A four-leaf clover.
A white ball rolling across the street.
A black cat doing the same.
The sun.
The open road.
Eighty.
Cars passing, being passed.
A surreal world.
Explosions.
I could die.
I could have died.
And yet...
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Friday, May 25, 2012
Summer nights
It's weird. We only left school two weeks ago today. Fourteen days? You're telling me that I've spent fourteen days away from school and I'm already writing about going back? Well, that's what's happening, so let's get after it.
Perhaps the reason it seems like time flew by in these two weeks is because, well, time flew by. It only took me and Vicki some three days before we saw each other again. She came up to Watertown for a couple of days, and us and my friends from home went to the beach. (What's even better about this is that we've been trying to go to the beach for two years. Contrary to what my back skin will say, it was worth it.) Which was a ton of fun. Again, contrary to what my back skin will say. A tip for anybody who gets buried up to their neck - breathe slowly. Especially if your friends use mud sand to patch you up, because you don't really have that much room to breathe.
Um, what else, I introduced Vicki to the Chateau and its delicious dining, went to Plymouth for a few days and got some tacos, and I've been keeping up with the Celtics and how they probably don't deserve to win 70% of the games they play, but somehow win 80% of said games. Oh, and playing basketball. Lots and lots of basketball. Which has become a staple for being in Watertown over the summer, which I can hopefully bring with me to Stonehill. Especially since I'll be living in O'Hara Village. And then there was our scavenger hunt, which was awesome as usual. Well, by usual, I mean awesome as the first and only other time we've had one. The list was better this time, and although the end result wasn't as close between the two teams this time around, I had just as much fun. Since I've planned both of our scavenger hunts for the crew in Watertown, I'm excited to tackle the third one, and see how I can make it new and interesting.
I've also come to the conclusion that I'm literally going nowhere with this point. I'm just typing because, well, stuff happened and I thought it would be cool to talk about it. Which is interesting, because seven minutes ago, when this page was blank, I was going to write about going back to school. Which hasn't happened yet (in this post (and in real life)). And since I don't want to have another horribly lengthy blog post (although I feel as though I'm past that point now...), I'll save Stonehill for when I get to Stonehill. Just seems to make more sense.
Perhaps the reason it seems like time flew by in these two weeks is because, well, time flew by. It only took me and Vicki some three days before we saw each other again. She came up to Watertown for a couple of days, and us and my friends from home went to the beach. (What's even better about this is that we've been trying to go to the beach for two years. Contrary to what my back skin will say, it was worth it.) Which was a ton of fun. Again, contrary to what my back skin will say. A tip for anybody who gets buried up to their neck - breathe slowly. Especially if your friends use mud sand to patch you up, because you don't really have that much room to breathe.
Um, what else, I introduced Vicki to the Chateau and its delicious dining, went to Plymouth for a few days and got some tacos, and I've been keeping up with the Celtics and how they probably don't deserve to win 70% of the games they play, but somehow win 80% of said games. Oh, and playing basketball. Lots and lots of basketball. Which has become a staple for being in Watertown over the summer, which I can hopefully bring with me to Stonehill. Especially since I'll be living in O'Hara Village. And then there was our scavenger hunt, which was awesome as usual. Well, by usual, I mean awesome as the first and only other time we've had one. The list was better this time, and although the end result wasn't as close between the two teams this time around, I had just as much fun. Since I've planned both of our scavenger hunts for the crew in Watertown, I'm excited to tackle the third one, and see how I can make it new and interesting.
I've also come to the conclusion that I'm literally going nowhere with this point. I'm just typing because, well, stuff happened and I thought it would be cool to talk about it. Which is interesting, because seven minutes ago, when this page was blank, I was going to write about going back to school. Which hasn't happened yet (in this post (and in real life)). And since I don't want to have another horribly lengthy blog post (although I feel as though I'm past that point now...), I'll save Stonehill for when I get to Stonehill. Just seems to make more sense.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Everybody Dies
(Editor's Note: Prepare yourself for major spoilers, because this is about the series finale of House. If you haven't seen it and would like to in the near future, stop reading.)
Wow.
