sounds-offire

[sounds-offire]

Good Bookings, Missed Opportunities, Possible Future Endeavors and Great Non-Scripts : Professional Sports

Soooooo we are here on the back of a historical Superbowl in which The New England Patriots have won their 5th championship since 2002 and Tom Brady has the most rings of any quarterback in history. Along the way, the Atlanta Falcons were dominant for 3 quarters going up by 25 points only to lose as Brady and Co. scored 31 unanswered points to win in the very first overtime in Superbowl history. 

History making game? Absolutely. 

Rigged? Scripted? Planned? Booked?.... perhaps.... 

Many circumstances appear to be booked in the world of sports ( of which we will discuss today ) and other situations just feel.... I dunno... normal. Unfortunately, those are the games that get forgotten. Obviously most of these are championship moments but then there are also moments that are great and likely arent scripted. Now , ultimately who’s to say? Maybe life really does work itself out in ways that are absolutely amazing feel good, historical moments... but then there are other times where its like.... cmon’ man! This list will compile various circumstances in which if scripting in sports happens at all the example will be consider likely to heavily scripted, a great non script, or a missed booking opportunity to make a great script. 

1. 2011 NBA Finals ( Dallas Mavericks Def. Miami Heat ) :  Likely Scripted

The 2011 season was the year that Lebron James went into infamy. After nearly 7 years being considered one of the greatest NBA players of his time, and still never receiving championship gold, King James took his talents from his home at Cleveland to create a supposed Basketball superpower with the Miami Heat in 2011. Upon doing so, America collectively lost its minds and ostracized him for basically doing everything he could to get a ring, save for just staying with Cleveland and slugging it out with them until the age of Ohio 2015/2016.

( OH Dont worry...we’re getting to that !! ) 

That would’ve taken him 10 years, but apparently L-Jeezey wasn’t trying to wait that long. Enter the ardor of America and the largest 3 point shooter in the world, Dirk Nowitski. Ironic that the nations savior from the supposedly elitist Lebron James , was a man from Germany. And as punishment for drawing heat onto the heat, ( see what I did there ) losing in game 6 though being heavily favored. The fact that Lebron was the main character of the league that year, but was a decided heel or badguy, the end of the season shouldn’t end with him winning the championship until America could get their collective minds around getting together to support their “ King.” 

2. Cubs vs Indians - World Series 2016 - Non-scripted Greatness

The Age of Ohio would end on a somewhat sour note, with the Chicago Cubs finally ending their 108 year championship drought, defeating the Indians away at Progressive Stadium. The story would end sweetly for the away team, but don’t forget that the Indians became the most loveable losers of the year just making the World Series and taking it to a game 7 , after the Cleveland Cavs won the NBA championship and the Ohio State Buckeyes won the CFP National Title the year prior. I would’ve called scripted had the Indians Won, but in this case, since the Brown and Blue Jackets didn’t join them in playoff contention, I’ll leave the scripting to Lebron and them....Speaking of which.

3. 2016 Cleveland Cavs vs Golden State Warriors NBA Finals - Likely Scripted

Just look at this face...

I just can’t take it. One year prior, and one Kyree Irvin short, Steph Curry made convincing work of the Cavs in the NBA finals 2015 to become World Champions. One year later, and the Cavs appear primed to take same L against an even better Golden State Team and even better shooting Steph Curry, only to come back from a 3-1 deficit - the first ever in NBA Finals History ( Obviously ) to win the Title 4-3 in game 7. He left to get a ring in Miami and looked like this...

Thats was his FIRST... in 2016 it was his 3rd. Cleveland didn’t mean nearly so much in 2012 and 2013 huh? I call scripting....and bad cry acting...

4. Brett Farve does it for his dad - 2003 - Non Scripted Greatness

As far as scripting goes, I don’t think its in good taste to really do this.... its also the 2003 Oakland Raiders. No offense, but they weren’t great back then...

So one day after his father’s death via stroke or possible heart attack, Brett Farve makes the gutsy decision to lead his 9-5 playoff hunting Packers into Raider nation and puts on a clinic. 4 Touchdown passes for 399 yards later, and Mr. Cheese himself became his own version of a game of EA Sport’s Madden NFL. But he didn’t do it alone. 

“I talked to the receivers before the game and told them ‘Anything he throws, we catch,” said Packers wideout Donald Driver. “I don’t care what it is — behind us, over our head, if we have to get on a ladder or jump on a guy’s shoulder, we’re going to catch the ball.”

With determination and support like that under these circumstances, a legend like Brett Farve couldn’t really lose.

5. New Orleans Saints vs. Chicago Bears 2007 NFC Championship- Missed Booking Opportunity 

So in favor of Tony Dungy vs Lovey Smith in the Superbowl ( which doesn’t bother me mind you...) The New Orleans Saints would get an Espy award for one of the Greatest Moments in Sports as they defeat the then undefeated Atlanta Falcons in the Superdome for the first time since the devestating Hurricane Katrina. They would then go on to lose the NFC championship game against the Chicago Bears, destroying the possibility to call for a good story for Burbon St. How awesome would it have been for the city that dealt with one of the worst natural disasters this country would collectively face in years, to come back and become World Champions the very next season when the Superdome would be reopened. 

6. Possible Future Endeavors

Looking for a good story? Here are some possibilities for the upcoming sports season:

-Draft Deshawn Watson to the Cleveland Browns , they make it to the Playoffs but lose to the Dallas Cowboy who go on to their first Superbowl since the 90s.

- Rematch for the World Series where the Indians win in game 5

- Oklahoma City Thunder Defeats the Golden State Warriors to go to the Finals where they defeat a shocking Miami Heat resurgence. 

[sounds-offire]

3 Life Goals you Shouldn’t Kick Yourself For Not Accomplishing

So I was listening to an episode of one of my favorite podcasts in which a journalist that I greatly admire was making podcast gold on my itunes app like she always does. ( Thanks Anna!!! ) In this particular episode, Anna was interviewing a Buzzfeed writer named Tracy Clayton who gained a measure of conscious notoriety for a series of Twitter posts about her goals for the new year; things like getting her finances in order, doing grown up things, like purchasing new furniture, and preparing herself for the possibility of a new relationship and children which she confessed, she’s been scared to admit she wants. 

Because goodness knows THIS isn’t scary to ACTUALLY have to deal with!

All jokes aside, its an understandable thing to have such goals in life. While her career is apparently going brilliantly, there’s nothing wrong to want things like more financial stability, a healthy romance, fulfilling family life with your kids, and overall satisfaction on a level that can’t always be measured in dollars and cents. 

This being said, there’s a reason why these things can logically be considered      “ Life Goals “ , as many such things take a lifetime to achieve or we may find that these things get blocked because, to quote Boris B.  “ life gets in the way “ . And get in the way it does, like a computerized hurdle controlled by the cast of Impractical Jokers.

Now….go again and this time, do it BACKWARDS!!!!

With this in mind, for all those goal oriented folks out there who are seeking the higher form of stepping their individual games up, here are 3 things that you shouldn’t kick yourself for if you haven’t quite made it yet. 

1. HAVING YOUR DREAM JOB

I mentioned a while back about how there are some things that people, the media and Disney movies will tell you to do with your life. One of which is to chase your dreams. Pursue your passion. Don’t waste your life doing the status quo! Stuck in a dead end job? Give your boss the what for and blow that popcorn stand in a film worthy resignation and become the bird man you knew you were born to be. 

Oh…but you’re wearing THAT tie Bird-Man? 

The problem with accomplishing ones dreams is that in the real world it takes significant work to see them come to fruition and stay fertile. Think of how many people saw Kobe Bryant, and Lebron James and thought “ I’m good enough that I can go straight from high school to the NBA too!“ and never got signed.  Or spent their rent money to travel to Chicago to try out for American Idol thinking they’d become the next Fantasia Barrino but never made it past the initial qualifying round. And how about all those who pursued an acting career only to get spots as extras in  Kraft cheese commercials or bus passengers behind Tyrese when he sang to a can of Cocacola? 

Okay…so there wasn’t a can, but you get the drift….

The point is, that while having a dream is all well and good, and accomplishing said dream is great, and getting paid ridiculous sums of money to do what you love is short of a dog gone act of congress, especially if you don’t come from a wealthy background. 

Generally speaking, if you’re not part of the 1% you never really get the chance to pursue your dreams while taking care of yourself or your family, or at best those who DO chase their dream job, have to work the job they hate while chasing. 

“Why shouldn’t I kick myself for being stuck at my dead end job” you might ask? Because the fact that you work a job you hate doesn’t make you a failure, infact if you still do that job well and take care of yourself and your family, CONGRATULATIONS! You’re doing better than alot of people who A. don’t have a job, or B. have had jobs, but because they hate their jobs they don’t do well enough to keep said jobs. Its an unfair part of life that most of us have to spend a third of our lives away from our loving families surrounded by people we may dislike while doing something that turns our brains to puree chitterlings  - all of this just to afford the basic human necessities of life ( and possibly to be able to get to the end of the week and still be able to afford a taco. ) Honestly, many of you work jobs that make you feel like you’re being punished for something you did. The fact that you suck it up and do your responsibilities is a seemingly minimum requirement of life, that you should give yourself a huge pat on the back for. 

Good job Craig…you’re an Adult!

2. HAVING A BETTER SOCIAL STATUS

So you’re finally out of high school, and now that you are older you’ve broken free of the need to have the approval of your peers, right? Well…maybe. 

Everyone wants to be liked, and if you enjoy doing things ( as most of us do ) you might find that many of them are more enjoyable when you invite a bunch of friends along. Be it Superbowl parties, Madden Tournaments, Wedding receptions, camping trips,  card parties, game nights, Moth Hours, dust ball rolling, you name it, theres a 60% chance its more fun with a gang. And its also enjoyable to commemorate your most fun experiences via social media so everyone else can see how much fun you’re having and comment about how nice you look, how happy they are for you, how cute your kids are or how fun what you’re doing seems. Sure it feels great! Infact there are literal chemical reactions in your brain that are triggered when people like and comment on your posts, so there’s a rush to have the most interesting and noteworthy posts amongst your twitter followers. But its all just fun and games, right?  Well…not exactly. 

You see even though teenagers run the table as far as pointless clicks to make sure you feel left out, adults have cornered the market on pettiness and inventive ways to make us feel bad about ourselves. Be it them talking about how much money you make, or what you do ( or don’t do ) for a living, where you went to college ( IF you went to college ) the house or neighborhood you live in, you physical appearance, clothes, weight, age, and even about your personal family relationships like how you and your spouse get along or how you raise your kids.

Oh don’t worry…we’re getting to that part, we are GETTING THERE…

But as realistic people we understand that the real world is about people doing the things they need to do to take care of themselves as opposed to hoping others will do it for them. So stuff like being at every big gathering or party, having a large number of friends on facebook, comments on instagram, followers of your snapchat or readers of your tumblr blog really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. 

Tumblr blog???

