizzazz as Seth and the show isn’t as good. Same thing happened with the Simpsons over time. People start to lose interest. 6-7 seasons is a solid run but once the ideas start cramping, it’s time to quit.

Weezer
Weezer+Blue+Album+Weezer__Blue_Album
I would go as far as saying I hate every new Weezer song. The Blue album was top notch. Every song was worth listening to. Songs like My Name is Jones, Holiday, Surf Wax America and In The Garage were classics and they weren’t even the hits. Pinkerton was pretty average but The Green Album hit again with songs like Hash Pipe and Island in the Sun. After that it’s been complete crap with Beverly Hills, Pork and Beans, and Troublemaker. Strange how everything after their first album hasn’t been as good. Rivers must have lost his mind somewhere along the way.

U2
Boy, October, and War had a few decent songs (I Will Follow, Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Year’s Day) but the pinnacle of U2 is the Joshua Tree. I’ve included the full album below so you can listen to one of the greatest complete albums of the 80’s. U2 never actually went out of fashion and made good music since The Joshua Tree (Even Better Than The Real Thing, Mysterious Ways, Vertigo, Beautiful Day, One) but nothing in my estimation can match the Joshua Tree as a whole. One of my favorite albums ever. I think Bono is such a humanitarian that he doesn’t have as much time for the music and lost some passion along the way.

17 Apr, 2013

Listen to These Alt Songs

By |2013-04-17T23:17:58-04:00April 17th, 2013|Music|0 Comments

Since I have a total of 3 subscribers on my Spotify Altnation playlist, I know my choice of hot songs aren’t getting listened to as regularly as they should. I’m hoping by sharing these on my blog people will follow me on Spotify so I don’t have to actively post like this but I should have the reputation of bringing worthy songs to listen to that are essentially new to radio or pre radio. Mark this post and come back to me in a month. (I’m aware that the 2 Door Cinema song is older but I didn’t get a chance to hear the album when it came out and this is the best song on there. The Red Jumpsuit song is also not on the radio and deserves the play. Andrew McMahon and AWOL are brand spanking new though.)

16 Apr, 2013

The Ability to Negotiate

By |2013-04-16T22:07:53-04:00April 16th, 2013|My Brain|0 Comments

Not Arguing - Why I'm Right

The ability to negotiate with other people without friction and argument is the outstanding quality of all successful people.

I can’t begin to express how true I find this statement and in contradictory fashion, I’ve begun. Some people are made to argue and they get off on it. Arguments are fuel to their fire and a result can’t happen unless someone wins. These types of people will never take that next step towards enlightenment. What I’ve noticed though is that it’s easy to get caught up when someone is going ballistic and being irrational. You tend to start trying to stay calm, then little by little building up anger, and then you start raging yourself which is falling right in the trap. It’s hard to keep a cool head one the other party is loud and abrasive. Self control when you are deciding on something amongst people is unbelievably important. Once you lose your cool, you’ve already proven that you’ve lost the argument.

I’ve been feeling more at peace with myself as I remember these types of tidbits. Not to let yourself get angered by how other people act. There will always be people giving their two cents but the smart people are the ones who can separate the good from the bullshit. From my travels, I’d urge that you need to understand someone and what they stand for before you start taking their word on ANYTHING. You can tell quickly what type of person someone is by their conversation topics. A fabulous quote:

“Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.”
― Socrates (I have no idea if this was Socrates but it was cited on a random website)

There are people in life who want nothing more than to work a job, have a family, and be laid to rest. I can’t sit here and say that’s what I want. I have too much ability to lay down without making a mark. It’s a determination of achieving what you want. The hardest question I find is WHAT DO I WANT? Once I can answer that, I can work on getting it. Until then I’ll keep updating this website with ideas that I produce because one of these days someone is going to read this and they are going to be struck by something within rnningfool.com. It might be the stupidest thing I’ve ever come up with but the biggest changes can be made by the most meaningless details. The only thing constant is CHANGE!

15 Apr, 2013

Basketball Stars Needed In Philly

By |2013-04-15T23:03:16-04:00April 15th, 2013|Sports|1 Comment

He's a pussy

No other sport needs a star player as much as in basketball. With 5 players on the court at one time, a single player has a huge effect on the game. This isn’t as noticeable in football, baseball, or soccer where a strategic team game can overcome a superstar. In basketball though, a star is necessary and I hope to cement this point with this post.

I watched the Jordan 1v1 with Ahmad Rashad, taped earlier this year, and it’s what led to this post. In the hour long interview, MJ went through each point of his career and the different competition he faced and the challenges along the way. His take on various players and what he was like in practice was fascinating. His intensity was unrivaled and what lead to his enormous success. His 6 championships put him right near the top and it could have been even more if he didn’t quit for baseball somewhere in between. ALSO, he retired after winning his 6th championship! Talk about leaving on top. MJ will always be considered a legend.