I promise I'll write more than just that, but wow. Wow to the first time I watched the series finale of House, wow to the second time I watched it, and wow to the entire series as a whole, and the kind of meaning I've been able to take away from it. The writers have said that from the very beginning, we weren't supposed to like House. Too bad, because I've always loved him. And it's taken on a different feeling, because I understand him way more now than I ever have. Especially after watching the series finale. If you're reading this, I'm assuming that you've watched the episode, so I'll go into the meaning of it instead of simply what happens. Which is what House has always been about, anyway.
From the beginning of the episode until midway through Wilson's part in the funeral, I thought the episode was perfect both times I watched it. It was the perfect way to represent House in the eyes of people who knew him best. Each hallucination said and acted exactly how they had been throughout the series, but since it was House's hallucination, they interacted as though they were House, as well. It was a perfect culmination of what House really believed in, which was accompanied by the paralleling House/patient conversations.
From the latter point on, I didn't really understand it the first time. I initially thought that House might have actually died, and that Wilson was hallucinating House and what he wanted to see, and how he wanted to go about his last five months. It fit, but there was a better explanation the second time around. House did actually die, but as always, the reason is more important, and the reason is that I have finally decided that this might have been one of the best episodes ever for House.
What House told Cameron was that he skipped a chunk of a conversation with the patient, and it was the part where House realized that the patient was better off dead - that he was a better person dying than he ever was living, and that the world would be a better place without him. Harsh, but true. The beauty in it, however, is that House realized that the same is true for himself. He had been burdening everyone around him, and that his death would lift an enormous weight off of everyone's shoulders. Especially Wilson, the one person that House actually cared about besides himself. That one scene where House decides to get up from lying down with Cameron is amazing. House realized that it was more than just a puzzle, that life is more than just a puzzle. Easy for us to see, but not House, because that's what his entire life had become.
So, after having seen the series finale for a second time, everything makes sense. The puzzle is complete. I already know that I want to watch all eight seasons straight through one summer, so I can experience the entire series as a whole, cohesive unit, going through my favorite episodes, scenes, quotes, and meanings.
The one thing remaining is that I'm not entirely sure how to end this post. I'm sure that I've gone through this explanation before, but I feel that I'm pretty adept at bringing everything together nicely at the end. Sort of that driving-off-into-the-distance kind of thing. I don't really have that here. But you know what?
You can't always get what you want.
Wow.
I promise I'll write more than just that, but wow. Wow to the first time I watched the series finale of House, wow to the second time I watched it, and wow to the entire series as a whole, and the kind of meaning I've been able to take away from it. The writers have said that from the very beginning, we weren't supposed to like House. Too bad, because I've always loved him. And it's taken on a different feeling, because I understand him way more now than I ever have. Especially after watching the series finale. If you're reading this, I'm assuming that you've watched the episode, so I'll go into the meaning of it instead of simply what happens. Which is what House has always been about, anyway.
From the beginning of the episode until midway through Wilson's part in the funeral, I thought the episode was perfect both times I watched it. It was the perfect way to represent House in the eyes of people who knew him best. Each hallucination said and acted exactly how they had been throughout the series, but since it was House's hallucination, they interacted as though they were House, as well. It was a perfect culmination of what House really believed in, which was accompanied by the paralleling House/patient conversations.
From the latter point on, I didn't really understand it the first time. I initially thought that House might have actually died, and that Wilson was hallucinating House and what he wanted to see, and how he wanted to go about his last five months. It fit, but there was a better explanation the second time around. House did actually die, but as always, the reason is more important, and the reason is that I have finally decided that this might have been one of the best episodes ever for House.
What House told Cameron was that he skipped a chunk of a conversation with the patient, and it was the part where House realized that the patient was better off dead - that he was a better person dying than he ever was living, and that the world would be a better place without him. Harsh, but true. The beauty in it, however, is that House realized that the same is true for himself. He had been burdening everyone around him, and that his death would lift an enormous weight off of everyone's shoulders. Especially Wilson, the one person that House actually cared about besides himself. That one scene where House decides to get up from lying down with Cameron is amazing. House realized that it was more than just a puzzle, that life is more than just a puzzle. Easy for us to see, but not House, because that's what his entire life had become.