Its also good to keep in mind that everyone has some sort of social struggle or skeleton in their closet and for every fault or flaw they try to point out of you, they are likely covering up one of their own, even if that is simply the flaw of living solely off of popularity and the approval of other people. So they might be on trips and cruises with their kids, wearing the latest fashions, and receiving the most comments on their posts. But when it all comes down to it, where would they be, if no one was there to make them feel important by virtue of just being a decent person? But for those of us who can live vicariously through ourselves (see what I did there? ) and don’t need the glitz and glam of social popularity, we never have to kick ourselves for not being everybody else’s next big thing.

3.BEING IN A RELATIONSHIP / HAVING CHILDREN

And finally getting to the family picture.

I told you this was coming, didn’t I? 

Nothing says “ I made it “ in life quite like settling down with a person who apparently liked you enough to commit some large portion of their actual life to you. Unlike a job or career choice, this is something that in most people’s lives comes first, above all else. And because of that, to find someone who wants to treat YOU as their number one, its a doggone good feeling, and everyone generally likes to see it. 

Having children is seen often times as the obvious next step, once you have the education, career, and spouse the next logical thing to do is raise children so that everyone has one more thing to admire you for.

“ Oh! Look how cute their baby is!” “ Oh look how mature he is for just being a teenager!” “ OH! Look how beautifully she’s grown up to be a decent member of society!” “ OH! Look at your beautiful grand kids!” 

Its a generally simplistic roller coaster ride from the cradle to the grave and along the way people ooh and ahh at your romantic and genetic accomplishments. Besides all that, there are the personally fulfilling aspects of family and kids. The crush, dating phase, proposal, wedding and honeymoon allow the recently romantically linked to enjoy all the butterflies and puppy love that a new relationship brings. The children add the additional fulfillment that many people need to feel like a grown man or woman and seeing the kids grow up and do good in their lives and the lives of their own future families is enough to make any parents chest swell with pride like a Frigate Bird. 

Thats my boy!

But wait just a minute, because relationships and children are far from simply a status symbol, a way to get out of the house or make us feel more mature or fulfilled, they take serious SERIOUS work and anyone who things its something that you need to do to accomplish some sort of need inside you is clearly unable to see the forest from the rest of the stinking planet! In any good relationship one of the most important keys is a self-LESS attitude. One that puts the needs and desires of ones spouse or mate ahead of themselves as opposed to going into the relationship looking for what they can get. And everyone knows that raising children is not only about putting their needs and desires ahead of your own, but you even need to be careful that what they want doesn’t overshadow what they need, and get somehow confused because we are simply tired of listening to them whine. 

Fine you can play with the matches! Just stop it!

Its also important to keep in mind that to great single people apart can be a terrible couple together. So the idea that one needs to simply have someone should never be confused with having the RIGHT person. And while trying not to be too cliche’ it truly is better to be alone, than to be with the wrong person. 

So what if you haven’t found the right person? Well, it hardly needs to be said, but THATS OKAY! It truly doesn’t have to mean that you are unattractive, immature or unlovable, though for some of us it could mean there are certain things we may need to work on. It also may mean we should try and get out more, but all in all, it simply means that if you are single, you are not stuck in a bad relationship. Please keep that in mind. If there is one thing that I haven’t bitten as a phrase from someone else in my 32 years of life ( and to be honest I style bite pretty often )  I have always had the idea in my mind that “ Everyone has an opportunity and everyone has a choice “ , and when it comes to relationships everyone must do whats right for them, and if being in a relationship with me is really NOT right for them, they have the decision, and yes, the RESPONSIBILITY to do whats right for them and turn the other way. Does it mean there’s something wrong with me? ABSOLUTELY NOT. ( unless there really is, but thats a topic for another blog ) But it does mean that their choice is simply that - theirs. And I should never kick myself for them making a decision with their own life. 

SoF

[sounds-offire]

3 More Often Used Phrases that Need Tweaking

In a recent Sounds of Fire blog, I recently said a bunch of stuff about phrases that alot of people use that don’t exactly roll through the brain as easily as it does the tongue. And I’ve found a few more. ( AHA!! ) Something I’ve noticed about some phrases that people swear their lives by, is that they have significantly more limited application than people might think they are able to really get usage out of. 

“An apple a day huh?”....well right about now this girl looks like she NEEDS a doctor...

The result is that , where people might think that they are bettering themselves and their lives by following this counsel, they instead get drenched by a wave of unsatisfied expectations after societal standards drives their 84 Cadillac and runs over one of these literary mud puddles.... 

1. THE BEST WAY TO FIND LOVE IS NOT TO LOOK FOR IT. 

We live in a world engulfed by irony. Being nice to people often makes them walk all over you. Speaking up for yourself makes you look like a bully. Girls in high school date jerks. Robotnik can outrun Sonic at the end of Scrap Brain Zone. Plenty of irony in the world. But how maddening a trial of life, when someone who longs for a mate or spouse, can’t find one, and the solution is to stop looking... The counter intuition can’t be understated. But is that truly the solution? 

In society, we are taught that to get a job, you have to put in applications, to make friends you have to meet people and be a friend, and to find food, you need to go and hunt a deer.

You better leave me alone...

At no point in life are we reasonably taught that what you want is only found by sitting back and waiting for it to fall in our laps. This is not to say that love doesn’t happen that way at all. Plenty of people have had love find them while they weren’t expecting it, largely due to the fact that the person that they met came up to them. 

So they were looking...Nope, not necessarily. Sometimes two people find each other attractive after shared experiences. Office romances. Best friends in high school. Co-stars in action movies. All of these situations can lead to a relationship. But thats not to say that the reason they started is because they weren’t looking. They just had the right circumstances. But the pursuit doesn’t become a problem until you become this girl...

You see there’s a point where trying to find love for oneself becomes an obsession that robs a person of their joy in life, and blinds them to the               intro personal qualities that make a person a good partner. Things like patience, contentment, forbearance, empathy and the like. You simply can’t force a relationship out of thin air. Or more specifically, you can’t make anyone love you if they don’t. A better phrase would be:

"VISIBLE OBSESSION ISN’T ATTRACTIVE”

Lets just take the idea of solutions out of the equation. No one has been guaranteed to find someone. That is an unfortunate fact of life. However, the odds are that there is someone out there for everyone when you contemplate the sheer magnitude of people in the world. But for those of us who are feeling particular longing for affection and companionship , its important to resist the urge to make ones loneliness and desperation a topic of discussion as it may repel a would-be suitor.  At the same time, staying at home avoiding human contact, or even more normally just going about life hoping that love will somehow fall on our heads like bird poo , might find your chances of finding someone are in no way increased...

2. A MISTAKE MADE MORE THAN ONCE IS A CHOICE

So I knew a person who had a tendency to find themselves often in relationships with the wrong person overall. They constantly found the most selfish, controlling and hotheaded people to fall in love with. At a point, you think to yourself “ You must really like abuse! “ Believe it or not, they don’t.

I know this might come as a surprise, but this makes me unhappy...

Something that many of us can’t understand is why a person who appears to be completely sane would knowingly go through any form of persistent negativity. Sometimes a person may stay in a toxic relationship with friends, lovers or even family. At times its because of conflicting emotions, financial support, low self esteem, etc. Because it doesn’t make sense to us, it might be easy to render a tough judgement on such ones. 

In other cases, we might assume that a person who makes an honest error in judgement will recognize such, and never make that mistake again. This also goes against imperfect human tendencies. Granted some people are just very attuned to details and never make bad judgement decision more than once, such as over cooking chicken, forgetting to pay a bill, or over drafting a bank account. But everyone isn’t like that. At times a person might say something unintentionally offensive...more than once... does it mean they choose to offend on the regular? Not necessarily....A better way to phrase it is...

“THINK BEFORE YOU ACT ( OR SPEAK )”

There are waaaaay too many people actually out there hurting people on purpose for us to point at besides our friends, families and well wishers. Our relationships will be so much better if we can assume that any mistake made is simply that - a mistake, and that no one would choose to do something intentionally to hurt us, annoy us, or sabotage our goals. 

But what about people who don’t try to better their negative situations? Once again, to offer the idea that they choose to or even enjoy verbal or physical abuse, being objectified or unappreciated, or taken advantage of likely doesn’t move them to change their circumstances. At the same time, a person in those circumstances can not rightly blame anyone else for the decisions they make. This includes the toxic relationships that they have to endure. Yes, the assailant has some measure of responsibility, but if we are all adults, and capable of reasonably taking care of ourselves, at least a portion of blame lies with ourselves and our own inability to make the choice to move on with our lives.

3. APOLOGIZING DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN YOU’RE WRONG AND THE OTHER PERSON IS RIGHT. IT JUST SIMPLY MEANS YOU VALUE YOUR RELATIONSHIP MORE THAN YOUR EGO.

I’ve mentioned this one in my last post about winning arguments . Lets go ahead and get this disclaimer out of the way. Apologizing is a good thing to do. I am not at all against saying the words “I’m sorry” and meaning it, if someone’s feelings are hurt because of something you did. I am also not against owning up to one’s mistakes.

“Sorry I smashed your frog Jimmy.”  “Its okay Tommy. Sorry I put him into your glass of orange juice.” 

However there is a notable reasoning that gets lost with this phrase. It is true that apologizing to maintain the peace in a relationship is supposedly the bigger, more grown up thing to do. But so is leaving an argument because its pointless. So is not responding to an idiot. So is not fighting a bully because he’s not worth getting suspended in high school. So is not trying to prove your point because the truth speaks for itself. What do all these scenarios have in common? That from the outside looking in , anyone can see the obvious benefit to not returning aggression for aggression. In these situations, the person who appears passive actually looks smarter than the aggressor and thereby secures their ego. 

What’s wrong with that you might ask? Because thats not the impression thats given with the phrase “ it means you care more about your relationship than your ego.” Anyone can compromise their ego for the benefit of the relationship. But when you say “I’m sorry” when you know you’re not its merely letting the other person win the argument, not necessarily showing the other person that you care more about their feelings or this relationship than to defend yourself. And because no one can read minds, in any given situation the “guilty” party might often just be a moron in the other person’s eyes since they’ve never been convinced that anything they say in opposition could ever be wrong. 

“Babe , you’re right. I’m sorry...” “ It’s okay baby.... just remember that I’m always right, and we won’t keep having this problem.” 

Can a person’s ego ruin a relationship? Ofcoarse! Can the incessant need to vindicate oneself create unnecessary tension? Absolutely! But in a world where apologizing simply doesn’t always mean you’re wrong, but it should be understood that you should apologize if you ARE wrong... they don’t leave any room for the times in which you don’t apologize BECAUSE DOG GONE IT YOU’RE RIGHT!!!! A better solution or phrase would be...

“LOVE DOESN’T HAVE TO WIN EVERY ARGUMENT”.

Some things are simply arguments with no solution. Taylor Swift or Katy Perry. Coke or Pepsi. Why did it end in a church? 

Some things are unnecessary. Who’s turn is it to take the out the trash? Why didn’t you pick up milk on the way home? Will you change the baby’s diaper? Will you dry the dishes? 

But then there are notable arguments in which an understanding needs to be made so that everyone is on the same page.  I don’t like the way you spoke to my father. You never listen to me. You always put your friends first. Our children don’t respect me. 

For these latter arguments, the battle needs to be won, but it needs to be won together. You can’t simply let your mate or friend assume in their mind that you don’t care for them if you’ve shown countless times that you do. Even during an oversight, thats simply unfair. No, you don’t have to take issue with every time someone slights you via accusation, but conceding to falsehoods all the time doesn’t make you more loving, it makes you guilty by admission. 

