Flip-Flop Friday, The Shot Behind the TV Commentators

Alright, so here is something that I don't know that I will ever understand, when I'm watching a basketball game or any sport for that matter, why do I need to see the guys who are commentating? I hate it when they pan over during a timeout or during the halftime show, because there is always some jackhole doing something stupid behind them. It is just irritating. It's enough that I have to listen to their useless dribble! I don't need to see you to know what you are talking about.

About a month ago I was watching the Kentucky v. Alabama game and at half time, the commentators were analyzing the game. There was this kid, probably nine or ten and looked like his folks decked him out in every Bama item in their home. Frankly, the kid looked like an idiot! Anyway, the commentators are breaking the game down and this kid is just going nuts in his seat right behind them. His parents, sitting next to him (if they were his parents) acted like they didn't even see what was going on. It was classic, the two commentators got closer and closer together while the camera guy kept zooming in tighter and tighter, it looked like they might bump heads and the kid just kept getting lower and lower to stay in the shot. It was really irritating, but at the same time a hell of lot more entertaining than actually listening to the nonsense those two guys were spitting out!

The best though, is the guy who is in the shot on his phone, talking to his buddy who is watching. He keeps waving like his buddy is waving back. Watching this clown on the phone makes me think of two little girls talking to one another on the phone about a boy in school. The guys all giggly and all of his friends that are watching are just embarrassed. You're a grown ass man, act like it!

Why is this necessary?

If you watch a lot of sports, you've probably also seen the ESPN College Gameday set. I don't really know why this is necessary either. The only people that ever enjoy it are fans of the school that they are at. The rest of us could give a crap. Often it is really loud and i can barely hear what is being said, cheerleaders are flying up into the camera view and people make up the stupidest signs. It's kind of like reality television for commentators. Actually, sometimes I look at these guys and they look like they just want someone to put them out of their misery. I'm not sure why being there, as opposed to being in the studio, has any impact at all!

Flip-Flop Friday, Like, Like...Like what the hell?

So, the other day I was at my sons basketball practice, he's eight and in an upward league. I was sitting out in the lobby of the church where the gym was and as usual evesdropping on people's conversations. There was one in particular that prompted me to stop everything and write this entry. I can handle a lot of bad things in a persons ability to communicate to another. But, there are some words that people for some reason insist on over using. One such word is 'like'. When did 'like' become so popular?

This woman was having a conversation with another lady working at the check in desk. She was rather country and was discussing financial matters (that's a subject for another whole post, she won't be advising me any time soon) and must have dropped the word 'like' into her conversation no less than 20 times in a minute. I WANTED TO SHOOT MYSELF! It was actually disturbing and I wasn't even in the conversation.

What has made 'like' such a great word that it should be uttered nearly once every three seconds. I thought that I would look it up:

like
verb, noun, adjective \ˈlīk\
liked lik·ing

transitive verb
1: chiefly dialect : to be suitable or agreeable to ex. I like onions but they don't like me
2a: to feel attraction toward or take pleasure in : enjoy ex. likes baseball
b: to feel toward : regard ex. how would you like a change
3: to wish to have : want ex. would like a drink
4: to do well in ex. my car does not like cold weather

First off, I have to say, 'like' is pretty impressive. I mean, a verb, a noun and an adjective. Really how many words can make that claim. It's not a very long word, so it has to make up where it can. But, some of the examples that it gives for uses were not so impressive.

Ryan, from Waxed Red Threads would appreciate the the example in number 1, but the example for 2a made me laugh. Really that's what the example is, baseball! As an adult I could think of some better examples that I find attraction in or take pleasure in...if you know what I mean.

I found 2b to be confusing, maybe I'm an idiot, 'How would you like a change'. At first I thought maybe the 'a' was supposed to be a 'to', but than I thought maybe its a question for doctors asking a male that wants to be a female or vice versa.

As far as 3 goes, who wishes for a drink except maybe an alcoholic. I don't think that I have ever wished for a drink, if I had that better be some damn good RFK! Actually, I take it all back. I've been hiking more than once in the middle of the summer and I was dying for a drink! I stand corrected.

However, I thought 4 was the best. Unless this is Night Rider and my car's name is KIT, I'm pretty sure that my car could care less whether it was cold or hot outside. I know what you're saying, "You are way to critical on 'like'", not really. It has to live up to its definition!

So, anyway, i have to give 'like' some love, but it's overuse by young people is out of control and generally when it's used, I think it's being used improperly.

-"Do you like, know what I mean, like this guy said.."
-"I was at the super market like going down the aisle and like they were out of cheetos.."
-"Like, what did you say?"

I don't know, maybe I'm just stupid...but like I'm out!