So, after having seen the series finale for a second time, everything makes sense. The puzzle is complete. I already know that I want to watch all eight seasons straight through one summer, so I can experience the entire series as a whole, cohesive unit, going through my favorite episodes, scenes, quotes, and meanings.
The one thing remaining is that I'm not entirely sure how to end this post. I'm sure that I've gone through this explanation before, but I feel that I'm pretty adept at bringing everything together nicely at the end. Sort of that driving-off-into-the-distance kind of thing. I don't really have that here. But you know what?
You can't always get what you want.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
If I ran Major League Baseball
- Do not count the All-Star Game.
- So many things are wrong with this, but I won't go into too much detail explaining them, since they all kind of connect anyway. One of the main reasons the All-Star Game counts is because of the tie in 2002 in Selig's hometown of Milwaukee. Having the game count means that there must be a winner, no matter how long the game would go. This became relevant in 2008, when the American League won in 15 innings.
- Give home-field advantage in the World Series to the team with the better record.
- As a result of the All-Star Game counting, the league that wins the game gets home-field advantage in the World Series. The problem with this is simple - the better team does not enjoy important games (maybe like GAME SEVEN) at home. Last year, the Texas Rangers (96-66) had to play Game 7 on the road against St. Louis (90-72), simply because the American League lost the All-Star Game.
- Eliminate the second wild-card team.
- I actually love the concept of a one-game playoff between the two wild card teams, but for my giant Reconstruction plan to work, we need to start making things simpler.
- Play every team in at least one series.
- You have to earn that World Series home-field advantage, right? The American League is stronger because of the designated hitter, meaning stronger lineups, and subsequently, stronger pitching. (Just disregard the previous two All-Star Games and World Series.) Under the assumption that each division will have five teams in it (15 teams in each league), play each team in the other league in one three-game series. Play each non-division team in your league in two such series, and play within your division for four series, for a total of 153 games. All three-game sets, and it would be a uniform number of times teams played each other inside and outside the division. And every team gets a look at everyone else.
- With those nine extra games, make the LDS a best-of-seven series.
- I'm not really sure why the League Division Series is only a best-of-five. Maybe it's because of October. I honestly have no idea. But make each series a best-of-seven. It's a better test of who the better team is, and Game 7 just sounds way better than Game 5 if it's the last game in a series.
- Make every playoff series a 2-2-1-1-1 format.
- I hate the 2-3-2 format, where the home team gets Games 1, 2, 6, and 7 at home. Game 5 is the most pivotal game of the series (except, obviously, if the series goes seven); either the series is tied at two and one team can clinch in Game 6, or one team is up 3-1 and can clinch in Game 5. The better team should play this game at home.
- Have a salary cap.
- Now that my perfectly molded scheduling/playoff system is set, I'll touch on a couple of other things. I'm not that caught up on baseball politics and what goes on in the corporation, but I'd like to see a salary cap. If the Rays can make it to the World Series in 2008 with the second-lowest payroll in baseball, everyone else should be able to. In 2012, the average salary on the team with the lowest payroll (San Diego) is $1.97 million. Baseball players are overpaid, prices for fans are too high (alright, maybe just in Boston), and there needs to be a more level playing field. How the MLB would go about this change is beyond me. I just think it should happen.
- Shorten games.
- There are probably dozens of ways to do this, but the one that I had in mind was limiting manager/pitching coach/catcher/infielder/anybody visits to the mound to one per inning. Cumulatively. The catcher can go out as often as he wants; the infielders can visit the mound as frequently, too. This would force the pitcher to (God forbid I say this) pitch. Which I am obviously a proponent of.
There you have it. Commissioner Matt Tardiff. Actually no, if Bud Selig gets to go by not his real name (Allan), then I don't have to either. Now all I need to do is figure out what generic nickname to go by if I ever run Major League Baseball...
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
"Glee" running diary
Bill Simmons usually writes a live diary about important sports games, whether it be Celtics playoff games, or the Red Sox collapse on the final day of the 2011 season, and I always love how those articles look. Being forced to watch the penultimate, two-hour-long episode of the season of Glee with Vicki, I will try and squeeze out as much enjoyment of this as I can. So...