SoF

[sounds-offire]

5 Unfair Life Hacks Used Just to Win an Argument

  So back in 2005 the term “Life Hack” was coined describing the way IT professionals get things done outside of work. Trying to be more efficient and productive. Life Hacking even has a website that has found its way into mainstream lifestyles for those of us who don’t work in IT for things like saving money, raising our children, staying healthy and what poker can teach you about life . ( seriously…they have that…)

Can these four letters change your life?

But even more sought after in social interactions than fame, money, or a good web scripting algorithm, is the ability to win an argument. The fact that so many are so bent on winning arguments has spawned a plethora of ideas related to winning them. Be it from the losers:

or from the reigning champions…

But what makes a consistent winner of arguments? Well, here are some unfair advantages that the experts know and use…

1. EMOTIONAL BLACK MALE 

Is your spouse not budging on what movie you’re going to watch tonight? Is your mom or dad not letting you get your way where the other parent will? Is your best friend choosing between spending the day with you and with your rival the OTHER best friend? 

Do it! Choose now or we will break it off!!!

When tensions get high and patience runs thin, there is no more direct way to get what you want than to pull on the heart strings of those who care the most about you. This unfair argument hack demands that the victim puts themselves, reasoning ability and even good common sense to the back burner in favor of giving you whatever you want.

UNFAIR LEVEL : 5 - AVERAGE Its unfair because it assumes that this person’s love, loyalty and affection is to be demonstrated specifically by conceding to the demands of someone else and that any lack of obedience means that you lack any concern and are not truly a loving mate, parent or friend. In the case of the kids, its even worse if you are pitting the parents against each other as now one is challenging them both to try and possibly compete for the child’s affection but acquiescing to his every beck and call. 

2. GOOD TIMING

Any good battle strategist knows that how you strike is only beneficial if you know WHEN to strike. Like a lion on the prowl in a heard of buffalo, a frontal attack is often not the best way to score your prey. But a surprise assault is a near insurmountable challenge. 

In a similar way, picking a a fight means knowing when best to catch your opponent off guard. Are you dealing with a person who is easily rattled? Bring up how they never help you clean or do groceries or laundry while they are busy doing something totally unrelated. They will never be able to think of when the last time they actually DID help out. Do you want something that they would ordinarily not do for you if they get a chance to think about the consequences? Spring it on them with a sense of urgency, perhaps right as they leave for work or school.

Another timing hack is to attribute a consequence for something unrelated to make an invalid point. So say that you don’t like the girls your wife hangs out with. She goes out with her and while they are at their favorite restaurant, she eats something that wasn’t prepared correctly and comes home with a stomach virus. You reply “ I told you not to go out with those girls tonight. That wouldn’t have happened if you just listened to me. “ 

“People who don’t spend all their time going out with the guys don’t slip and fall on ice!”

The consequence technically did come from the action, but the reasoning wasn’t sound. Using that to one’s advantage is a dirty way to get under someone’s skin…more about that later. 

UNFAIR LEVEL : 6 : AVERAGE These unfair hacks play on a person’s inability to come up with a decent counter argument and to give your argument an unfair advantage. Time also will pass and if they bring it up after the fact, then you get to use the next part of this vicious argument Hack…

3 CALLING OUT A PERSON’S PETTINESS

Once I was upset about something a coworker said to me in a fit of rage at work. I told my wife about it and she could see that I was really boiling inside… She says “ you should say something about that tomorrow”…but it was already too late. As I knew that my pettiness would be exposed when she finds that this situation happened nearly a month ago. I was simply reminded about it a month later, but never got the chance to address it. And this is a clever trick for argument winners. Start a fight and say things that make people so angry, but at the same time, make people think for a while after the argument is over. Why would they bring it up then? 

By the time he gets the guts to confront me about this, I’ll have already eaten him….

Another way people call your pettiness bluff is by ending the argument. This could be the single most diabolical way to hack an argument in your favor, as it suggests that the wiser and likely more correct person realizes that this argument is pointless and walks away. Timing is a huge key as well in this, since you have to wait until your opponent has already begun vaunting worth all of their points to show why they are right. Then while they are caught off guard, you end the argument without having to mount any offense. 

UNFAIR LEVEL : 8 : ADVANCED In these situations you are using societal’s counter intuitive advice to cope with ignorance from a person who’s not only NOT ignorant at all, but is actually counteracting your OWN ignorance.Using such reasoning against someone else is not only selfish but it invalidates the principles that came up with this OTHER form of advanced unfair argument hacking….

4  SAYING “I’M SORRY “ OR SAYING THE OTHER PERSON IS RIGHT

Lets not get ahead of ourselves. A good classy person knows that apologizing or admitting when another has a valid point is the right thing to do, and at times,  it may be beneficial or even shrewd to give the benefit of the doubt and concede to the other person’s point. Saying sorry in a hostile situation is disorienting, like being nice to a bully. But its not always a bad practice…

You don’t have to beat me up today Joey, here why don’t I buy you lunch?

On the other hand, the type of apologizing or saying “ you’re right “ that I’m referring to is not the nice kind. Its the sarcastic way. The way that says, this fight is over because I just said you’re right, but I’m ripping all the satisfaction of your vindication away from this situation…

UNFAIR LEVEL : 9 : ADVANCED

This kind of unfair argument hacking is much like the last, using societal counter intuition to freeze your opponents brain a bit. Couple this with reasonings like this: 

….and you’ve now made yourself look like the good guy on paper, de-vindicated your opponent, and encouraged him to concede defeat in future arguments for reasons that really border on future emotional blackmail. You’ve essentially done all 4 hacks at the same time by using this reasoning against a person simply because you know you don’t have a leg to stand on.

5. PUSHING BUTTONS

The ultimate argument hack.  In a last ditch effort, one might resort to derogatory statements, true or untrue, simply to get under the other’s skin enough to cause them to say or do something that negates anything good that they would’ve contributed to the discussion. An accomplished argument hacker will bank on getting their opponent mad enough to say or do something so bad, that words are said that can’t be taken back, that feelings are hurt to the point that the argument itself is rendered moot, and that at the end no one knows what the argument was even about. 

A line has just been crossed…

UNFAIR LEVEL :10 -  CATASTROPHIC 

In all seriousness, this is something people often do that is truly unfair to your friends and loved ones and even to the relationship in general. On the one hand, no one should ever get so involved and angry in an argument to resort to physical actions or hurtful words. That is a line that should never be crossed. But at times, in the home, with our friends, in the work place… many people will dare you to do just that. To cross that line. To say the things you can’t take back. To do the things you can’t undo. Some people are truly petty and winning an argument using underhanded means is how they demonstrate such. All of us like to be the victor, and its unfortunate that when we can’t see eye to eye, conceding out of love isn’t the first, second or even third option…. from either side of the coin, in situations where ‘winning the argument’ is the most important point…. we all lose….

SoF

[sounds-offire]

4 Things People Purposefully Say Incorrectly to Make A Point

Imagine you’re at work and its Monday morning during the first scheduled break and you and your coworkers are gathered at the water cooler or the coffee pot or the round tablet discussing the weekend’s activities. 

Didst thou see Gossip Girl on Saturday’s eve? Becky is such a naive!!!

Chelsea says the story goes that when Taylor came to the office party saturday night she brought her new boyfriend.  ( you didn’t go to the office party because you were watching the Louisville/Kentucky game....or something else much more important ...) Well Derrick from Accounts Payable is Taylor’s ex, and was highly upset to see Taylor there with her new man. And that was ultimately it...except that thats not it. Because he didn’t just get mad. He blew up...like he LITERALLY BLEW UP!!!! 

Which brings us to our first point. 

1. USING THE WORD “LITERALLY” FOR SOMETHING FIGURATIVE

We are a society of one uppers and sensationalists. We go top shelf on everything to make sure that our story is the best, the most intriguing, the one that everyone is still talking about when they go back to their cubicles. So its not enough to say that Scott walked quickly from his office to the fax machine, or that the McDonald’s coffee burned our lip, or that Derrick was upset and embarrased. Nope we have to say:

“Scott flew across the room”, “ My mouth is on fire! “ “ Derrick blew up! “ 

Those are figures of speech. Metaphors if you will. None of that stuff actually happened, and no one actually felt the need to take it literally.... And so now people must take it to the next level, because metaphors are soooo 2004. We have to add in the operative word “ Literally “. By definition ‘literal’ means “ taking words in their usual or most basic sense without metaphor or allegory “. Which means that when you say that your mouth was literally on fire, that means:

And people know that this is the actual use of the word. But we assume, in that moment, that more emphasis is made to the figure of speech by adding in the hyperbole. However it is LITERALLY the opposite of its intended purpose and we LITERALLY did it purposely wrong...LITERALLY on purpose!!!! But thats not even the worst offense of doing something speech related wrong on purpose. Because when it comes to just using words you might find that people will debate about how they come out just to make a point. Points like...

2. THOSE WORDS SOUND NOTHING ALIKE.

So I have this recurring problem at tacobell. My wife has indoctrinated me into using fire sauce on my entrees instead of the mild sauce I raised myself on. And I love it. So the other day, like many days where I run from my office and cry in the car for my lunch break, and comfort myself on ground beef, cheese and tortillas ( cuz thats basically EVERYTHING at tacobell ) the lady at the window asks “ do you need sauce ? “ I reply “ yes, fire “ She smiles, sticks some sauce in my bag of ground and melted calories and send me on my way to finalize the last 12 minutes of my lunch break which I spent more than half of in line at tacobell. I look into the bag and what do I find? Mild sauce. 

I literally blew up!!! (See what I did there? )

I immediately rage at my boss about my lunch experience, ruined by one or two few crushed red peppers in my packet of gum oil, corn syrup and lighter fluid. 

How could she have gotten that wrong?! I asked for fire sauce! FIRE SAUCE! She gives me MILD?! Those things sound NOTHING alike!!!

But wait... let’s back up for a moment. Because this is kind of like the word literally. Just as much as we use the term literal when the literal definition of “literal” is the opposite of figurative, which is what we were doing. To say with such vehemence the the words Mild and Fire sound nothing alike is fundamentally wrong as the word ‘rhyme’ is defined as “ correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words..” The long “ i “ sound in both fire and mild IS the corresponding sound. I just chose to ignore that...ON PURPOSE! 

Y’know, we are a very funny society. We presume that because something is simplistic, making a mistake in that vein will always be that simply overlooked with few consequences if we do it, but an absolutely horrific fail if someone does it and is being paid to do it. So take something simple like, drinking water. I’m pretty sure we can all do that. But what if we were paid to drink water at a frequency relative to that of a person who takes and delivers orders at a drive through window. Now on average a Starbucks drive through gets roughly 24 cars an hour based on a recent Quora post. Thats one every 2 minutes roughly. Imagine that you must drink a cup of water every two minutes for 4 - 7 hours straight ( with a 30 minute lunch break ). What are the odds that you wont sneeze while trying to sip, dribble a bit on to your chin, or choke on an individual bead of water that slides down your throat when you werent expecting it once during your shift? Now do this every day for five days a week. Through every condition imaginable.

