CARDRUNNERS

• One character buys a butchers block thinking that it would make a good bar (based on real events).  Realizing that it was a terrible purchase, they try to make up for it buy hosting a underground arm wrestling tournament.
• The two roommates buy hand guns and eager to use them try to convince themselves that being shot in the foot wouldn't be that bad.
• A friend from college comes to visit in order to come out of the closet, and are surprised to find out that the roommates were overly supportive (not gay themselves, just really enthusiastic).

In part 1 I talked about bad ideas that I made no progress on because I realized how bad they were, but I forgot one.  I wanted to declare myself eligible for the NBA draft.  This one would've have been easy to accomplish, according to the collective bargaining agreement you just have to send a letter to the NBA.  The thing they don't mention is what NBA address you send it to.  I did some digging and went on NBA.com.  Unfortunately, under their open job positions they didnt have a listing for point guard.

This entry, good ideas that I made no progress on because I but didn't have the resources, capabilites, or dedication:

12x12 - Phil recently wrote about the new MTV show The Buried Life about a bunch of dudes riding around in bus on some sort of adventure.  My friends and I had our own adventure we contemplated about: 12 cities in 12 months.  We would live in a different city  each month for a year.  This was just fun to talk about.  If you had a year to do this, what cities would you want to live in?  I think I'll save a blog entry just for this question, I may have already blogged about it I dont remember.
 
Neighborhood Protection against an attacker - So a couple of years ago there was this guy was attacking women in the Wrigleyville neighborhood of Chicago.  I was amazed at how little attention it got.  These were women that were friends of friends but the news coverage was virtually nonexistent.  It just seemed like noone was doing anything about it.  I love Chicago but there are a handful of things I hate and its Chicago's government (just a horribly crooked organization).  My idea was just to get people (trustworthy people) to hangout on street corners and kind of keep an eye on things when the bars closed.  The purpose was to have people on the streets so the creep would be afraid of being seen.

Recycling Pickup - This wouldn't be picking up aluminum cans and newspapers.  Instead it would be environmentally hazardous consumer materials you aren't suppose to just throw away such as batteries, cell phones, and old medications.  There is a center on Chicago Goose Island but you have to drive to it.  So a friend of mine and I thought, why not target people without cars.  Additionally, people that live in high rise apartment buildings.  They typically don't have cars because there's no parking and they all live in a concentrated place.  So we would set up shop in lobbies and people would bring us the stuff they didnt know how to get rid of.  The problem was that we didn't know how to make money on it.  It would've been a nice non-profit, but there are alot of nice non-profits out there.

Next  up: Things I started but didn't get very far.

-Matt

I titled my previous post "Dont Waste the Day" because I feel like I wasted a good portion of my life listening to DMB and that's the theme alot of his songs.  However, I haven't wasted my life on only DMB, there's been a ton of other things.  I'm the type of person that obsesses about an idea inside my head for about a day or two and then never think of it again.  I'm a dreamer...I guess.  I figure I shouldn't let these ideas go completely to waste so I'll tell you about them!

Part 1: Bad Ideas that I made no progress on because I realized how bad they were:
Hip-hop and Architecture - I wanted to write an essay connecting hip-hop and architecture, in hopes of finding some sort of a connected aesthetic.  The moment I should've known this wasn't going to work out was when I went to the library and got books on Hip-Hop.  Notice I didn't need books on Architecture, but hip-hop I was clueless about.  What a fucking square.

P.O.I. (People Of Interest) - So I bought this video camera (I'll get to why in a later post) and figured why not start my own talk show?  I would interview people I know then put it online.  I actually feel lucky to know alot of the people I know, no celebrities, but just interesting people and wanted to share them with the world.

"How to Lose Your Virginity" - This idea came to me at like 2 am lying in bed.  I thought it would be hilarious to make a fake step by step guide on how to lose your virginity but it would really just lead people to scientology.  I actually got out of bed to write this piece of garbage down.  I woke up the next day read what I wrote and died a little.

"2nd Man on Mars" -  This was a short story experiment that I had no chance of pulling off.  It would be a daily blog from the perspective of an astronaut on his way to mars.  I was listening to alot of David Bowie at the time.

Okay so those were the REALLY bad ideas.  Look out for part 2 where I list good ideas that I had but didn't have the resources, capabilites, or dedication to even make any progress.

-Matt

If I ever win a lifetime achievement award and have to list my regrets in life, I wouldn't get through a significant portion of them before the band would have to play me off the stage.  I'm not the hot shot that says, "I did it my way," or "I wouldn't change a thing.*"  Call me insecure, but I dwell on every little mistake I make.  I'm definitely not a perfectionist either, I'm just crazy.