8:08 p.m. I'm still not really sure what has happened on Glee from when I stopped watching it in the beginning of season two, to now, at the end of season three. It seems kinda like Lost where they ran out of stuff to do, so they just incorporate any good idea into the writing. Only for Glee, it includes songs that have gone from cool stuff that I know to pop culture and recent music that I don't go near.
8:11. "All you're doing is hating on it! Why don't you live tweet THAT?"
8:15. All of the characters switched because one of them had a head injury. It's actually really cool to see everyone as somebody else.
8:20. I love anything involving Samuel L. Jackson.
8:30. I wish that television shows had free reign to swear as much as they want. It would make any heightened scene or conversation exponentially better. Maybe one day...
8:42. Regarding the commercial for Dunkin Donuts MIB3 coffee...any time you mix coffee with other coffee, you get something worse than either thing. Just not a good idea.
8:47. One of the characters on the show is the catcher from Major League 2. Horrible movie, but the fact that he was from something I knew was cool.
8:54. Just found House on the TV guide, and it was "Son of a Coma Guy." One of my favorite episodes, which includes my favorite House monologue ever. Also...House is ending in six days. Wow. WOW. House is ending in six days. Wow...
9:00. Lady Gaga on The Simpsons? Very interesting. Actually, not that interesting at all. I won't watch it.
9:16. All the chicks just sang "Edge of Glory." It was actually pretty good - so good that if I still watched Glee, I would download it. Probably because it sounds like the original...loud with many things going on. Which makes that interesting/not interesting thing happen.
9:18. I love songs with very profound/deliberate cadences, like this song from The Rocky Horror Picture Show (0:48). (Editor's Note: Props to Vicki for telling me that it was not from Grease.) My current favorite example is the cadence of the chorus to "No Way Back" by Foo Fighters.
9:31. One of the groups performed "Pinball Wizard." THIS was the reason I watched Glee. Not for the first song the same group performed, which was by Nicki Minaj. Cool stuff.
9:34. Commercial for the Olympic Games, reminding me of Michael Phelps's epic win in the previous Olympics. Even if you're not a fan of swimming, the Olympics, America, or anything...it was such an intense moment.
9:36. Lindsay Lohan is a 12-time Teen Choice Award winner? Congratulations, contemporaries. We effectively ruined the world.
9:53. FOX really has to stop showing stuff relating to the last House episode ever. I know already that I'm going to cry. If not bawl my eyes out.
9:55. Time for the last song. "It better be a good effing song."
9:56. "We Are the Champions." If only Vicki didn't hate Queen...although I think she likes this version.
10:00. After what I will concede to be a pretty decent couple of hours, we turned off the television to the newscaster saying something about choking in pain...there always seems to be some comic relief after cool moments in TV shows.
And when it's all said and done, I'm pretty happy with my first running diary post. I won't do it for House, because I'll be way too into the finale, but perhaps some other time. I'm not really sure how Bill Simmons ends his posts...after going to the article about the 2011 Red Sox collapse, I will leave you with a similar ending. "The 2011 Red Sox needed to go away. And they did."
8:08 p.m. I'm still not really sure what has happened on Glee from when I stopped watching it in the beginning of season two, to now, at the end of season three. It seems kinda like Lost where they ran out of stuff to do, so they just incorporate any good idea into the writing. Only for Glee, it includes songs that have gone from cool stuff that I know to pop culture and recent music that I don't go near.
8:11. "All you're doing is hating on it! Why don't you live tweet THAT?"
8:20. I love anything involving Samuel L. Jackson.
8:30. I wish that television shows had free reign to swear as much as they want. It would make any heightened scene or conversation exponentially better. Maybe one day...
8:42. Regarding the commercial for Dunkin Donuts MIB3 coffee...any time you mix coffee with other coffee, you get something worse than either thing. Just not a good idea.
8:47. One of the characters on the show is the catcher from Major League 2. Horrible movie, but the fact that he was from something I knew was cool.
8:54. Just found House on the TV guide, and it was "Son of a Coma Guy." One of my favorite episodes, which includes my favorite House monologue ever. Also...House is ending in six days. Wow. WOW. House is ending in six days. Wow...
9:00. Lady Gaga on The Simpsons? Very interesting. Actually, not that interesting at all. I won't watch it.