Went down the wrong pipe...

 Logicially its not fair to assume perfection from anyone, even when its your order that you paid for. But we are a perfectionist society when it comes to spending our hard earned money that our bosses and customers gave us while also demanding perfection. But because I can’t fathom paying for something that didn’t have everything I wanted, I force reason out the window by assuming that the words “ mild “ and “ fire “ don’t sound alike and thats not a viable mistake. But thats not the half of it. Because not only do two reasonably rhyming words not sound alike...

3. THOSE COLORS LOOK NOTHING ALIKE

Okay...now I’m picking on my decorators...because most normal guys can’t see this in such a way as to make a determination without being given paint color samples with labels from LOWES. But when you need something done, you need to give the person who did it wrong to assume that its an obvious blunder that a blind man could’ve figured out. For most of us, we can tell the differences in color from the three primaries. red , yellow, and blue. Anything in between those colors must be on the opposite side to not have any possible match. Not true if you’re working for a decorator.  But lets just prove our point. Now...This is Magenta. 

This is Pink...

And this is Salmon...( I thought it was just a fish..)

When you look at them like this... they do have apparent differences. Now without looking at the samples, look at them on the warm color palette.

Guys will lose this battle more times than you will get hit by a blue shell in Mario Kart. You probably can’t even tell if Salmon is a cool or warm color anymore. But offer to buy paint for the renovation project and trust your middle aged manly eyeball without the color sample to pick up Snowball vs Pith to paint your white walls...

What in the world is a Pith? 

But it all comes to a head... because whats in a name? I’ll show you. 

4. WHATEVER HIS(HER) NAME IS

Your best friend is Doug. Doug doesn’t like your new best friend Kyle. Kyle is a simple name to remember if you spend all day talking about how much you hate this person. Doug constantly brings up his hatred and now is ready to speak of this again. You know how it goes...

“ I can’t figure out how in the world you can stand hanging out with Kyle, or Kevin, or Carl or whatever his name is. “

Wait, what? 

Thats right...yes he DID just say Kyle’s name correctly. He does it all the time. Then he messes it back up....twice in a row...ON PURPOSE. 

Our name is arguably our most identifying characteristic. Its the way we are notified of interesting things. Its how we introduce ourselves to future friends, colleagues and well wishers. And its the first thing to go, if you want someone to know that you don’t like them. 

“ Hi Becky! “ “ Oh hi Karen, its great to see you!” “ Umm...my name is Crystal “ ...”Oh, okay... Whatever...”  

This is the way we solidify disdain publicly. When you get a name wrong accidentally, that a minor offense. Try it again next time. But when you get it right, the only way to drum up the drama, is to immediately incorrect it, multiple times, and then make a blanket statement of disregard of the person’s identity by saying “ WHATEVER “ .  Its the tried and true method. It lets everyone know that you care not for Mark, or Matt or Michael or whatever his name is...

SoF

[sounds-offire]

3 People that exist ( in theory )

Possible recap alert... the three topics listed here have been expressed to a degree in detail. There are a lot of “ real “ people in the world as well as the self proclaimed “ real people “. 

“The objectification of women and promulgation of a debauched lifestyle is not a societal standard....”

But more often than not, we hear of people that exist through various personality traits and characterizations and that at times, only those traits can be spoken of. The people who actually exhibit those traits, or who would be a noted foil in comparison, tend to be as easy to find as the Yeti.

So I polled a group of my closest friends. Those who I dub “ My Favorite People In The World “ or...  MFPITW or “mifpitwa”.

Now make me say it backwards!!!

Afterwards, I compiled their thoughts and came up with a general consensus of their theories on these three theoretical personality types. 

1.THE SHAMELESS AGGRESSOR

This person may not exist...in theory. The shameless aggressor. This person is the type that hates you because you’re prettier than she is, because you wear clothing that fits you better, because you listen to country music, or because you know where to find both Dorie and Nemo. 

Rage inducing...

Now, typically the manner in which their hatred is administered is by sly remarks, lies and half truths spread, But how many of these people actually come up and just say “ Hey, we are wearing the same dress and your butt is taking everybody else’s attention from me. I hate you. I’ve always hated you. And I will always hate you. “

You attractive jerk....

Not too many I’m sure. This personality type likely would not exist at all. On the other hand, the petty people who actually have those feelings and never express them would love for you to think that if they DID feel that way, despite how ridiculous it is, they would still say it openly. They will use phrases like “If I have a problem with you, I’d say it to your face. “ or “ I don’t hate anyone, but if I don’t like you I have no problem telling you. “ or “ If the bull has horns I’m gonna grab them... “ Okay maybe not that last one. The point is, the shameless aggressor has shame, otherwise we would hear alot more petty complaints openly. Therefore, this person likely does not exist anywhere except for episodes of Love and Hiphop.

I was supposed to wear those shoes to the cook out!!!!

2. STEREOTYPES

Chuck Klosterman once said:” We all hate stereotypes. Seriously, we hate them. Except that we don't. We adore stereotypes, and we desperately need them to define who we are or who we are not. People need to be able to say things like, all stereotypes are based on ignorance, because expressing such a sentiment makes them enlightened, open-minded, and incredibly unpleasant. Meanwhile, their adversaries need the ability to say such things as, like it or not, all stereotypes are ultimately based in some sort of reality, because that kind of semi-logic can justify their feelings about virtually anything. And here's what I suspect is the truth. Neither side is correct. Stereotypes are not based on fact, and they are not really based on fiction. Whenever a given stereotype seems right or wrong, it's inevitably a coincidence. The world is a prejudiced place, but it's prejudiced for the weirdest, least meaningful reasons imaginable.”

These words are remarkably insightful. But it still begs the question.... do all black people love chicken and orange soda? Are all valley girls air heads? Etc. 

I’m like...tote’s smarter than people realize...

Chuck’s got a point. Likely neither are correct for an entire group of people. But does THAT guy exist? The guy that you can look at and read the book entirely from the cover. The man on the corner with sagging jeans, a scowl on his face- he’s gotta be a drug dealer right? The implant/injection laden reality tv star - she’s certainly egotistical and an insatiable attention vacuum right? The guy wearing the 3 piece suit, walking out of a 300,000 luxury car, with his super model wife and dollar bill ink bleeding from her eyes... is he a money loving, dog eat dog mentalist who’s only concern is finding a way to take the last $.43 out of your grandmothers 401K? 

Can you hear the faint maniacal laughter?

Its hard to say. There are a number of personality traits that you can suppose belong to a person from their demeanor or style of dress. Often times atleast one of them are wrong. Remember, a stereotype is based off one person’s experience with a specific class of people.So if their experience tells them that rich people are very generous...then that’s what he or she will believe. Does THAT person exist? Its very likely. Does the money demon also exist? Absolutely. Can you easily pick them out in a crowd?.... thats another story.  

3. UGLY PEOPLE

Let’s be a bit specific for a moment. There is a difference between ugly and unattractive. This will be discussed in more detail on another occasion. However in this blog, “ugly” refers specifically to people who aesthetically displeasing. Not the kinds of people who are simply not your type....but the people who are actually ugly. By definition “ ugly “ means :  very unattractive or unpleasant to look at; offensive to the sense of beauty; displeasing in appearance. 

Like this....THIS is ugly... #

But personal feelings will have many people feeling that no one in their family, circle of friends or anyone that they personal admire could possibly be ugly. But if they have an ugly attitude, or if they have ‘ ugly ‘ morals’ or values to someone, then they can be ugly. But what does that have to do with their physical features? It may be nothing. But tell that to your girlfriend’s bff about your ex...

I don’t know what Ryan saw in that supermodel Maria...she looks like a trash bag with eyes and ears...

Its like ugly only truly exists when its hurtful and useful to the person making the judgement. But is anyone actually ugly in such a way that’s purely objective? In most circles its not, as ‘ beauty is in the eye of the beholder “ and is typically looked at as being subjective. Like the term “ monster “ is a subjective term... for example, to a canary, a cat is a monster, and as B.D. Wong so eloquently put it once upon a time...

 “....we’re just used to being the cat...”

SoF

[sounds-offire]

3 often repeated phrases that need to be tweaked

Its said that you should walk a mile in someone else shoes before judging how they live their life. 

See...you don’t know...these might BE her new shoes...

And I get all that... but you will likely agree that most of the ways people choose to live, make about as much sence as braiding live wire, but its the way they have made it in their lives. They sum up various life styles and ways of dealing with things in often heard expressions. Some of these codes actually have a good meaning that you won’t get unless you live it....others.... not even the people who live it can explain it really. That being said...some of these codes are technically directed to their intent. Here are a few examples and some better ways to express the true meaning. 

1. YOU CAN BE HAPPY, OR YOU CAN BE RIGHT.

I was never able to fully understand this manner of thinking, but its something that many married people live by. Typically by the man. But its should be understood that in alot of cases of life both men and women will have to live with this code. Primarily when in a disagreement with someone who generally effects their lives on a regular basis, so spouses, coworkers, bosses, parents and the like. The impression you might get from this phrase is that you ACTUALLY have a choice between the two: Be wrong in this argument and be happy, or be right in this argument and be unhappy. Its the quintessential fork in the road, where it appears that you will always both win and lose, which in a world where 50/50 is  actually a rare occurrence , sounds like a pretty good deal. 

Go left , right, or say ‘ forget it ‘ and pound your head into the tree until you just stumble into one of the two directions. 

THIS PHRASE SHOULD REALLY SAY:

 “PROVING THAT YOU ARE RIGHT, WILL NOT GRANT YOU THE SATISFACTION OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT; IT MAY INSTEAD PROVOKE SPITE “. Happiness is not actually a factor. Its more of just picking the lesser of two evils.... a bruised ego, or misery...AND a bruised ego. And in the realm of relationships with significant others, proving that you are correct in an argument is basically a lose/lose situation of getting hit where it hurts the most for pointing out that your wife has started to act like her mother.

Left of right, head or gut!!!!!

2. I KNOW YOU CAN DO BETTER

I can’t think of another phrase that  supposedly under achieving students have heard from their parents more than this. And you’ve been there before...Your parents look at your report card and then storm in on you while you’re practicing your red ninja routine.

Gosh Dad! Its just AP Biology!!!!

And how do they respond? With those famous 6 words. The words that say “ I am fully aware of all your knowledge and abilities , therefore your lack of accomplishment offends and shames me as your parent, as I am certain that no child of mine is incapable of being a straight A student. “ That’s the more heart felt translation. Its purely subjective. And a bit narcissistic. Its true, the success of your child does weigh heavily on your role as a parent, so their lack of success reflects on your lack of good parenting. But that’s not entirely the case. Actually, things like a lack of motivation, lack of good organization, boredom, an unhealthy lifestyle and even a fear of failure can cause a child to perform poorly in school . Unfortunately , alot of parents assume that a child’s ability to learn how to play a complicated video game, manage various direct message conversations on instagram, keep up with a nightly Periscope broadcast and hack into the Pentagon means that they should be able to do things like pass calculus finals, write a 1500 word thesis on McBeth and research the cleavage of various minerals for earth science. 

This is what YOU looked like when you were in chemistry class...but you have such higher expectations for your kids. 