Flip-Flop Friday, 'Photographs'

I noticed in a lot of other blogs that it is fairly common to take a day of the week, think of some catchy name for it and post some common theme on that day each week. Not to be outdone (not really, I could care less, but I think the idea of it is pretty cool), I have created Flip-Flop Fridays where I will post something that I find 'irksome' in this world.

Do you know what I can't stand? I can't stand when people dump all the photos from their camera onto FB without even looking at them. It's freaking ridiculous!

Photographs are a great way to help convey a story. Writing about it, is one thing, but when you can give people a snapshot into your life, it's a great tool to help them appreciate what you are doing. I love to take photos and I love to look at photos, but please for the sake of everyone's sanity, take a little time and weed out the photos that don't belong.

For instance,

I understand that you might think this photo of your freind doing there best strip tease impression on a moving train is cool, and it would be...IF IT WERE IN FREAKING FOCUS! Here's another one,

Again, I'm sure doing the rain dance in full indian garb is awesome, but if this is supposed to be in 3D, you're going to have to provide me with some of those cheesy 7/11 3D glasses!

So, Rule 1: If it aint in focus, don't post it, you're just wasting my time. This next photo actually breaks Rule 1 and Rule 2: If it's a picture that everyone is going to ask, "What the hell is it?" every time, don't post it.

This photo actually looks like the photographer was walking around and the camera accidentally shot this shot! Begging me to ask, "What the hell is it?"

The next rule, doesn't have an example because it doesn't need one. Rule 3: I only need to see a shot once to get the picture. One of my friends posted I don't know, like 20-30 shots of the same view of the Statue of Liberty! Are you out of your mind! Hey, when I shoot something that I think is worthwhile, I snap two to three shots to make sure that I've got at least one good one. I go home, download the photos and keep the one that is the best, not all three.

This next photo loosely fits under Rule 3, but there will be an amendment that says, you should limit the number of weird photos of the same type of thing or people will start to think somethings wrong with you. A friend (now I think she's weird) posted from a cruise several photos of things that the towels were made into. This was the weirdest of them all, which frankly I could hardly tell on any of them what the towel shapes were supposed to be.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that sort of looks like a penis trying to escape the banana hammock that it's in. I REALLY don't need to see that, I'm pretty sure that no one else does either.

Rule 4 goes something like this, I've seen pictures, like the one below, that are in focus and I get what's going on, but I have to question, "Why this shot?". This in my opinion is a stupid photo. There are others of him that are in focus, from the front that show him opening the present.

What am I supposed to see here, the nicely wrapped presents, this kid's ginormous dome, the toy, the fact that he can tear the paper,....WHAT? Again, a colossal waste of my time.

So, next time you get ready to post those photos to FB that you just can't wait for your friends to see, STOP, take a moment, go through them and the four rules I've mentioned above. If they fail the rules, than don't post them. You'll be doing all of us a huge favor!

Flip-Flop Friday, 'The Mower Scam'

I noticed in a lot of other blogs that it is fairly common to take a day of the week, think of some catchy name for it and post some common theme on that day each week. Not to be outdone (not really, I could care less, but I think the idea of it is pretty cool), I have created Flip-Flop Fridays where I will post something that I find 'irksome' in this world.

Today's flip-flop has to do with my marriage. Don't get me wrong, I'm a happily married man, but there are things about marriage that are total scams. One of the greatest of these scams is the 'Mower Scam'. I'm a pretty hard working individual, I enjoy physical labor and find it rewarding. I find mowing the lawn to provide the right amount of physical challenge and also an opportunity to think amid the sounds of the engine and whatever toy that's been left out on the lawn by my kids getting chopped to bits.

When we moved into our current home, we took on a larger lawn with a challenging hill in the back yard. A major 'physical' challenge if you will. It doesn't help that I'm cheap, so our mower was your basic push mower (motor, four wheels, blade, no self propelled). And no, I'm not so cheap that I have the manual mower that takes twenty passes to just mow one area of grass all the way!

Cheap, but not this Cheap

After mowing the lawn the first few times, my wife seeing that it was a lot of work from inside the air conditioned house, says to me, "If you buy a self propelled mower, I will help to mow the lawn."

Inside, foolishly, I was jumping for joy thinking this was a great idea. The mower that we had was getting old anyway, so this would be a good time to buy a new one. I didn't go crazy with the cost, but dropped a pretty penny on a new self propelled mower. I brought that baby home, put her together and couldn't wait for the extra time I would have to do other things in the yard and around the house.

To this day, I think that I can count on one hand the number of times that my wife has helped mow the yard! And there you have it, 'The Mower Scam'. Just another reason for me to quietly mumble to myself, "Stupid stupid man!"