9:16. All the chicks just sang "Edge of Glory." It was actually pretty good - so good that if I still watched Glee, I would download it. Probably because it sounds like the original...loud with many things going on. Which makes that interesting/not interesting thing happen.
9:18. I love songs with very profound/deliberate cadences, like this song from The Rocky Horror Picture Show (0:48). (Editor's Note: Props to Vicki for telling me that it was not from Grease.) My current favorite example is the cadence of the chorus to "No Way Back" by Foo Fighters.
9:31. One of the groups performed "Pinball Wizard." THIS was the reason I watched Glee. Not for the first song the same group performed, which was by Nicki Minaj. Cool stuff.
9:34. Commercial for the Olympic Games, reminding me of Michael Phelps's epic win in the previous Olympics. Even if you're not a fan of swimming, the Olympics, America, or anything...it was such an intense moment.
9:36. Lindsay Lohan is a 12-time Teen Choice Award winner? Congratulations, contemporaries. We effectively ruined the world.
9:53. FOX really has to stop showing stuff relating to the last House episode ever. I know already that I'm going to cry. If not bawl my eyes out.
9:55. Time for the last song. "It better be a good effing song."
9:56. "We Are the Champions." If only Vicki didn't hate Queen...although I think she likes this version.
10:00. After what I will concede to be a pretty decent couple of hours, we turned off the television to the newscaster saying something about choking in pain...there always seems to be some comic relief after cool moments in TV shows.
And when it's all said and done, I'm pretty happy with my first running diary post. I won't do it for House, because I'll be way too into the finale, but perhaps some other time. I'm not really sure how Bill Simmons ends his posts...after going to the article about the 2011 Red Sox collapse, I will leave you with a similar ending. "The 2011 Red Sox needed to go away. And they did."
Thursday, May 10, 2012
One Summer, Many Rooms
Go find some headphones, put them on, and listen to contemplative music. Something quiet and soothing, that lets you get away from all of your concerns, worries, or fears for a few minutes. Seriously, go do it. Do it before you read any more. I believe that music makes good things better, and if you find any of what I've written below to be good, I want it to be better.
It currently stands at 6:28 p.m., on Thursday, May 10th, 2012. I say that because that's how I started off my final post from Stonehill my freshman year, and it's how I want to start off the last one of my sophomore year. I am at approximately the same location - a few hundred feet from where I was last year, using the same laptop, listening to the same piece of Lost music that I found so beautiful 367 days ago. The sky is clearing to my right, and the smell of rain lingers in the air. My post last year was about the meaning of life, and did not really encapsulate the year as a whole. Not much of what I will try and write here does that, either.
What I will say, upon reflection, is that I learned how to ask different questions about myself this year. Last year, having been in a philosophy class in the spring, I was granted many an opportunity to reflect, and figure out what I believe. This year, I've been a little more unquestioning, but that doesn't mean I stopped learning about myself. I learned that relationships can be more delicate and profound that you may think. Not just with significant people in your life, but with anybody. I think of the seniors at Stonehill that I've gotten to know over the last two years, and I wonder what things will be like between us. Some I am closer with than others, and I hope to keep in touch with most of them, but how realistic can it be? People go their own ways, and that's that. I trust that some day, I'll run into the ones I had ended up wanting to stay in touch with, anyway. I've found that the universe operates like that, sometimes.
But like I said, this isn't so much about looking back as it is about looking forward. There are a number of exciting things in store for me this summer, and they all happen in different rooms. Literally. I'll be going home for two weeks, to see my friends and family, and to make the most out of the short time I have there before I return to Stonehill for the summer. I'm incredibly excited to have the opportunity to be at Stonehill over the summer, in different contexts. At the end of June, I will move into O'Hara or the Sem for Orientation, and have another incredible experience with the team over those ten days. I will visit home often, see Vicki in Plymouth often, and go down to the Cape when I can. Many rooms.