THIS PHRASE SHOULD REALLY SAY

“ You need to focus more. “

This phrase conveys a moderate understanding on how the brain works. Seeing as most often a parent will feel that the effort at things a child can do in their leisure should match the things they are assigned to do at school. But when that effort doesn’t appear to be given, it may be more accurate to assume that there needs to be more focus on the task.  So there may actually a different deficiency besides their focus, however you’ll better be able to tell what that is if you find them studying or doing homework when they get home every night and not practicing feats of arson.

“ If you have the time to set police cars on fire, you have time to do your geography report! “ 

3. YOU CAN’T GET YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO

Arguably the most confusing and seemingly backwards phrase in contemporary english language. The very notion that you are not allowed to eat the cake that you have has baffled minds for years. 

You can blow out the candle princess, but don’t you dare even lick the frosting.  

The idea behind this phrase gives the impression that you are not allowed or benefited by the use of an item for its intended purpose, like the “ send error report “ button when a windows program crashes, or like the suggestions box outside of Human Resources. 

Health benefits, a full lunch break, working heat, to do something about that smell in the women’s restroom ....

THE PHRASE SHOULD REALLY SAY

“You can’t eat your cake, and yet still have cake. “ 

Once again, most people had no idea what the ramifications of having cake that you couldn’t eat was. Likely it because the phrase is administered backwards. Reversing this lets us know that you essentially can’t have life both ways. You can’t get married and expect to live like a single person, or desire a baby, and yet not want to raise your child, you can’t want a job and not expect to have to work. 

You can’t fight Ryu and not expect to catch a full on Shinku Hadoken. 

The epitome of ‘grow up stupid ‘ smacks you in the face without ever having to use a different food than cake....cuz everyone loves cake; and if you’ve got cake, you might as well eat it. 

SoF

[sounds-offire]

Top 10 Sonic The Hedgehog Level Themes

Gotta believe that Sonic’s listening to the BGMs while in the stages on Beats By Dre.

 If you know me, you know that I have been a Sonic The Hedgehog fan for a number of reasons, but very high on the list, if not on the top, is because of its music. This blog will list my top 10 sonic the hedgehog level themes. With this in mind, remixes of previous themes in themselves will not be counted. So if a level has a bad original theme, their improved remix wont be used. So Sonic Generations most likely won’t be used at all since their musical palate is nothing but remixes. So here we go. 

#10 Final Fight Zone - Sonic 3D Blast (Genesis)

Jun Senoue; Tatsuyuki Maeda

The last level in Sonics first 3D platforming adventure is the first on our list. Sonic 3D blast has good themes generally throughout, but the final 4 part battle between Sonic and the artist formerly known as Dr. Robotnik stands out, starting with a soft faint set of echoing introductory notes, bringing in a soft triple beat then blending in the melody with sheer perfection. 

#9 The Machine - Sonic Spinball

https://youtu.be/e9Zzb1yu_x4

Composers

Howard Drossin; Brian Coburn; Barry Blum

This unique spinoff game that utilized that essence that started all the way back with Springyard Zone in Sonic 1 had some of the most unique music you’d hear in a sonic game and continued the tradition strong in “ The Machine.” 

The stage has interesting things to say about everything that happens while you play....

The intro of this theme immediately evokes the image of a high tech piece of machinery so its a very apt title for the stage which as you can see in the above picture, is a large machine. 

#8 Sky Sanctuary Zone - Sonic and Knuckles

Composer(s)Sachio Ogawa’ Tatsuyuki Maeda; Jun Senoue; Howard Drossin

https://youtu.be/oNXBpzDp1K8

After bouncing on giant dancing mushrooms, running away from ghosts in a tomb, hanging from the side of an airship, and sliding down a slope of lava while riding an iceburg, should it be any surprise that you’d find yourself teleported to a weathered, chlorophyll stained, vine laden stone structure floating on nothing?

Just another day at the office....

This stage intros with a beautiful series of notes that bring ideas of rising into the air for an important ceremony. The hook is the most powerful part of the song with momentous cords that almost give the impression of victory and the rest of the song rounds out beautifully with a unique bridge. 

#7 Terminal Velocity - Sonic Colors

Composer(s)Kenichi Tokoi Tomoya Ohtani Fumie Kumatani DJ White Shadow Hideaki Kobayashi Mariko Nanba Naofumi Hataya

Guitar riffs are the name of the game in this fast paced Sonic Colors fanale stage, as this is the last level before the final boss of the game, having Sonic running along a space station being chased by Eggman’s robots.. The unique blend of rock music with saxophones in the speed run of a stage are perfect from start to finish, and the guitar solo in the middle is a thing of beauty. 

#6 Starlight Zone - Sonic The Hedgehog

Composer(s)Masato Nakamura

https://youtu.be/RVAzxhh_cB8

The original game that introduced us to the anthropomorphic blue hedgehog gave us phenomenal musical gems of its time. The likes of which had never been heard before in a video game. Starlight Zone was what made me fall in love with Sonic in 1991. The name of the level was perfect and Nakamura gave us an audio look at what the stars look like while you’re running faster than the speed of sound. With innocent, yet appropriately sounding main theme notes and surprisingly soulful saxophone solo, the stars may not align, but they certainly shine. 

#5 Rooftop Run - Sonic Unleashed

Composer(s)Tomoya Ohtani Fumie Kumatani Kenichi Tokoi Hideaki Kobayashi Takahito Eguchi

The toe tapper of a level theme flawlessly blends more electric guitars with violins this time. And while I did say that the remixes of a song don’t influence its overall ranking, I have to say that every new iteration of this song is better than the last. They truly unleashed a music treat in 2008

Did he really just try that lame pun....?

#4 City Escape - Sonic Adventure 2 Battle

Performed by: Crush 40

https://youtu.be/L1zMIMYT-XI

Arguably the most popular lyrical song performed by the Japanese Artist Crush 40. This song put them on the map moreso in my opinion than “Open Your Heart” from Sonic The Hedgehog 2006. The opening to Sonic Adventure 2 gave an immensely powerful rock intro of Sonic tearing through the city streets with an awesome jam in your ears to rock out too while snow boarding ( minus the snow ) down the avenue, knocking over cars and running downhill away from the G.U.N. truck. 

#3 Chemical Plant Zone - Sonic 2

Composer(s)Masato Nakamura

https://youtu.be/RCcJnffie48

The pinnacle of design in Sonic the Hedgehog music’s heyday has to be the 2D era, and when you hear the first 3 cords of what sounds like a synth saxophone ( the quintessential bum -  bah - dum ) you know you’re in for something new and interesting. Sonic 2 has been ranked as possibly the best Sonic the Hedgehog game ever. It took the franchise that started the little blue guy running, made him super, added a friend, gave him a classic new attack and the world would never be the same again. Sonic 2′s sound track as a whole probably isnt the best of them all, but the Chemical Plant zone will have you drinking pink water just to get another listen.

#2 Flying Battery Zone - Sonic and Knuckles

Composer(s)Sachio Ogawa Tatsuyuki Maeda Jun Senoue Howard Drossin

The 2nd stage in Sonic and Knuckles is arguably the most remixed Sonic level theme ever. ( I’ll link some good ones here ) And its no wonder why. This song give you a strong and upbeat musical performance that gives the feeling of taking off on an adventure as a hitech pilot. The progression has purpose all the way through the verse, to the hook to the long extended final note before the loop. Might I also add that the Act 2 theme’s intro will have you moving your body without even thinking about it. 

https://youtu.be/xm2mjHHVM8k

https://youtu.be/Rbisd4ZGHpQ

https://youtu.be/jcExvvbtFpA

Honorable Mentions:

Oil Ocean Zone - Sonic 2

https://youtu.be/gtLnieZewjw

Aquarium Park - Sonic Colors

https://youtu.be/jEGro4NpgCg

Team Dark Theme ( This Machine )  - Sonic Heroes

https://youtu.be/pQ-bjZD1EnI

Spring Yard Zone - Sonic The Hedgehog

https://youtu.be/6ia71rCO55E

Stardust Speedway - Sonic CD

https://youtu.be/ON1_geFiP5s

Reactive Factory “ Work it Out “  - Sonic R

https://youtu.be/dkx5c0Nfb7U

#1 Hydro City Zone - Sonic 3

Composer : Michael -Freaking- Jackson!!!!!!

But he apparently decided to point all the credit at these other guys...

Brad Buxer Cirocco Jones Bobby Brooks Darryl Ross Geoff Grace Doug Grigsby Sachio Ogawa Tatsuyuki Maeda Jun Senoue

Okay, so maybe the King of Pop didn’t compose this specific theme ( we can’t technically be sure which ones he actually did work on, but there are hints that Carnival Night Zone was more definitively one of them ) But whoever was the mastermind behind this track, take a bow my good man. Hydrocity Zone blends elements of pop, jazz funk and electronica into the most toe tapping-est , groovy listening piece of audio pizza I have ever had the honor of drilling into my head. Its been remixed by some of the best OC Remix masters every ( links below ) and creates a uniquely fitting atmospher when considering the stage. You see, its not hydrocity... its Hydro City. As in an underwater city. The scenery is consistent with that idea, and the music backing it, gives this rich, bustling vibe without sounding like a city street crowded with people. There’s obviously no people around under water, but there is certainly action going on. No other track captures the essence of Sonic’s aural appeal like Hydro City, despite not being a rock or classical track. It reminds us that Sonic is a hog of so much variety with an adventure with so much expansiveness, that to hear something that you wouldn’t expect....is really quite normal.

https://youtu.be/qKDYXjwNpqI

https://youtu.be/E9KOBZ7i3-w

[sounds-offire]

3 Things Your Insurance Agent Wants You to Stop Saying

I’ve been pretty vocal in the past about the stuff that insurance agents have to deal with from customers who, thru no fault of their own, simply don’t understand the business and therefore find themselves upset about things that the agent can’t control.  

This is not that situation.

This time, I’m referring to the stuff that partially due to lack of understanding of the business world in general, and partially due to a self righteous attitude and a super inflated ego, customers will belt out these lines, hoping to get a hearing to their qualms. These are the things that customers say when they have no further recourse, so they revert to base tactics that do nothing more than make agents want to smack the complaints right out of your mouth. 

Water spit take included...

Stuff like...

1. WHAT’S THE USE OF PAYING INSURANCE IF YOUR NOT GOING TO LET ME USE IT ?

Let’s qualify this question real quick first. Because people who are just starting out may actually not know that using your insurance raises your rates. Most people do... but lets give the people who don’t a pass. 

Hey insurance companies.... I’m kinda’ new at this....

For the rest of us, insurance isn't our first rodeo. You’ve probably shopped or switched your insurance because of increasing rates before, and for various reasons. And most of you know why insurance companies primarily are explained to raise rates....Accidents. More specifically its due to claims. That’s right kids, you might spent 10 years claim free just shelling out hard earned scratch for nothing. But the moment you have to actually use the stuff, your rates may very well increase. Does this mean you can’t use your insurance? Absolutely not. The insurance is there for your use so we eventually expect that you will take advantage of what you’re paying for. Yes that will raise your rates. Yes its gonna suck. And yes we expected you to know that already. 

And yes the rich CEOs bought THAT car with your money. THAT car specifically...