Recently I reexamined a choice I made when I was a lowerclassman in high school that followed me for many years.  I decided to be a Dave Matthews Band fan.  People reading at this point of the blog are either saying, "so, what's wrong with that?" or "what were you thinking?"  I wanted to answer the latter question, so I popped in a cd into my car stereo and tried to take myself back in time.  Here's a couple of thoughts:

(skip down to the bottom for a video that articulates it much better and funnier than I can)

• This music itself is not that bad.  Say what you will about having a violin and saxophone in a band, but its very easy and fun to listen to.
• What the hell is he talking about?  Maybe I liked DMB when I was teenager because the words sound like they were written by a teenager.  I always liked Dave Matthews as a person/performer/celebrity**, but lyricist, not so much.
• Why are these songs so long?  This is one of the biggest complaints I've heard from people.  I ignored them until i found myself skipping to the next song after 3 minutes, which only halfway through a DMB song.

The thing is none of these thoughts I listed are original.  People have been saying these things since Dave went big in the early-mid 90's.  That could be the reason I liked them.  As a teenager you look for ways to rebel, or put yourself outside the norm without being a total outcast.  This is how I tried, by liking something other people hated.  I thought that it was different to like a band that has a violinist and saxophonist (plus they and the drummer are black, what up street cred).  Fuck verse-chorus-verse, this guy is singing jibberish while wearing pajama pants!  Let the song play forever, I'm young and have all the time in the world.

I soon found out that millions of people had made the same mistake I had.  This only fueled my ignorance because now i was member of something bigger than myself.  This is how skinheads are recruited.

Anyway, I bought into being a fan big time.  I went to a couple concerts a year, bought t-shirts and frisbees, and unknowingly annoyed as many people as i could in the process.

I didn't really realize what was going on until I went to college.  I hit a turning point freshman year when I was exposed to people just like myself.  There were several people on the dorm floor that would blast DMB for days leading up to a concert, or they would bring up trivia that I didn't even know.  It made me become self-aware and I was disgusted.

In a way I'm glad that's the way I was set free because I was in an environment that had so much more to offer.  As if I need to give another reason why college is great, it exposes you to so many new things so quickly.  More often than not it leads to more regrets, but its worth it.

The epilogue of the story is that all these thoughts were swirling in my head last weekend, and coincidentally, a day or two later my friend Craig sends me the following video.



-Matt
* This sentence is borderline plagiarizing a Kenny Chesney*** song.
** I don't know what this means, he just seems like a nice guy
*** another regret

Its a shame when a blog entry starts with, "I know I haven't blogged in while..." but I know I haven't blogged in a while.  I just started a new quarter in school, my computer crashed, and I got a lingering sinus infection so blogging hasn't been one of my priorities lately.  Oh and Phil deleted my last blog post cuz he gets the noids when he drinks.
 
So real briefly, I want to plug a blogger I recently had the pleasure of meeting, the Global Patriot.  I'll save myself some time and just copy his  About section.

"This blog was created to support the belief that patriotism can exist without borders. Words commonly associated with patriotism include allegiance, dedication & loyalty, and in that light, I would propose that National Patriotism be recognized as different from the reality that one can be patriotic to the entire planet – a true Global Patriot.

The term Global Patriot arose during the Spring of 2003 while writing a novel – Trading Hands. In this story the hero’s character arc involved a transformation from national to Global Patriot when faced with a dire situation that required him to think about the well-being of the planet, not just the desires of the government he had once served or the country in which he was born."

He basically focuses on problems that affect all people from human rights to the environment.  So if these are things you are interested in check out his blog.  http://globalpatriot.com/

-Matt

Well my friends, now that Jersey Shore is gone and Conan is off the "Tonight Show," we have the ingredients to create the greatest variety show in television history!   I watched the finale of "Jersey Shore" last night, and I must admit I was a little disappointed.  The show seemed to get continually worse as the season went on.  

Here's the recap:
The show starts with Ronnie getting arrested for assault.  He has to spend the night in jail until about 6:30 AM.  He bails himself out, but has to show up for a court appointment at a later date.  While working at the shirt store, JWOWW spots some "Gorillas" which are juiced, tan dudes according to her.  The whole gang goes to the beach where the Situation hits on a girl that appears to be a lot younger than him.  Snookie tries to set up a date with Keith, but he denies her.  Snookie searches the boardwalk to find a date and ends up running into her ex-boyfriend, who also disses her.  Vinnie, Mike, and Paulie head out for a guys night out.  That night the guys return to find Snookie crying about her bad luck with guys over the summer.  The guys try and cheer her up.  Mike and her go to the hot tub and end up making out.  The next day the gang has a cook out and shares a sentimental moment on the roof.  The next day the whole cast leaves.