I'm not melancholic as I write this, or as I think about leaving Stonehill for the year. Over this year, I've realized that there will always be a handful of friends that I'll be away from - whether it's my home friends during the school year, my Stonehill friends during the summer, or anybody else who comes and goes, I might never be with all of my friends at one time. And that's the beauty of life. It's not perfect. But think about this - I will always be with some group of friends, at any given time. Whether it's my Watertown friends over the summer, my Stonehill friends during the school year, when I see Vicki in Plymouth, when the SURE Scholars have lunch on Wednesdays, when my friends and I live in the same suite next year, when I come to Watertown for our five-year reunion...that's the real beauty of life. That it actually is perfect.
You might not believe any of what I'm saying; in that case, good for you. You know what your beliefs are, and you're sticking by them. But if you have any sliver of curiosity that what I'm saying makes absolutely perfect sense, think about it for yourself. Find a place where you can be at peace with yourself, listen to music without words, and let all of the emotion and thoughts seep into your mind. Think about the love in your life. The preciousness of every day, and the joy that we get to spend it with the people we love and care for.
It is 6:45 p.m., and it is still Thursday, May 10th, 2012. I'm telling you that because I'm telling it to myself, for when I look back at this post and see that it took seventeen minutes to get to this sentence right here.
Look at that. Look at this sentence. What you are reading is real. It happened, and it's a part of life. It was a part of my life when I typed it, but now that you're reading it right now, it's a part of your life. It is real.
This is real. How awesome is that?
It currently stands at 6:28 p.m., on Thursday, May 10th, 2012. I say that because that's how I started off my final post from Stonehill my freshman year, and it's how I want to start off the last one of my sophomore year. I am at approximately the same location - a few hundred feet from where I was last year, using the same laptop, listening to the same piece of Lost music that I found so beautiful 367 days ago. The sky is clearing to my right, and the smell of rain lingers in the air. My post last year was about the meaning of life, and did not really encapsulate the year as a whole. Not much of what I will try and write here does that, either.
What I will say, upon reflection, is that I learned how to ask different questions about myself this year. Last year, having been in a philosophy class in the spring, I was granted many an opportunity to reflect, and figure out what I believe. This year, I've been a little more unquestioning, but that doesn't mean I stopped learning about myself. I learned that relationships can be more delicate and profound that you may think. Not just with significant people in your life, but with anybody. I think of the seniors at Stonehill that I've gotten to know over the last two years, and I wonder what things will be like between us. Some I am closer with than others, and I hope to keep in touch with most of them, but how realistic can it be? People go their own ways, and that's that. I trust that some day, I'll run into the ones I had ended up wanting to stay in touch with, anyway. I've found that the universe operates like that, sometimes.
But like I said, this isn't so much about looking back as it is about looking forward. There are a number of exciting things in store for me this summer, and they all happen in different rooms. Literally. I'll be going home for two weeks, to see my friends and family, and to make the most out of the short time I have there before I return to Stonehill for the summer. I'm incredibly excited to have the opportunity to be at Stonehill over the summer, in different contexts. At the end of June, I will move into O'Hara or the Sem for Orientation, and have another incredible experience with the team over those ten days. I will visit home often, see Vicki in Plymouth often, and go down to the Cape when I can. Many rooms.
I'm not melancholic as I write this, or as I think about leaving Stonehill for the year. Over this year, I've realized that there will always be a handful of friends that I'll be away from - whether it's my home friends during the school year, my Stonehill friends during the summer, or anybody else who comes and goes, I might never be with all of my friends at one time. And that's the beauty of life. It's not perfect. But think about this - I will always be with some group of friends, at any given time. Whether it's my Watertown friends over the summer, my Stonehill friends during the school year, when I see Vicki in Plymouth, when the SURE Scholars have lunch on Wednesdays, when my friends and I live in the same suite next year, when I come to Watertown for our five-year reunion...that's the real beauty of life. That it actually is perfect.
You might not believe any of what I'm saying; in that case, good for you. You know what your beliefs are, and you're sticking by them. But if you have any sliver of curiosity that what I'm saying makes absolutely perfect sense, think about it for yourself. Find a place where you can be at peace with yourself, listen to music without words, and let all of the emotion and thoughts seep into your mind. Think about the love in your life. The preciousness of every day, and the joy that we get to spend it with the people we love and care for.