Remember that your insurance agent has no power whatsoever in regards to what the company decides to increase your rates to. So even the minute details of “ I’ve been with your company for <insert supposedly notable amount of time here>” mean very little to the agent, underwriter or poor sucker in the cubicle on the unfortunate end of the headset. 

“ Excuse me ma’am...I just need to adjust my headset so I can figure out who you think you’re talking to...”

So we will let you use your insurance. Yes it will make your rates go up. No we don’t want to hear how it makes you feel. No we don’t care how long you’ve been with our company.... Speaking of which...

2. I’VE BEEN WITH YOUR COMPANY FOR YEARS!

It never fails. Everything has been going great with you and XYZ insurance until one day they jack up your rates. Or they add a driver that you didn’t want them to know about. Or they don’t approve a claim you filed because it wasnt sudden and accidental. Or you had a fungus growing party in your bathtub which spread to your walls and ceilings over time and they wont clean it out for you. 

It only took 4 months of successfully non cleaning! 

Whatever the case, you flip out and stat reminding your insurance agent about how you’ve been with his company since reasonably longer than he has even worked for the company....since before he was born....since before his grand parents thought of having children! And he responds with the bottom of a shoe...

I know we’ve used this one before...

Insurance agencies, local often as they are, should not be confused with mom and pop local businesses. Yes they care about you being their long term client. No they can’t make that point give you a pass. Its like any other service thats provided by a large corporation. Being with them for a long time, generally only helps them out....not you.

I come to this store so much my groceries ought to be free now, right? 

So save it.....fussing about your seniority doesn’t change the rates and  rules of insurance any more than your long time driving experience gets you out of a reckless driving ticket. 

I’ve had my license for atleast 10 years.... thats gotta count for SOMETHING!

3. THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH MY POLICY

This has to be the # 1 pet peeve of mine in the insurance industry.

So I had a lady call me up after receiving a letter from our company’s underwriting department with the intention of excluding her husband from the policy, specifically because she didn’t put him on the policy and the company is letting her know what she needs to do to continue to keep him excluded. Simply to provide proof of his insurance. So she asks “ so if I don’t provide this their gonna add him to my policy? “ I respond “ yes “ . She responds that she would sooner cancel with us and find a new insurance company before going through the hassle...{of asking her husband for proof of his insurance and giving it to us. }

She then proceeded to choke herself with the phone cord and punch herself in the face.

 Let me go ahead and give you some information that you can easily find on the internet and don’t need to fight with your agent about. This is from blog.esurance.com    ( yeah, E-surance...I don’t work for them or any of their affiliates. ) 

“Who must be listed on a policy?The short answer is that all drivers in your household should be listed on your policy...... In insurance terms, a driver can be anyone who has the knowledge and ability to drive, even if they don’t have an active license. This can include someone whose license is expired, suspended, or revoked, as well as someone who’s never had a U.S. license, like a recent immigrant.When drivers live in the same household, everyone theoretically has access to your vehicles. Even someone who “never drives your car” might get behind the wheel in an emergency...” 

Basically everybody needs to be on your policy unless they don’t live with you or have their own insurance. That’s it. Fuss and fight all you want, but its perfectly legal when an insurance company adds drivers to compliant customers.

” But he doesn’t drive my car!  “

 But he legally could.  

But I wouldnt give him permission “

 But you’d still be liable for his claims. And then WE would have to pay for it...

But we dont have anything to do with each other ! “

 You live together, cmon really? “ 

But I’m not the kind of person who would let someone drive without paying for them. I’m not a fraudulent customer like other people so you should trust what I told you. “

SoF

[sounds-offire]

#cfbrankings here's my list...not what I believe the cfp will rank, just mine. 1 LSU 2 Clemson 3 Michigan st 4 tcu 5 Baylor 6 Florida 7 Ohio at 8 Iowa 9 Alabama 10 Memphis 11 Stanford 12 Oklahoma St. 13 Notredame 14 Michigan 15 Houston 16 Oklahoma 17 Utah 18 Toledo 19 North Carolina 20 Florida st 21 temple 22 ole miss 23 penn st 24 UCLA 25 Texas A&M (tie with Miss St and Marshall )

#cfbrankings

[sounds-offire]

The Battle of Worth

To most people, things like family, virtue, power, money, and the like are most important. Some people attach worth to possessions like a championship ring, the Bible,  heirlooms...

Or life with a sociopathic clown....

There are alot of points  in your life that make a person say “ Is this worth it to me? “ Stuff like...

SHOULD I ASK HIM/HER OUT? 

There was this girl who was interested in my best friend. She called me  to ask if he was dating anyone and to speak about her to him. He didn’t like that, cuz its was the cowards way out I presume and he’d rather her just tell him herself. As it is, nah, he wasnt interested. And he called her himself and talked it over with her, essentially giving her exactly what she didn’t want. The face full of rejection. 

She’s happily married now. Life goes on, right? 

And they are all good friends now and life’s good. But that situation is common. So you like someone but out of fear of getting turned down, you go a less difficult route. You drop hints. You ask a friend to talk to them for you. You try and befriend them, hoping it will just happen naturally. You stalk them in dark alleyways while singing songs you made up about them. But you fear stops you from walking right up to them and declaring your feelings openly. 

Its all about confidence and for the life of me I don’t understand why that is. I promise you that I met my wife on a whirlwind weekend of an awesome concert with an artist I’m a huge fan of inviting me to the stage and allowing me to perform with her. I mean...cmon... I was still abuzz about it and didn’t actually think that two days later I’d come off with a phone number of a cute girl. 5 and a half years later, she wakes up next to me with a ring on her finger and doesn’t run away screaming...

Well not EVERY morning...

BUT WAS IT WORTH IT?

It was for me. But you have to answer that worth yourself. It was worth it to me to ask for her number because I was on a high and no one could make me come down. When you’re out looking for a relationship, you’re holding your heart, pride, and possibly your reputation in your hands and allowing the person on the receiving end to take it and return the favor with flowers and candy, or juggle the three of them above an open flame. 

The spike ball could be your heart which tells volumes in this story...

So it depends on what’s really important to you in that moment. And interestingly, what is the most important to you at that time, will in a way determine what the other person does with it in that moment. 

SHOULD I START THIS CONVERSATION?

I’ve been accused of being the kind of person that wants to defend myself instead of validating the feelings of the person who has a complaint about me. I replied that I don’t ALWAYS defend myself if the complaint is valid, and this person used that very instance to validate her argument. The statement was a catch 22. 

And the person I was talking to is capable of doing this with emotions....

 Because if I agree with her, then while I AM acting counter to her statement, I’m admitting to it at the same time, even if I don’t actually agree. On the other hand, if I defend myself, then I’m playing right into her argument thereby proving her point. Its a tactic many people use in which no matter what you do in a situation, you lose. And after the loss, you can debate the point to only another loss....because the conversation was designed to make you lose from the get-go. 

These type conversations happen all the time, but normally inhabit the more personal relationships like siblings, and marriage mates, where two people who know each other better than anyone often start the argument with the tools designed to trap the other into acknowledging the other’s point of view. Its done through good timing, masterful reasoning, quick thinking on your feet and at times emotional blackmail. 

And at times the occassional headlock.

Normally one of them is better at winning than the other. So its up to the normal loser to determine when to even breach such arguments. At times its best not to and others you feel the need to go in on it. Right or wrong you have to choose whether or not to go into these battles.

BUT IS IT WORTH IT?

Just because a person feels they have a valid argument to bring up, doesn’t mean they will end with understandings and resolutions. If you’re about to start a debate with someone who’s a better debater then you, or even a worse debater but better winner at domestic disputes than you, then you’ll have problems even if you’re right. For example:

You are upset about your husband forgetting an engagement, he storms out of the house and goes to the bar for drinks. He likes drinking, AND he doesn’t have to hear you complain. Not only does he now get to do what he wants, but he just caused you to feel like you’re over reacting and he’s fed up with your nagging as though YOU did something wrong and now he has to cool off. He’s accomplished three things in one action....and you lose.

Score for hubby!

Example 2:

Your wife wants to invite your in laws over on the weekend of your hunting trip and asks what activities you want to share with her father. You hate her father and he hates you. Your wife knows it, but she hates your mother and you siding with mom last week over letting the kids have ice cream over grandma’s house instead of staying home for dinner with the vegetables they were just going to feed to the dog anyway. So you say that you have no plans but whatever he wants to do you’ll do it to avoid conflict. Seeing your nonchalance, your wife irritably says “ y’know if you don’t want them to come over this weekend, you can just say so. “ You already HAD plans but to alleviate further tension you differ instead to her wishes for a 2nd time. She gets more frustrated and demands you speak truth. So you can either fake your way into a terrible weekend or tell your wife that you can’t stand her father. Which ofcoarse will incur your wife’s rage and she’ll make you spend time with her father anyway. In either case you lose twice. Either by not speaking your mind and having to do what you hate, or by speaking your mind, being berated and THEN having to do what you hate. 

Score for wifey!!! 

Example 3:

Your big brother is always finding a way to get you in trouble for his crazy experiments. You were always told not to go into your parents bedroom dresser. Well big brother is playing keep away with one of your favorite toys and tosses it in your mom and dad’s room on top of the dresser. You reluctantly go in to the forbidden dresser to get your toy and find a notepad that has a note written to your mother from your father ( he goes to work after her ) which in part reads “ Hey, I think baby boy ( or girl ) is doing a great job. He knows the rules. Lets stop leaving big brother in charge and see how things go. “ At this you do back flips and look forward to declaring your independence. Later on while your parents are home, a fight erupts where your brother tries to make you do the dishes when its not your turn and you think to yourself, this is a great time to remind him that mom and dad think that you’re doing great and that big brother’s not in charge anymore. 

Mom is listening in and you speak your peace saying “ mom and dad don’t even want you to be in charge of me now “ . Mom responds... “ who told you that” ? 

You can say that you got it from the letter but that would out you as having been in their dresser? Or you could go wash dishes and whine about it to mom later ( she hasnt apparently seen the note ) 

So you can get in trouble and possibly your brother as well, assuming that using that room as a means to keep something away from you is a dirty move from jumpstreet. Or you can swallow it and wash the dishes as big brother commands and wait till the fruition of the note you read...which who knows when it’ll come? Either way....

Say something punk....cuz either way...I WIN.

SHOULD I FINALLY STAND UP FOR MYSELF?

Nice people have a rough go of it because people often step on you in ways that aren’t always technically wrong, though they do hint a measure of disrespect. And alot of people are more forth right. They aren’t the kind of people who let those minor offenses slide because they already know what place they came from: A place that says “ this person doesn’t know who they are dealing with “ . They accordingly repay that ignorance with an iron claw.

And teach classes on how to do so on Wednesday nights for $11.95. 

That way, people learn early on not to mess with them. But for the more passive types, they let small stuff slide because it comes from a place of supposedly nothing personal.They don���t know you, so why make a fuss over someone who doesn’t know that talking about how you’ve gained 40 lbs atleast since you’ve been married is something you find offensive. Or reminding your children that he’s so glad your drug addiction finally subsided when the 3rd child came along, is not encouraging in the least. 

Really Joe? Really??? In front of the kids?