Good Quotes and Funny Stuff I noticed:

-Ronnie is up for bail at 6:30 AM yet Sammie sleeps til 9:00?...What a terrible girlfriend!

-That Duck Phone is so loud.  Why do they always have to use it?  Are they not allowed to use their cell phones?

-Did anyone notice the cars these guys drive?  Situation drives a Range Rover, Paulie has a Caddie, someone else has an Escalade?  Ridiculous!  

-"I cut girls faster than barbers" -Ronnie during the reunion show

-All the girls looked terrible during the reunion show...bad lighting in that studio I guess.

Well until next season....keep up with your GTL.  I leave you with my favorite character, Ronnie busting a move....

-Phil

Sorry for the delay in getting this up.  This past Thursday we we're treated to two full hours of JS.  I really felt myself getting dumber while watching this.  The extra hour is almost too much to take.  I really think MTV will have to make it into a half hour show in the subsequent seasons   Two hours of JS probably has similar effects to sniffing rubber cement for 4 hours.  

The show is starting to wind down and these two episodes were pretty uneventful.  We're told that they have been in Sea Side for 27 days.  Keep in mind that is why these shows are so cheap to produce because they're filmed over such a short period of time.

The show starts with Snookie confronting Ronnie and Sammie about leaving early every night and doing their own thing.  Ronnie and Sammie don't take it well.  That night at the club Snookie meets some farmer guy named Keith, he's not a "guido" according to Snookie, but that's fine with her.  Mike takes a girl back home and hooks up with her in the hot tub, while Vinnie is having a hook up of his own in the hammock.  The next day Paulie meets a girl from Israel who later stalks him on board walk and calls him repeatedly.  Vinnie hooks up with Mike's sister which irritates the Situation.  The whole gang goes to Atlantic City for some much needed clubbing.  Situation makes a comment about Snookie's weight which upsets her and the rest of the gang.  Snookie revels that she used to have an eating disorder.  That night at the club, Mike steals a girl who was making out with Vinnie earlier.  JWoww throws up in the bathroom then asks Mike to walk her back to her room.  Mike refuses beacause he has a girl on his lap.  JWoww hits Mike then gets thrown out of the club.  When Mike returns to the room she assaults the Situation, while MTV security steps in to stop her.

Mike and JWoww make up after the whole gang goes bowling.   Paulie tells his stalker to back off.  The Situation puts pickles under Snookie's bed as a practical joke.  In order to get back at Vinnie for calling him out for being a tool earlier, he decides to put some "Hater Juice" under his bed.  The Hater Juice consists of a number of things sitting in fridge including, parmesan cheese, pickle juice, milk, and salad dressing.  That night a group of people follow them home and start heckling them.  Some of their insults are directed at Snookie for her ridiculous outfit. After MTV security breaks up a potential fight, Ronnie runs after one of the hecklers and knocks him out cold with a single punch.  Ronnie is then arrested and charged with aggravated assault.

Here are few funny things I noticed about the episodes (feel free to comment on stuff you noticed as well).

- Why is Sammie always sleeping?  Every episode she is moping around under some blankets regardless of what time of day it is.  I've seen people with Mono sleep less than this girl.

-When the Situaiton's latest hook up falls down the stairs I was almost in tears. 

- Keith, the guy who Snookie hooks up with, is wearing the same thing in every scene.  Apparently he works on a farm? Snookie tells him about how much she loves animals, hence her career choice of Vet Tech.

-Does Snookie ever wear underwear?  Every time she goes out she has to have her ass censored because she wears ridiculous/revealing clothes.  Too bad this show didn't start before Halloween, there would be so many people going as cast members.

-Mike is so self conscious its ridiculous.  All his insecurities are  masked by a douche bag persona.  He his called out for being a phony by several roommates.  I just want to find out how old he really is....there's no way he's 27.  I'm guessing 38.

-They only go to a few places from what I can tell (Karma, Beachcomber, Bamboo, and one other place that I can't remember).  

This past weekend Situation, Paulie D, and Snookie all canceled appearances in Chicago.  According to the Chicago Tribune, there was some overlapping scheduling commitments for the cast.  It's amazing that some of these characters are paid upwards of $10,000 for an appearance.....I guess it pays off to be a complete tool.

http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/about-last-...
That's all I've got for this week.  Stay tuned for more next week.

-Phil