It is 6:45 p.m., and it is still Thursday, May 10th, 2012. I'm telling you that because I'm telling it to myself, for when I look back at this post and see that it took seventeen minutes to get to this sentence right here.
Look at that. Look at this sentence. What you are reading is real. It happened, and it's a part of life. It was a part of my life when I typed it, but now that you're reading it right now, it's a part of your life. It is real.
This is real. How awesome is that?
Monday, May 7, 2012
11-16
"Let's not forget how lucky we've been."
This is what my friend said to me as we were just talking about the Red Sox and their slow start. And I thought about how lucky Red Sox fans really have been, especially ones who are our age. We've only had to live through the 2003 ALCS; no Buckner, no Bucky Dent...just Aaron Boone. Which was redeemed one year later in the greatest comeback in MLB history. We've had no-hitters thrown at Fenway, we've had a clinching Game 7 ALCS victory, we've had two World Series championships. Retired numbers, Hall of Famers, idiots, and everything else that's happened to this team. As an aside, the entire city of Boston has been blessed with such success with sports teams. Three Super Bowls, an NBA championship, a Stanley Cup, and two World Series championships, all in the span of a decade. We have been very lucky. But have we been too lucky?
Have we come to expect too much out of a team that might not be able to deliver? The three best starting pitchers heading into this season included a two no-hitters, two World Series clinching game winners, and a slew of talent. This year, one of them has allowed five or more earned runs in each of his first six starts (Clay Buchholz). One had a start skipped simply because he threw 126 pitches and didn't tell anyone he was feeling hurt before the start (Josh Beckett). The third, our ace, has a 4.62 ERA with a 25:17 K:BB ratio (Jon Lester). Having been blessed with some of the greatest pitchers ever (Pedro Martinez being the first one off the top of my head), are we expecting too much out of our pitching?
And the offense. The 2003 and 2004 Red Sox lineup was one of the most potent in history. There were no automatic outs, the team ran around the bases, and was always a threat to break out for a crooked number. This year? Statistical observation aside, the team runs itself into crucial outs and takes itself out of situations for runs.
Straight up, this is not a fun baseball team to watch. Everyone is still a believer, but I feel like I'm one of the first to think about what exactly we're believing in. We will always believe in the hometown team, the one who's been there for us. But I think that it's time to ask ourselves - are they there for us now?
This is what my friend said to me as we were just talking about the Red Sox and their slow start. And I thought about how lucky Red Sox fans really have been, especially ones who are our age. We've only had to live through the 2003 ALCS; no Buckner, no Bucky Dent...just Aaron Boone. Which was redeemed one year later in the greatest comeback in MLB history. We've had no-hitters thrown at Fenway, we've had a clinching Game 7 ALCS victory, we've had two World Series championships. Retired numbers, Hall of Famers, idiots, and everything else that's happened to this team. As an aside, the entire city of Boston has been blessed with such success with sports teams. Three Super Bowls, an NBA championship, a Stanley Cup, and two World Series championships, all in the span of a decade. We have been very lucky. But have we been too lucky?
Have we come to expect too much out of a team that might not be able to deliver? The three best starting pitchers heading into this season included a two no-hitters, two World Series clinching game winners, and a slew of talent. This year, one of them has allowed five or more earned runs in each of his first six starts (Clay Buchholz). One had a start skipped simply because he threw 126 pitches and didn't tell anyone he was feeling hurt before the start (Josh Beckett). The third, our ace, has a 4.62 ERA with a 25:17 K:BB ratio (Jon Lester). Having been blessed with some of the greatest pitchers ever (Pedro Martinez being the first one off the top of my head), are we expecting too much out of our pitching?
And the offense. The 2003 and 2004 Red Sox lineup was one of the most potent in history. There were no automatic outs, the team ran around the bases, and was always a threat to break out for a crooked number. This year? Statistical observation aside, the team runs itself into crucial outs and takes itself out of situations for runs.
Straight up, this is not a fun baseball team to watch. Everyone is still a believer, but I feel like I'm one of the first to think about what exactly we're believing in. We will always believe in the hometown team, the one who's been there for us. But I think that it's time to ask ourselves - are they there for us now?
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Shuffle
I would like to make a confession as a music enthusiast.
I can't make a playlist to save my life.
