Things that grind my gears (Is it football season yet?)

When I was going into my senior year of college, I was initially going to live with a friend of mine and we had a great plan. We were going to post on a large sheet of paper things that, in general, make us angry.  The point of this was to get it out there in the open so we didn't have to worry about it ruining our day.  We could just 'put it on the board'.  This was to be our 'things that grind my gears' list.  Unfortunately, there was a housing descrepancy while I was away student teaching (an activity that DEFINITELY would have made the board) and we never ended up living together, but that idea always stuck with me. So here are a few things that would have made the board. 

Brandon's 'Things that grind my gears' - v1.0

1. People that over-use, or use in general, the phrase FML.  Get over it, your life isn't that bad compared to a lot of people in the world.  Just because your BFF didn't invite you to their BBQ therefore ruining your LMFAO plans doesn't mean your life is over.  You have been blessed with a lot. Some people can't afford a roof over their head or something to eat every day, so quit your bitching.  Trust me, I used to be one of those people (who thought things were worse than they really are).

2. The chicago cubs.  I have been a fan of the cubs for about 5 years or so, and have followed them all of my life, as my grandfather was a huge cubs fan, never missing a game, even though he went his whole life without them winning a world series. You know what, I want to watch the game when I pass WGN on TV, but when you have either an amazing pitching performance or a solid game at the plate, but NEVER both, I tend to become slightly disinterested. Oh, and how has that milton bradley trade worked out for you? Yeah, Mark DeRosa was awful compared to him, right? I want you to win so badly, cubs, but you continue to find a way to lose.  Sometimes I think Steve Pederson is running the team. Win a fucking postseason game, then I'll be a better fan.

2a. The football off-season.  Seriously, this is too long to wait.  And I'm sorry, but baseball can get REALLY boring, especially when you are a fan of the team mentioned above.

3.Michael Bay.  I make it no secret that I hate everything that this douchebag creates.  He is one of the few 'professionals' of which I know many friends of mine that could do better.  Give one of my film-savvy friends a decent camera and they could create a movie with more substance than any one of his 2 and a half hour debacles he calls film. There you go, Paramount/Dreamworks. I just saved you 200 million dollars. And for as many pages as I could probably go on about this, Peter Travers puts it so much better than I ever could -

"It's tempting to dismiss Michael Bay's long, loud and ludicrous sequel to 2007's Transformers with one word — hunkajunk. On every level this movie is as bankrupt as GM. But there is more to be said about a movie this gargantuan ($200 million spent on robot hardbodies) and galactically stupid. Transformers: The Revenge of The Fallen is beyond bad, it carves out its own category of godawfulness. And, please, you don't have to remind me that the original was a colossal hit ($700 million worldwide) and the sequel will probably do just as well. I know it's popular. So is junk food, and they both poison your insides and rot your brain. But I do accept that Bay is unique. No one can top him for telling a story with such striking, shrieking incoherence."

Preach, brother!  Yet, almost three hours of Megan Fox is never a bad thing, so I guess that his movies do have one redeeming quality.

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Phew, that felt pretty good.  Look for further updates and additions to this list in the future.   And don't take this too incredibly seriously, people. If you look at my previous post, I did indeed promise a satirical rant. Anyways reader, I hope you have a great rest of your day, and now you know THE REST OF THE STORY. what?

Cheers,

BS

A Simple Plan......the good kind

Holy crap, I haven't written a post since November! What will people do? Well, in all likelihood, probably about the same thing they always did, which was not read this blog. Good choices made by all. Nevertheless, I really do want to keep updating on here regularly. I really do enjoy having my own blog, mostly because it gives me an opportunity to say what I want or how I feel about a certain subject, or I can just ramble on about absolutely nothing, much like I am right now. So, to fill in the space, here is what is on my mind today.

Recently, I have been applying for a new job, pretty much just because I don't get steady enough work subbing, there is no consistency, and because I have been thinking a lot about simplifying my life and moving forward. I guess prioritizing would probably be a better way to describe it. A fresh perspective for my life. Now, I'm not going through some existential overhaul or anything, I am just putting a new, clean lens on my viewpoint. Making some changes. I am going to cherish the things that are the most important in my life. I have no idea what lies in front of me, but I am just going to throw it all out there and see what happens. Don't get me wrong, I am still the same guy, but I am just making some small adjustments to help make my life more fulfilling. Life is only going to get better from here on out. It probably won't be easy, but that is okay with me. So, I realize that all sounds like gibberish, but it makes sense to me. My bad. Anyways, I'm off, but you stay classy, PLANET EARTH. coming up next time: a satirical rant! (probably)