You let that stuff slide because its minor. Why make a fuss over little stuff? Thats the choice you might make....but those little things add up. And then one day when the little stuff has led to the straw that breaks the camel’s back, you speak up for yourself finally and now everyone is shocked about why you decided to put that 70 year old lady in a fisherman’s suplex.

Classes start on Monday. Just $13.00. 

So the question is do you want to risk a moderately abrasive persona up front to avoid people’s nonsence? Or do you want to hold it in and be nice and let the first sign of a backbone later on be taken for wickedness? 

Fine....so you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. 

SoF

[sounds-offire]

The Battle of Life’s  Happy Endings

OK so over the past month I’ve been polling friends of mine about college. Did you go? How many years? Whats your major? But then there’s the rub...the most important question that shoots the point home....was it worth it?

Now what do we do....?

As in did the time and money spent getting your degree lead to a better life? Did it lead you to get the job you wanted? Does your life substantiate the price of higher education? 

Or do you still have to wear this hat to interviews?

The answers my friends gave were varied. My cousin Brandon says that he felt college was worth it. He works with Nuclear medicine. 

Another friend has an associates and bachelors, works in the insurance field. Her schooling was a waste to her. 

Another cousin didn’t go to college at all and pulled a great career in drafting and engineering. 

One friend got a job right out of college, is now a manager at a very well run bank. 

And the last one is a teacher. Four year degree, but now on a teacher’s salary. 

So its apparently not about the work entirely. Sometimes you have to just have the right circumstances. College often separates the haves from the have nots, but its also understood that privileged kids are more likely to have a better college career than those who are of less means. It makes following the college dream a little less reasonable when you think about the obvious risk to going to college, because there’s no guarantee of success, its just a better chance. Oh and by the way... that chance favors people with money. Hence the reason Richard Sandler  a professor at the UCLA School of Law who studies racial and economic disparities in higher education, made this statement “It’s a far greater disparity than anything we’d talk about with race,  The pervasive problem in admissions offices is class-ism, not racism — they’re biased against low-income students.”

So where alot of movies portray the happy ending of the under dog protagonist as the low income kid rising above financial hardship and getting into college, they should probably look and see how his life turns out and make his happy ending sometime a few years after graduation, and not at the time of enrollment. 

For some reason, the media paints getting into college like this...

When the reality could be more like....

But that’s the struggle. Figuring out whether its worth it, and whether or not its truly the happy ending that people think it is. 

Marriage is also like that. Alot of my friends are either currently married or they want to get married. I have some friends who have divorced as well. It wasn’t as great as they thought it would be. Had they done things differently....

wait....what if they HAD done things differently?

Would they look like this?

Its a funny thing. Marriage and romantic relationships are the most beautiful thing that all of us could totally do without. Marriage is hard. Even good marriages have health problems, financial challenges, disagreements with regards the kids...

...stiff arms....

But the alternative, singleness...which is great to some people, but society will have us think that what you really need in life, what really is the epitome of the happy ending is...

But that’s bogus right? Because if you aren’t happy in life marriage won’t save you. Marriage doesn’t fill a void in your life, marriage adds to a life that is already full...supposedly... But if that’s the case...

Why so many...? 

Are there that many awesomely successful and fulfilled people in the world who are just like...” y’know... I have everything I need. But marriage sounds cool too?

But there it is. In so many romantic movies, the absolute meatball of a protagonist meets up with the best smoking hot eligible bachelor or bachelorette and they live happily ever after upon the wedding day. But we totally ignore the day after the wedding in most cases...

Which looks like this.

Maybe we are a little too unrealistic. Our lives, albeit fascinating stories, are generally not fully told. The problem is that people see one specific event as the ending they need to the struggles and problems of life, forgetting the fact that the struggle IS our life. Assuming that this struggle will end once we acheive X,Y,Z, is to forget about how much more of the story we have to tell...

SoF

[sounds-offire]

3 People Who Its More Important to be Listened To Than For Them To Be Right

So I was talking to my then girlfriend ( now wife ) one day a few years ago and she told me that I’m known to correct people’s words...and its annoying. Like I’m a know it all or something. 

Its true....if I was a violent or hot tempered person, I’d be the kind of person who would go Terry Tate on someone because they used some terminology incorrectly, or worse, the exact opposite of its true meaning. 

Stop using the word “ literally “ to describe something figurative!!!!!

So we had a little conversation about that. I was like “ I’m not trying to be mean or anything.... like how bad can it be if I’m right? “ 

I am wrong about alot of stuff in my life, vernacular included. I’m not the best speller. I overlook math figures. I confuse ‘of course’ and instead type ‘ofcoarse’ and ignore the red line underneath that tells me I spelled it wrong. I admit all that. So I don’t always try to correct everything I see and hear....

...But when I do....you know that I’m right about it....

But my wife let me know then that for alot of people, being right isn’t always important. Granted, thats common knowledge. There are plenty of people who don’t care about being wrong. People in abusive relationships. Drug and alcohol addicts and abusers. Redskin fans. 

...got em...

But its true. Being right isnt always important. For certain people its more important in the long run that they are listened to. People like...

1. SUPERVISORS

Okay, I’m not a ride or die kind of person for the chain of command. I don’t like authority over me any more than the next person, unless I need a good fall guy for something that I don’t feel like taking responsibility for. 

Before going any further, I don’t want anyone to be under the impression that I respect authority so much that I don’t care when they do something wrong. No...I’m incensed. Because these are the people who hold you accountable. Naturally I want THEM to be held accountable for everything that they told me that’s wrong. 

And do it on his show...

So where’s the rub? Well because unless the sup’s gonna get fired for making a mistake, things would be better for business if his authoritative persona is kept in tact. If employees are able to have a dissertation or reasoning session on every decision made, then even when he makes good decisions, they could be rationalized away by the whims of a better debater who doesn’t have the best interest of business or the rest of his coworkers in mind. 

So Brian thinks installing cameras in the parking lot will encourage more slashed tires instead of prevent them.....sorry Susan but he had a compelling argument. Oh and sorry to hear about you and your baby daddy....

Keeping the impression of an unchangeable boss is irritating when you have good reason to do so, but the rules are set up for that reason too. While they might get things wrong at times, them keep a good consistent head on their shoulders makes for more secure working conditions.   

2. PARENTS

This is kind of like a supervisor. But its more for life, than for the towing fees of the previous illustration. Parents are humans. Lets get that out of the way first. So lets say you parents are 40 years old. The things that happen to a 55 year old are just stories to them. They don’t know personally because they haven’t lived it. So literally speaking ( and I used the word “literally” in the correct context ), they do NOT know everything. They have barely experienced half their life at this point. So no one should expect them to know everything. 

But at 40 years to your possibly 20 or maybe even less, they know a ton more than you do. This includes if you take them to be less informed or out of touch with the life you currently lead. 

Even if they’ve made notable mistakes, they’re experience of what lead to them, probably has more to do with how you could lead to them than you think. So what if they are wrong? Well, that’s going to happen....THEY ARE HUMAN. 

But its more important that in general you listen to them because one day, or two days or alot of days you’re going to need not just their money, care, concern or permission. You’re going to NEED THEIR ADVICE.  And if its a running idea that you don’t listen to them, they won’t feel as apt to give it to you. Instead, they’ll be more inclined to shield you from everything because you wont heed their direction. Most of which is probably right. Then, instead of giving you more freedom and respect, they’ll give less, out of sheer fear of what you’ll do when they let you make your own decisions.

I wonder if she’s sending dirty photos to that ex Con down the street again....

In general, your parents need to be viewed as the voice of reason and experience, because in general thats what they have. You’re selling yourself short if you take every issue they do wrong as an excuse to blow them off as Homer Simpson. 

Unless you find your parents doing this everyday....then you’re on your own....

3. YOUR KIDS

Bet no one saw this coming. Its obvious that being ‘right’ as much as kids and teens probably think they are, they are going to mess up quite a bit and need someone to guide them. 

So it didn’t hurt when I struck the match....maybe fire won’t burn after all...

And its going to be an everyday occurrence. So why bother listening to a word that comes out their little face holes at all? 

Because you need them to talk. To tell you everything that they might otherwise hide from you. The boyfriend or girlfriend that you’ve never met. The drugs the kids are doing at school. The bully who’s taking the lunch money. The strange man who’s always giving out candy at the park. 

The termites down stairs that taste so yummy....

You need them to talk so that you can respond to anything dangerous or otherwise important. If you don’t listen when they talk about stuff like drawings they did in art class, the animals they learn about on tv, the fight they had with their bff, or the video games they enjoy playing; an pass them off as mundane or unimportant, unfortunately the kids wont get the understanding that the more important stuff to you is the things you’re really looking for. On the flip side, if you only listen to the things that lead to discipline or lectures, then they’ll learn to only tell you when they are doing things you approve of and make sure to hide the things you don’t. At that point you will mean little more to them than a provider of money and permission.

And this is all you will find them wanting to do with their free time....

SoF

[sounds-offire]

So I come into the kitchen and my wife asks me to put some dishes in the washer...so I open it up and I find....Jordan's?! #lovemywife #surprisedforreal #earlyanniversary #fouryears

#lovemywife #surprisedforreal #earlyanniversary #fouryears

[sounds-offire]

2 Stereotypes that are for good reasons...

Despite the way I write and generally talk, my style of dress and the fact that I write a semi-weekly blog, I am I black man. As of yet, I have not depicted myself as such, for no particular reason, but its true, I am African american. In a number of ways, I break a mold of most american black men. I am not a thug, I am not very good in basketball, I am mildly passive, I am a middle class part of society. The media tends to paint decent black men as ones who make a lot of money, working high paying jobs and having college degrees. 

And they tend to look like this guy...

Or if they don’t have alot of money, they are working towards a seemingly impossible dream, but with the fever and determination that is also attractive to the ladies...

....like this guy...

Nope, I’m neither one of them. I’m just a get the job done so I can pay my bills kinda guy. I do insurance and I like to blog about that from time to time.... as you may already know.  So yea, I break a type of mold. One that is not entirely stereotypical of a race or class, but one that generally speaks to the majority of african american males. We have jobs, kids, interests...stuff like that....but they normally don’t include blogging, Sonic the Hedgehog or classical music. Thats me. 

Neither of those stereotypes, the one that says that all good black men have to be rich, ambitious and/or good looking, and the other that would assume that they can’t be complete nerds, are true. And they are unnecessarily put out. 

These next set of stereotypes are understandable. Albeit a bit offensive to those who fit into them.  But, they are the truth in alot of cases, so the stereotype holds up. Stuff like...

1. RELIGIOUS PEOPLE THINK THEY ARE BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE

Its no secret that religion and the Bible is one of my favorite things to talk about. I am also fairly devout in my personal opinion. That being said, it pains me to see the hypocrisy, political involvement and outright crime thats perpetuated by those of the clergy and other religious organizations. So for a person who sees me knock on their door to talk about the bible, thinking about religions in general might not go over well; what with the understanding being that I will eventually be explaining to them that the way they are living their life is going to ultimately lead them to destruction. There’s just no way to sugar coat that...

Because destruction kind of looks like this alot of times...