For years now, I've been working around the same sort of playlists - one to drive around at night to with my friends from home, one designed for sunny Saturday afternoons, one to fall asleep to...the only two playlists that have come close to being a concrete thing are for when the sun is rising or setting (acoustic and soft rock, respectively). And the reason I've never been able to complete any other playlist is because the feeling of the playlist is in a constant flux. Yes, some songs are perfect for the playlist, but to fill in another five or six is always impossible, because nothing can replicate those perfect songs.
Now I have another confession, as an ardent blogger.
My blog is becoming one of those playlists.
With the newTunes Project a semi-fail, me getting a real Twitter, and the Rulebook not being fleshed out, there are, metaphorically, a few playlists that I haven't been able to complete. And like those playlists in iTunes, I think I will end up deleting these tabs on the blog. The only thing remaining is the class gifts, which I actually do intend to finish. And am surprisingly making progress with, which is cool. But with the end of the school year upon me, I feel like changing up things up a little. New layout, taking care of the clutter, and making things simple.
...Right, my title. It was going to be "Simple Man," but I went with "Shuffle" because that's the point of not having playlists. The reason for not having the playlists is because all of the songs are in my iTunes library for a reason...I might as well listen to them as one. So why can't the blog follow suit? Might as well, right? So I'm changing things up. I'm not really sure how to end this post, but I'm alright with that. Sometimes I have really good, awesome endings to posts, but other times it just kind of happens. This is clearly the latter. Alas...
I can't make a playlist to save my life.
For years now, I've been working around the same sort of playlists - one to drive around at night to with my friends from home, one designed for sunny Saturday afternoons, one to fall asleep to...the only two playlists that have come close to being a concrete thing are for when the sun is rising or setting (acoustic and soft rock, respectively). And the reason I've never been able to complete any other playlist is because the feeling of the playlist is in a constant flux. Yes, some songs are perfect for the playlist, but to fill in another five or six is always impossible, because nothing can replicate those perfect songs.
Now I have another confession, as an ardent blogger.
My blog is becoming one of those playlists.
With the newTunes Project a semi-fail, me getting a real Twitter, and the Rulebook not being fleshed out, there are, metaphorically, a few playlists that I haven't been able to complete. And like those playlists in iTunes, I think I will end up deleting these tabs on the blog. The only thing remaining is the class gifts, which I actually do intend to finish. And am surprisingly making progress with, which is cool. But with the end of the school year upon me, I feel like changing up things up a little. New layout, taking care of the clutter, and making things simple.
...Right, my title. It was going to be "Simple Man," but I went with "Shuffle" because that's the point of not having playlists. The reason for not having the playlists is because all of the songs are in my iTunes library for a reason...I might as well listen to them as one. So why can't the blog follow suit? Might as well, right? So I'm changing things up. I'm not really sure how to end this post, but I'm alright with that. Sometimes I have really good, awesome endings to posts, but other times it just kind of happens. This is clearly the latter. Alas...
Friday, May 4, 2012
Untitled
Hopefully, this isn't my end-of-the-year post. I say hopefully, because I only just realized that sophomore year is ending, I'm halfway done with college, and that this time last year, I was contemplating the meaning of life. I need some time to let this all legitimately sink in. For the time being, I'll write about what just happened to me. I was poking around iTunes, trying to figure out some songs to play during the summer while I'm at Stonehill. Working on imagining multiple instruments going on at once, when all I might hear is a guitar. I went to Pandora to check out some songs similar to Bon Iver, but had to delete a couple of old playlists first. After I deleted the first playlist, Pandora took me to my instrumental playlist (with "Memorial" by Explosions in the Sky as a song seed). It was already sixteen seconds into a song that didn't come up with a title, artist, album, or artwork. All blank. I thought about refreshing the page to see if a title would come up, but I decided to just listen, because I really liked the song. I then chose to wait until the next song played so I could just look back, but again, nothing. It was as though the song was never played. But when I was listening to this unknown, untitled song, it felt good not knowing. Which I suppose is the beauty of instrumentals. You don't know what the lyrics mean, since there are none. All you have to work with is the title and the music. Even less, in some cases. Usually I don't venture towards the unknown, but this was a pleasant exception.
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