Cheers
BS

Here we go again

DISCLAIMER: So I was more than pleased with the response to my last blog in regards to the election. It is tough for me to put some of my political opinions out there sometimes because I honestly don't want to cause a big stir and upset people, I literally just want to use my blog to express myself. Whether you agree or disagree with me is of no terrible concern, and I don't say that in a negative light, I just am a proponent of self-expression and everybody has a right to express their opinions. So, that is basically saying thank you to those of you who left some comments for me. And for those of you who disagreed, I thank you for taking the time to read my post. Hopefully you did not take offense to anything that I had to say, and if you did, I apologize. I only meant it as a personal commentary on my own feelings towards the election. That being said, some people may have a problem with what I have to say in this here post. Once again, I apologize if you do, but this is something that I feel very strongly about and will not be silent on this issue. Sorry, that's just the way it is.

Phew....got that out of the way

So like I have said before, I am definitely not an expert on politics, but what I want to talk about today is the recent vote in California (Proposition 8) that has rescinded the right for homosexual couples to marry. There are so many things about this that I disagree with, and strongly at that. Yes, I am a Christian. I am straight. I only have a handful of gay friends. Yet from them I have gained a completely different perspective on not just the gay lifestyle, but what love really is. When I was younger, I was close-minded. I believed what was told to me just for the sake of believing it. I didn't think for myself. Not to say that everything I have been taught is wrong, that is definitely not the case - I am merely saying that in the last five or so years of my life I have gained a LOT of perspective on the world and what I, myself, believe. I am not calling for anyones head or negating peoples' intelligence, this is above all of that.

This vote disappointed me. As I said previously, I am a straight christian man. And yes, I support gay marriage. There are a multitude of reasons that I want to give for this, but I ran across a commentary on youtube last night (thanks to my good friend and brother Tyler) that mirrored my thoughts exactly on this issue. And regardless of what you think of Keith Olbermann (he is hit-or-miss for me), I just feel that what he has to say on this vote is spot-on and something that everybody needs to hear. My facebook friends can view it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnHyy8gkNEE



There is too much hate in this world. The more love that we have in it, the better.

Cheers
BS

It's that time of year. Well, every four years

Okay, so I was a music major in college, I am working in education. I don't have political experience, and I have never held office. Yet, it definitely seems to me like I hold a lot in common with the American people. Therefore, I am going to bluntly share my opinion on this Novembers election; the biggest of my lifetime thus far. Those of you that know me are aware that my vote will be going to Barack Obama & Joe Biden when election day comes around. Why? The list is long, but it is with a specific purpose that I write today, and I will unapologetically be very blunt, because frankly, there isn't any more room for political bullshit, negativity, or lying; there has been enough of that from the McCain/Palin camp already. Four years ago, I threw my vote away on Bush, and don't want that to happen again, so I have taken a special interest in this election because I don't want a repeat of the last eight years, and this blog is my platform for getting my opinion out there. So, here we go...

Earlier in the campaigning process, the McCain group had an ad that described Barack Obama as the 'biggest celebrity in the world', and therefore asked people not not vote for him based on the fact that he was famous. I see a couple problems with this: 1. Someones popularity should has nothing to do with the quality of their leadership, and 2. The republican ticket has an even BIGGER celebrity on their ticket, the great 'reformer', Sarah Palin. I was going to insert all of the many reasons that she is not qualified to hold a political office here, but I found someone who can do it even better. One of my favorite writers, Matt Taibbi. Here is how he, and many other conscious voters including myself, feel about what is going on right now. He could not have captured my opinion any better:

"Here's the thing about Americans. You can send their kids off by the thousands to get their balls blown off in foreign lands for no reason at all, saddle them with billions in debt year after congressional year while they spend their winters cheerfully watching game shows and football, pull the rug out from under their mortgages, and leave them living off their credit cards and their Wal-Mart salaries while you move their jobs to China and Bangalore.

And none of it matters, so long as you remember a few months before Election Day to offer them a two-bit caricature culled from some cutting-room-floor episode of Roseanne as part of your presidential ticket. And if she's a good enough likeness of a loudmouthed Middle American archetype, as Sarah Palin is, John Q. Public will drop his giant-size bag of Doritos in gratitude, wipe the Sizzlin' Picante dust from his lips and rush to the booth to vote for her. Not because it makes sense, or because it has a chance of improving his life or anyone else's, but simply because it appeals to the low-humming narcissism that substitutes for his personality, because the image on TV reminds him of the mean, brainless slob he sees in the mirror every morning.