To go hand in hand with this post is the Philadelphia 76ers and their 2013 season. This season was one of the worst I can remember because it was majorly hyped up prior to the season. The 76ers were hoping to work Bynum into the rotation after a month or two and basically conned the fans into buying tickets to see their new superstar. I’d bet my life ownership knew the whole time he wasn’t going to play a single game. So this season the Sixers put a mediocre squad on the court with absolutely no key player to take control of the games. They proved to me that basketball can’t be won without a player to turn to who can make a key bucket. Jrue isn’t that player yet. The rest of the team are only role players. This type of team finished exactly how good they were with a record well below 500. This team was an injustice to our basketball fans. Evan Turner will never be a superstar! Now, let’s take a look at the current elite teams who actually try to win championships:

Heat – Lebron
Knicks – Melo
Thunder – Durant
Spurs – Parker

I’d bet my bottom dollar that one of those teams wins the championship this year. Spurs are the only team without a legit superstar but they do the most with the less. Lebron vs Durant rematch is most likely going to take place which will hopefully be a better challenge than last year.

In the past 22 years there have only been 9 teams to win championships.
Bulls – Jordan – 91′-93′, 96′-98′
Rockets – Olajuwon – 94′-95′
Spurs – Duncan – 99′, 03′, 05′, 07′
Lakers – Bryant – 00′-02′, 09′-10′

The Heat (LeBron), Mavericks (Nowitzki), Pistons (6 teammates), and Celtics (Garnett, Piece, and Allen) round out the list. You can keep going back but history continues to repeat itself and my point with Bird, Magic, Kareem, Russell… Basketball isn’t as much a team game as needing that one guy to take over the game when your team needs it the most. AI took a bunch of role players to the finals in 01′ which should prove the point even further. This is why I’m unbelievably upset at the Sixers and all the other shitty teams in the league who put out piss poor products. Do they know they have a poop product? Do they think the public is so stupid that we just buy into their marketing of bullshit? No star = No championship = No fans. You can sell the Eagles as a collective group and it’s harder to see but I’m not buying into shitty basketball products anymore unless ownership tries a bit harder.

15 Apr, 2013

Severity of Boston

By |2013-04-15T20:57:27-04:00April 15th, 2013|Sports|0 Comments

Sick world we live in sometimes. I don’t post this to glamorize anything but to show the reality of the aftermath of this attack.

Man loses leg at Boston bombing

15 Apr, 2013

Productive Weekend

By |2013-04-15T09:10:18-04:00April 15th, 2013|My Life|0 Comments

I woke up early on Saturday and went to CVS for some body wash. A lady in front of me asked for some Newports and matches but the cashier told her he had no matches. She then asked how much a lighter was, $1.79, and decided that it wasn’t worth it. She walked out of the store only to come back in a few seconds later while I was being rung up. She asked if the cashier knew where her pack of gum went. He didn’t see it and then asked her if it was in her pocket. She acted surprised and then pulled the gum, which she hadn’t paid for, out of her coat pocket. She then goes into this long spiel how she wasn’t a thief and asked why the clerk didn’t stop her from taking the gum. He said he thought it may have been hers. I’m standing here the entire time just shaking my head wondering how on Earth you can successfully steal something only to be a dumbass and turn yourself in, and then act in bewilderment with what just happened.

After that little occurrence I went for a long 11 mile run. I was ticking off 6:40 miles until mile 7 when I started feeling my calve tighten up. I was able to run through it and started picking it up to the tune of 3 consecutive sub 3 minute halves. I cooled down the last 2 miles and was pretty pleased with my performance. I have the American Odyssey relay coming up and the broad street so I’m pretty confident heading in especially when I can use these next 3 weeks to really fine tune my condition. I also played ball on Saturday at some new courts (to me at least) at 26th and Pine. The games were decent but nothing great. After ball, I hung out with Steve and met up with some people in Conshy. I wisely took a taxi back at the end of the night which cost about 40 bucks but at least it kept me out of trouble.

Sunday was JC’s birthday so we were going out for dinner in the evening. I pretty much dazed through the morning hours and then met up with Bud and Jeff to play some bball at Mondauk. The games were average but I need any type of work I can get. Towards the end I could actually feel some confidence coming back in my game which is welcomed. I also purchased some new shoes which dug into my heels because my socks were too short. I’m in pretty good pain today after a 2 hour run yesterday. I felt like a turd after ball and we went to dinner at Iron Hill Brewery in Chestnut Hill. I ate a nice slab of prime rib and afterwards drove Sam back to Ursinus. After I dropped Sam I knew the prime rib was making my stomach uneasy. In one fell swoop I almost shit my pants and it made me realize how people lose control of their bowels. So I’m basically driving fully clenched and I knew I had 30 minutes more to drive. Thankfully I got back safely and hit the sack early. I feel good today and this will be a short week because I’m heading to PSU on Friday for JKash’s bachelor party.

thieffail

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