And the idea is that I’m not getting destroyed...I’m good. Thats why I’m at your door. But wait, what makes me so great and close to God? Just because I belong to one particular group of people? Because I go to a place of worship? Because I read the Bible? Because I pray? Well lots of people do that.... what makes me think that I are better than you? And able to tell you what you should be doing with your life? 

“Thanks for listening Mr.-gonna-blow-up-man...”

I see where people might get the idea that we think we’re better. Especially those who evangelize, go with the idea that they know more about what they are about to talk about than the person they are talking to. In this case, its about religion, the Bible and eternal salvation. I get it. you think you’ve got it all figured out and know where your life is headed, now I’m getting ready to tell you otherwise. Do I have my own failures? Yes, but thats not what I’m here to talk about. Do members of churches and religious organizations all around the world do bad things? Absolutely, but my presence is a representation of the values that we stand for as a whole, not the wayward actions of individuals. This is a simple case of my doing what I’m supposed to do. The person behind the door may know that I stand for something different than them, so my presence supposedly condemns their life, and a lot of people are uncomfortable with that. 

2. WOMEN DONT PLAY VIDEO GAMES

So theres this girl I know named Marissa, who is arguably one of the best ITG/DDR/Pump it Up players I’ve ever known. She’s also a formiddable Poke’mon trainer. She’s also 26 years old. I have a friend who loves sonic the hedgehog. She’s 27. I know a girl named Tia who’s 29 ( also black ) and my wife is huge on Mario Kart, puzzle games, racing games, and simulators. ( Hi Babe!! ) Basically anyone who thinks that girls can’t play games is blind.

And they’ve never heard of Jessica Chobot. 

This creates weird tensions when a girl sticks a token on the side of the Tekken machine, or plays W.o.W. with a team of all guys, or wants to be in the next Madden tournament. The impression is that can’t play video games. Let the ostracism began. 

Ahh!!! You can’t play a game that’s primarily played by little kids!!!!

But let’s take a step back. Because girls who play video games are a little ticked that people keep talking like they can’t play video games, and guys who assume that girls who DO play video games can only play one or two genres of little powerpuff style games. 

Yea, stuff like that....

But really is this the same male dominant idea that women can’t do with men do? Its true that video games are widely male dominated and male serving. Sex sells in video games just like everywhere else. Testosterone runs as freely in the virtual world as it does in real life. And guys sweat after a while of playing a fictional game of basketball just like they would in real life too...but the primary reason men in general think girls can’t play video games is because for the longest time girls just DIDN’T play them. Video games were for little boys, geeks and nerds...something that girls typically didn’t want to be classified as. 

We are in a different time nowadays, yes... at this point about 48% of gamers are identified as girls. Back in 1988 only about 21% were girls, this crept up to 35% in the late nineties. So what changed the gaming demographic? 

This thing...

And what are the most popular games for the Nintendo Wii?

9. Super Mario Galaxy

8. Super smash Bros Brawl

7. Wii Fit Plus

6. Wii Fit

5. Wii Play

4. Super Mario Bros Wii

3. Wii Sports Resort

2. Mario Kart Wii

1. Wii Sports

Is there any surprise that the most clearly male dominant game in that list features the plumber fighting an anthropomorphic turtle? And thats numbers 4 and 8 and 9. Everything else is for lack of a better term, stuff that a girl would be interested in. Now don’t get me wrong, girls play video games. Alot of girls do. But the percentage of women playing games has increased not  because sexism has decreased. Thats still going strong into the more and more depraved. But its generational. The fact that there was one or two girls interested caused developers to say, hey...we got one!, then geared something to them. Then to their friends. Then to their children. THATS why we have Wii. This is not women in the workforce demanding equal rights. This is a few girls taking the reins of something they thought was cool and running with it. Other girls followed suit, because they needed someone like Jessica Chobot to let them know it was cool to be a girl and play games in the first place. 

Otherwise they’d spend all their time, picking on nerds and buying shoes....

Thats just my two cents....

SoF

[sounds-offire]

4 Things Abrasive People Often Claim

I’m not a archetypal person. Or atleast I dont think I am. But I am the kind of person who takes note of people who are archetypes or who break that mold. I’ve noticed that there are certain archetypes that tend to make certain claims that don’t fit the mold they assert the are a part of. Or atleast…not to a tee. These are the more abrasive types. A personalities. A bit aggressive. Hot tempered. Opinionated. Plays well with others but typically not until after they have had a number of fall outs and later learn to deal with each other and become friends. Y’know…those kinds. 

“We complete each other….”

And these kinds of people tend to make comments about themselves that really either don’t need to be explained as though it was some revelation, or its something that’s plain old not true to the majority of people around. You’ve heard these comments before…. such as:

1. IF ANYBODY HAS A PROBLEM WITH ME, THEY CAN JUST COME AND TALK

This is an easy claim to make. The idea is that legitimate problems can easily be talked out. This is a reasonable person who doesn’t like conflict, but by no means run away from it or really avoid it unnecessarily. Its not a bad way to live life really. Settling matters quickly. The wording of this claim advertises something like an open door policy. Anyone who I’ve wronged, or thinks I’m mad at them, or has some type of misunderstanding needs to talk , come talk. Lets work this out.

“Did I do something to offend you? Cuz you put arsenic on my toothpaste again…”

However, you’ll find that the open door to discussing problems with this person’s relationship is more like a metal detector door way that electrocutes you for having too much iron in your bloodstream. These abrasive types will bate you into a so called “ friendly discussion “ which turns into a condescending defensive strategy game, and concludes with you apologizing for disrespecting them…

Wasn’t I supposed to be telling you how you offended me?

2. I’M FAR FROM PERFECT

In the course of conversation, one may find the need to give vent to a judgement over another’s personality flaw of some sort. Not to be overlooked, or possibly outed for one’s own idiosyncrasies, nothing beats a good take away phrase like an old fashion Captain Obvious worthy statement of imperfections. As if we needed to be reminded or strangely believed that this particular person was the only flawless person in existence today - because we might have totally thought that. 

My poop smells like human waste.

The problem with this statement is that it often comes before the shade they are about to hurl someone else’s way. Its an unnecessary statement for most of us, even when we are about to talk about someone else’s flaws, because everyone knows we have them, though it may necessitate giving vent. Putting the “hyper” into “hypocritical” on the other hand, abrasive people use this phrase to detract attention away specifically from the flaws they have that might be either similar or even worse than the offense someone else did that they are complaining about. 

“I can’t believe the nerve of that lady wearing jeans on cargo pants day!?” 

3. I TELL IT LIKE IT IS

If there is one phrase you’ll hear from abrasive people more than anything else, its all about ‘keeping it real’ ‘telling it straight ‘ ‘ pulling no punches ‘  “keeping it 100″ “not sugarcoating” and “putting foot to butt to mouth “. Wait…that last one I came up with myself….

The reason people use this phrase is about tell tale as why people use the phrase “only God can judge me “ . Simply put, they need to have a blanket explanation to say or do anything they want and not be called wrong for it. But abrasive people go a step further. They will make a snide comment to or about you, and not only want you to concede to their disrespectful way of talking to you, but even try to give you the impression that they are doing you a favor by speaking honestly. 

“Grandpa, you’re acting like a cripple… Just sayin’…no one would’ve told you but me. “ 

4. I DON’T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ANYBODY

No more blatant a lie could’ve been told. But the ones who say it the most, tend to be the ones in the most altercations. They are often approached by someone that they have been giving the evil eye to from across the room. And should probably be the person telling the story from the opposite side of your best friend who doesn’t take any mess like I explained in my blog about stories that you never hear from the offender’s perspective. 

She’s 6 seconds from catching a two piece with a biscuit….only you and your best friend know what that means.

Upon future consideration , the abrasive types tend to supposed there’s nothing really wrong. Five seconds later, they have a number of things to mutter under their breath about the other person which they had no problem with. 

I ain’t got no problem with her and her edges-cut-with-a-butterknife, self… nah we cool!

SoF

[sounds-offire]

2 MORE Things that Your Insurance Agent Isn’t Responcible For.

So I was talking to my friend Brenda, also in the industry, and she reminded me that the issues one agent faces are probably what all of them face. Not only that, but I apparently missed a few things. So part two of the stuff you need to build a bridge to get over instead of fussing at your insurance agent. ( Oh and click here to see the first 3 things )

1. Making Sure Your Mortgage Company is Happy

So you might be one of the 64% of fortunate americans who have been able to own a home. If you’re not part of the 1% of super rich or live your life paying for things by means of loan sharks, that probably means you have a mortgage. Said mortgage companies require you purchase a little thing call Home Owner’s Insurance, so that they don’t lose the collateral property because you decided to burn that sucker down!!!!

The roof! The roof! The roof is on fire!!!

To add impetus to that fact, often times, they set up an account called an escrow , which you put money into every month as your mortgage payment, and they take that money and distribute it to the Home Owner’s Insurance as well as your taxes. Well some of these companies don’t move so quickly. Sometimes they try and force you to make changes on your policy that make you pay more money. Sometimes they sell your loan without your insurance agent’s knowledge. Who’s responsibility is that to handle?

Insurance Man 3:16 says, call those jerks yourself!

See the relationship you have with the mortgage company is one that the insurance company and more specifically your agent does not facilitate. Granted often times you wouldn’t even get the insurance had it not been for your mortgage company telling you. You might not otherwise even know the stuff exists. So the mortgage company tells you that you need the stuff to get your house, and an agent walks you through the insurance buying process. From there you are their insured. And the only thing that is an insurance agent’s concern legally is involving your insurance. So if the mortgage company says your policy should cover $50,000 more because the amount the agent gives you doesnt match the loan, we’ll do it if you tell us to. But keep in mind we’re not covering the loan, we’re covering the house. So if your house costs us $150,000 to replace, and your loan is $300,000 and a fire burns it down, even if shows you are paying for $300,000 worth of unnecessary coverage, you’re only getting he $150,000 it costs the company to rebuild that house. 

Minus a $1000 deductible.... because FORGET YOUR LIFE!!!!

Or let’s say you refinance your loan in between renewals. The insurance company will mail a yearly bill to whomever your insurance declarations page has as the mortgagee. If its not the company you refinanced with then they might not pay. And your insurance might cancel, which will lead to one of two things: Either your new mortgagee will jack your mortgage payment up by force placing insurance coverage onto your loan or if your house has a claim you may have absolutely no coverage for it.

And you’ll look like this kid....

2.Having youthful drivers added to your policy

Nothing is more exciting to a kid than their 16th birthday when they get their license and feel the sweet sence of freedom.

At said point you, the parents feels the bitter taste of entitlement from these little suckers. But the nagging continues and you break down and take them to the DMV and get them their license. Then a few months later you look at your insurance policy and see your child added to it and think nothing of it because hey, they are drivers now. Granted they don’t have another vehicle for them to drive yet and the only thing available is your family van, but whats the worse that ca- - $130 more per month?!

That calculator ain’t gonna help you buddy....

“But he doesn’t even have a car! “ you whine and complain. Understandably, your insurance agent knows you are upset. At the same time, insurance companies run business off the possibility that an accident could happen not the reasons why they won’t. So your child is legally able to drive and you are the car owner and insured, so no amount of yelling, screaming, cursing or even switching companies will change the rules. 

Because we’re all rich, and we all know how to stay rich....

SoF