Sarah Palin is a symbol of everything that is wrong with the modern United States. As a representative of our political system, she's a new low in reptilian villainy, the ultimate cynical masterwork of puppeteers like Karl Rove. But more than that, she is a horrifying symbol of how little we ask for in return for the total surrender of our political power. Not only is Sarah Palin a fraud, she's the tawdriest, most half-assed fraud imaginable, 20 floors below the lowest common denominator, a character too dumb even for daytime TV — and this country is going to eat her up, cheering her every step of the way. All because most Americans no longer have the energy to do anything but lie back and allow ourselves to be jacked off by the calculating thieves who run this grasping consumer paradise we call a nation."

-Matt TaibbiPosted Oct 02, 2008 3:00 PM

Now, I am not (nor is Taibbi) taking the elitist approach saying that I am better than anybody because of my views on this election, in fact, I am just trying to help expose the logistical fallibility of the McCain ticket. John McCain is a great American and patriot who has sacrificed a lot for his country, and I respect him for that, I just don't feel he is the best choice for president. I think the great thing about our country is that everybody has their own vote, and by all means, if you have legitimate reasons for voting McCain/Palin and that is truly where your heart lies, by all means that is what you should do. However, don't do it because Palin is the latest caricature of a celebrity and she took her sons to hockey games, or because she can field-dress a moose. Remember, she is the VICE presidential candidate. If McCain were to die in office, would you want her running the country? I sure don't. It would be like George W. Bush without the 'political experience'. Not good. Vote because someone is the best candidate - and this November, that choice is clear. Thanks for reading, and once again, this is all simply an honest Americans thoughts and feelings. I just feel that this election is too important to overlook and be timid about.

Cheers

BS

CARLFENSE!!! (Sports blog, vol. 3)

So over the past month or so (or since football season started I guess), I have been thinking about choices; just the concept of them and how they relate to sports. As sports fans, why do people always have to make choices in everything. It's always "I like that team" or "I hate that team". While some of this is certainly acceptable (like my hatred for the colorado buffaloes), there shouldn't have to be so many choices. If you want to be a fan of one team, you should do it because you care how they perform, or there is some aspect of the organization, school etc. that you really like or identify with. This all got me thinking about my "fandom". There are only two 'teams' that I really would consider myself a fan of. I use teams in quotes because the first is husker athletics, and the second is the chicago cubs. In college, I tried to force myself to be a fan of teams that I could care less about their wins or losses. In all actuality though, the aforementioned are the only teams that actually have an ability to elicit emotion from me. Therefore, I should just be able to enjoy watching the NFL, NBA, or NHL without having to choose a favorite team. Sure, I tend to like certain players (all former huskers, big ben, troy polamalu, kobe bryant), but because I play fantasy football and am just a sports fan in general as well, I should be able to watch those sports without having to choose a favorite. This doesn't mean that I don't like or 'root for' certain past 'favorites' of mine (steelers, panthers, tar heels, etc.), it's just that I wouldn't consider myself a fan of them. In those leagues, I root for good competition and excitement over anything else. I just felt like getting that off of my perverbial chest. All of that being said, I am very excited for the next coming weeks for both the cubs and huskers. The cubbies recently clinched a playoff berth, and the 'skers have a big game against virginia tech. Also, the husker volleyball team is having another great year. So, needless to say I am hoping for two husker victories this weekend (which I do think will happen), and the only things that should get in the cubs' way of getting to the world series is 1. staying healthy and 2. themselves. So we'll see what happens on those fronts.

A pointless blog? maybe. then again, if you have read this far, the joke is SO on you. To make up for it, I have provided an exsquisite example of why I love the husker football team, and their current coaching staff so much. Enjoy - http://www.ketv.com/video/17526996/

Cheers
BS

It's A Magical World

So apparently, the thing to do when you have a blog is to blab on about your life and what you did today, how you are going to meet up with your b.f.f. at the m.a.l.l. after the b.b.q. while you all l.o.l. together before going to spend some quality time with ur b.f.f.  Suffice it to say, that's not really my style.  I find it extremely tedious for one thing, and to be honest, my life is not interesting enough to merit daily updates.  So, I try to only write something when I really feel it necessary or I am hit by one thought or feeling that simply will not let go of me.  Today, my blogospheric (new word points for me?) companions, is one of those days (kind of).

