Month: September 2018
I fear Donald Trump’s reaction to the United Nation’s laughter
My initial reaction to news of Donald Trump at the United Nations today was, “He said what?” That’s not intended as an I-want-to-know-his-remarks question; those are clear as day in the headlines. The President of the United States, with all the issues on the home front that have flared, and divisions that have been stressed since his election to the office of the Presidency, boasted about his administration’s achievements. He boasted about them and put himself above every presidency in United States history.
He was fittingly met with laughter from the audience at the United Nations. The world has been exposed to the gaffes and follies and tactics that have alienated America from its allies in favor of isolationism and self-importance. The issues within the United States can’t all be foreign to those doing the laughter either. With how the world works these days, news isn’t a local-audience-only item.
Now, I could elaborate further on the world of geopolitics and media exposure around the world. That would be skipping out on what is on my mind right now about the Dotard in Covfefe and what is on the agenda by way of his habits proved through his time as Commander in Chief: His own reaction to the laughter aimed at him by those audience of the United Nations and what it may result in. And this does not please me. Not one bit. Read More
That mascot Gritty is now a heralded PR SNAFU
One day after my little piece on that shitty thing called Gritty, I got a PR email regarding the mascot that seems to have a different take on how the public reacted toward Gritty than what really went on. Read More
Philly’s Gritty monstrosity – A fitting declaration for a weak mascot
Mascots and pro sports are a way to rile up the fans in a good way, a caricature personality that associates with a sports team. Some of those mascots are fitting-yet-playful parody characters who embody the franchise, like Roary the Lion with the Detroit Lions of the NFL, Osceola (and his steed, Renegade) with the Florida State University Seminoles. Others are a more playful association, like Mr. Met for the New York Mets or ThunderBug with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
And then there’s what the Philadelphia Flyers unveiled today:
Now, I’m not a Philadelphia sports fan and never have been, I still take the Flyers franchise as a rival to the Tampa Bay Lightning (the Flyes were the Bolts first ever playoff opponent). I’ve never taken much to the 76’ers, or the Eagles, though the Phillies have earned a token appreciation simply by way of where they play spring training. All that said, nothing I’m about to say is intended to slight or put down Philly as a city or a sports town.
That said, what the ever loving hell?? Ugh! Read More
Wordiness and a would-be song; “Cool Dude, Loose Mood”
Poetry and I are not strangers, the evidence is here on the site in the “Creative Writing” section and elsewhere if you look around. I’ve been penning prose of one variety or another since the 1990’s.
Yeah, I’m old. Deal with it.
There are some that have inspired musicians to actually put the words to music. That’s a longer story than I can tell at this time (wink wink, nudge nudge) but my point is that songwriting is something I’m dabbling in. It has created a plight, though.
See, early in the summer I had a friend send me a guitar riff he recorded. He was looking to build a song around it. Now, this idea was garage-rock in caliber. Do-the-job, verse-chorus-verse simple and straight. The riff is the base and the center for the song in melody and what has to be done is to give it some words to finish the product. The problem there was… well, maybe I’ve been exposed to too much Alternative over the years or maybe I’ve seen too many rock songs that have been larger tellings than Keep It Simple Stupid? Then again, maybe I’m a poet and lucky if my words ever go to a finished song… Read More
It’s not very clear how to recycle Cochlear sound processor technology
I want to recycle Cochlear sound processor technology as well as accessories and Cochlear doesn’t lay out how to do that. And that’s bad. Read More
Really… Just Do It
“Here’s a truism – everything is a big deal up until you actually do it. Don’t dwell or dread on doing something, making it so monumental that you make yourself sick. Just do it. You’ll deal with what comes next as it happens.”
— John Fontana on Facebook, originally written Sept. 16, 2011
When events lead to self-realization and rolling along while lost at sea
I don’t know what was worse: How the news of Tuesday and the stepping-down of Steve Yzerman laid out one hell of a road bump for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018-19 and the general road ahead… or the realization through that event that I’m not a hockey blogger any more.
No, no, it’s not the words I wrote over the weekend that casts my credibility into doubt (if you differ in opinion, oh well, too bad, so sad) as-so-much my reaction to things, my stepping-up and opening my readiness to comment to other bloggers (supply quotes) and such about the news…and not hearing shit back. It was me drawing a conclusion about Julien BriseBois getting an assistant GM hire on Wednesday and then finding out (from fans) that wasn’t in the plans and it had been stated in articles and in tweets from members of the media.
The guy who had been the original blogger of Tampa Bay Lightning hockey, lasting for 12 years while founding SB Nation site Raw Charge in the process, was ready to roll and yet so very, very out of the loop.
9/11 brought unity while we stand divided in the moment of the now
A word to summarize the Tampa Bay Lightning before the 2018-19 NHL season
It’s a foreign word in the history of sports in Tampa Bay, really. Oh, there are numerous athletes that the Bay area has produced who met and had relations with the word. There are plenty of high school athletic organizations who have known the word but single teams don’t represent the region. Heck, this applies to college sports too. Many residents may claim loyalty and devotion to Florida State, the University of Florida or the University of Miami while the University of South Florida is here in the region and…. Well, the word is foreign in the most prominent sports followed by area sports enthusiasts.
While the word has been largely foreign in the Tampa Bay metro area, it has taken up residency here in the past and it’s seriously hanging out along the banks of the Garrison Channel at current. It blazes so bright that some of the fans are blinded by it and they cannot take satisfaction from it.
The word, ladies and gentlemen, is contention. Read More
Spanning the world and united in melody, the music of Lucy, Racquel and Me
The Internet is the land of opportunity for musical artists. Any artist/group of any music genre from any location who has access to the Net can communicate with producers and other artists to hone and refine their work. You can see this playing out daily on Reddit’s WeAreTheMusicMakers subreddit message board. They’re able to offer their art to the masses with thanks to distribution companies who will place finalized music copies on major digital-sales web sites (such as Apple Music, Amazon MP3 and Google Play) along with putting the tunes on streaming services utilized by the general masses (Spotify and YouTube).
Indie music can be an art form in itself with thanks to the basic element of the Internet in the form of communication. It’s like I already said – you can talk to others in music, hone and produce songs with others from all over. And certain recording artists are just that – groups comprised of elements from different places. They may have never personally met and yet they’ve created by working together.
An example of this is the pop music c work of Lucy, Racquel and Me. Read More
Underexposed indie soft rock and easy listening playlist on Spotify
This is an ongoing playlist build of songs by indie musicians that are unknown or not widely known of in pop culture. It’s also a variety of music – pop and rock of a more casual variety – that doesn’t get the kind of exposure it once did in music.
Click above to go to the playlist. If you are an indie musician who would like one of your own tunes considered for the list — either leave a comment or contact me and send a link to your work. You have to be listed on Spotify to get included on this list (though another version of the playlist is on YouTube).
How should "Underexposed"songs be seen on Spotify?