So, as a young buck growing up, I absolutely LOVED the comic strip calvin & hobbes.  I bought all of the collections, and cut out and framed the final strip from December of 1995.  To this day, I maintain that it is the best comic ever, though many of my friends  would politely disagree, as they prefer the superhero genre.  For some reason, it's longevity has stuck with me.  Yet, as I was flipping through Bill Watterson's final collection, 'It's A Magical World' tonight, I realized how incredibly relevant this comic strip still is.  When I was just 8 years old, cutting out the end of what seemed like my childhood, I never really understood why that last strip wasn't funny until I've grown up.  I guess as a kid I couldn't grasp the concept of the little things and what seizing the moment is really about.  The frame at the top of my post is the last of the entire series, and I couldn't find a more fitting way to express the yearning to learn and experience new things and truly, as they say, 'seize the day'.  Sometimes the most complex things are best expressed in the simplest way.  Whenever I read that final strip, I instantly feel thankful for all of the good things in my life, no matter what.  Sure, I am experiencing somewhat of a personal discovery right now.  I moved back home to save up some money, graduated college, and had most of my friends move away, but that probably would have happened no matter what.  Things haven't really bounced my way over the past year or so, but I still have a lot of great people in my life, such as my friends and family, who are always there for me, and even though that friend list will undoubtedly dwindle over time, the good ones will surely stick it out.  Man, I guess this is what it feels like to be old.   And all of that from a comic strip.  Anywho, that was just something I thought I'd share with you - if you haven't read calvin & hobbes I highly encourage you to.  It's certainly a great escape. 

So, have a splendid day, week, or year...whatever.  I'll see you soon. Happy Exploring......

Cheers

BS

i would like to play........with Ben Roethlisberger

Alright, first post in nearly three months....sweet. Though I do have good reason. These past few months have been absolutely ridiculous. I have moved to Lincoln, gotten multiple job leads, given out a 'title' (those of you close to me will know what that means), bought a wii, and certainly not least of all, graduated from college. Yes, I got a real degree. It is not on notebook paper, and I am pretty sure that the signatures are not done in the windows font Old English. But I guess there are no guarantees.

It is still kind of bittersweet to think that these past four years have already gone by. It is one thing to see it happen to others who graduate before you, but to have it happen to yourself is unreal. My time at Doane was an absolute blessing to me. I got to meet some of the best friends I have ever and will ever have. I learned a great deal about music and discovered a love for classical music as well as re-affirmed my love for rock. I can honestly say that I am more prepared to deal with the world now. I'm still not totally prepared, but moreso than before. The 'real world', as it is, will surely offer it's share of challenges, but with my fantastic friends, family, and faith at my side, I'm pretty sure I'll be okay.

Okay, no more retrospective nostalgia crap. On to the stuff that is really important. I have decided to become a fan of an NFL team. Yes, I do have the 'skers, and they will NEVER be replaced, but I feel I want to take on this venture for many reasons. Over the past five or so years, I have been playing fantasy football, which makes me follow the NFL to a rediculous extent. Because of this, I might as well have a team to cheer for in the process. Also, it would be nice to have a go-to team to play as on Madden. The only stipulations: The thing that makes me love the huskers and cubs so much is the rich tradition and dedicated fan base regardless of the actual success of the given season. The huskers hold the consecutive sell-out record, the cubs haven't won a series in a century, but still have the best fans in baseball. When I was a young kid I liked the Dolphins because I had a marino jersey and the panthers because they were a new team. Yet, I could never really be a real 'fan' as I grew up because neither team really had the fans or the tradition that I need. Therefore, after thinking about this for awhile, I have decided to become a fan of....................drumroll please.........the pittsburgh steelers. Yes, there is no geographic affiliation (who cares?), but after looking around on the internet as to why people like them, it really got me excited for the upcoming season. Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, Chuck Knoll, The Bus, The immaculate reception, Troy Polamalu's hair. The way I see it, there are only a few teams that are similar to the huskers in the NFL in terms of fan support and tradition combined: The steelers, packers, and bears. That is why these three were my 'finalists' if you will. PLus, they are semi-rivals with the Patriots, whom I absolutely despise. But, I do also LOVE the steelers draft this year, and my girlfriends' sister's husband is a fan, as is my former roommate Ben, so I have some semi-relatable fans to cheer or complain with. So, I hereby join steeler nation, along with my already lifelong memberships to husker and cubs nation, and agree to any privileges, rights, wins, losses, and Kimo von Oelhoffen's pertaining thereto. Plus I have an old Kordell Stewart jersey that I can wear on sundays now.

Well that seems about good for right now...I'm gonna go dominate (or more likely get dominated) in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Peace