Thank you West Virginia University Basketball team!
I grew up in the state of West Virginia as a Mountaineer fan. I have attended numerous basketball and football games. As a Mountaineer fan, I got jaded. We seemed to have seasons of "almosts." I watched the 1988 football team almost win a national championship. I watched a 1993 football team almost play for the national championship (and still lose their respective bowl game). In basketball, since joining the Big East, I have watched us almost beat teams we had no business beating.
The thing is, when predicted to be mediocre to poor, we were mediocre to poor. When predicted to be good, we either underachieved or were good. We rarely - if ever - had 'magic.' That's what I call the intangibles that make a team better than the individual player on that team. Some call it heart; some call it chemistry; I call it 'magic.'
Even in 1998 - the last time we made the NCAA Basketball tournament - we didn't seem to have that magic, despite going to the Sweet 16. We had some good players.
Now in 2005, we have a good team. The players themselves are good, but unselfish. On any given night, any player can be the hero. And our team for the first time showed magic. They over-acheived. They weren't supposed to make the tournament, and they did. Many people did have them winning the first round, but they did. No one had them beating a favorite for the Championship, but they did. And when going up against Texas Tech, people said that WV would be out of gas, going up against a legendary basketball coach in Bobby Knight - there was no way.... but we did.
Then came the game against Louisville. And again, no one gave use a shot. We did not win. But, we almost did.
But this was a different 'almost' than the previous 'almosts.' This was one West Virginia could be proud of. It wasn't a blocked punt in the end zone. This was a team that put a state on their shoulders and took us for a ride. They were polite, and respectful. They played hard. They brought their best game. They fought, and came up short.
I think many of the 'almosts' of the past were frustrating because we were supposed to win. Or at least have a realistic shot. But with what John Beilein has done for this West Virginia program, and the character he has built on this team, he has made the state proud.
I have talked to a couple people who were upset at the game; to end the season like that was disheartening. Not for me. Every team in that tournament will end their season with a loss except for one. And we outlasted every team in the Big East that was supposed to make it further. And we made it further that some "great" teams, like Wake Forest, Duke, Syracuse, Washington, Alabama, Georgia Tech, Florida, UConn Cincinnati (who has the coach we originally 'courted' - pun intended) and it makes me proud.
Thank you for showing a fan base that was becoming more and more cynical - that there is hope.
I want to say 'Thank you' to Beilein and the players. They have done more for me as a West Virginia fan over the past season than I could have ever imagined. I care about the sport, but this year, I cared about the team. So, thank you for showing me a team that leaves everything on the court, and has the character to congratulate the other team when we lose. This is what college sports is supposed to be about. We went through some very disappointing times in the last couple years of Gale Catlett's coaching. NCAA violations, selfishness of the players, not meeting potential.... it was - at times - sickening. But Beilein and his players - along with the tremendous character of Tyrone Sally (the last Catlett player) - cleaned it up and found a true gem of a basketball team.
One I will fondly remember for years. And when I get together with my friends - we will not get frustrated with the 'almosts' of the past, but look at this 'almost,' shake our head and grin from Eer to Eer.
Monday, March 28, 2005
Sunday, March 20, 2005
OH YEAH?!? WELL YOU'RE HAIR IS FUNNY.
My biggest pet peeve is sterotypes. Thankfully - racial and gender stereotypes are taboo in today's culture so I don't have to hear them that much - even if someone is thinking them. The one I do hear most often is about West Virginia (the state where I am from) and how the people there are hillbillies.
Most often, I hear it in a situation that deals with sports. Like last night - West Virginia University beat Wake Forest in the NCAA tournament game. And today, I read on message boards that we didn't deserve to win because we are hillbillies, or hicks, or backwoods inbreds, or whatever. It just doesn't make sense. I founf it funny, because making fun of the state is a last gasp effort when they have nothing else to criticize.
"Hey we won yipee!"
"Yeah? Well..... that shirt doesn't match those shoes."
That's what the exchange sounds like to me. I read that it was a thrilling win for WVU, not because we won, but because West Virginia just got color television last week. And that is supposed to hurt? It was in response to a WV being nice - saying the game was a classic and what not. I wonder if the irony is lost on everyone, that the person telling us that we are so behind the times is responding to a post from WV on an internet message board? "We ain't got no TV, but we love our dang innernet!"
I guess what I find a little amusing as well, is that it is a college game. Not everyone who goes to a college is from the state that it is in. Less than half of WVU's basketball team is from WV (with one from Germany). What sense is there in calling them 'hicks?'
I don't know, I guess I am dignifying the comments with a response. I thought the game was great. I would have never dreamed WVU could beat a team as talented as Wake. I don't expect them to go futher, though I would love to see it. I guess I would just like it better if people would find something new to pick on. I have heard all of the backwoods jokes before. They are old and tired. But it's easy, and when someone is looking for something to grab on to, they grab the easiest branch.
Most often, I hear it in a situation that deals with sports. Like last night - West Virginia University beat Wake Forest in the NCAA tournament game. And today, I read on message boards that we didn't deserve to win because we are hillbillies, or hicks, or backwoods inbreds, or whatever. It just doesn't make sense. I founf it funny, because making fun of the state is a last gasp effort when they have nothing else to criticize.
"Hey we won yipee!"
"Yeah? Well..... that shirt doesn't match those shoes."
That's what the exchange sounds like to me. I read that it was a thrilling win for WVU, not because we won, but because West Virginia just got color television last week. And that is supposed to hurt? It was in response to a WV being nice - saying the game was a classic and what not. I wonder if the irony is lost on everyone, that the person telling us that we are so behind the times is responding to a post from WV on an internet message board? "We ain't got no TV, but we love our dang innernet!"
I guess what I find a little amusing as well, is that it is a college game. Not everyone who goes to a college is from the state that it is in. Less than half of WVU's basketball team is from WV (with one from Germany). What sense is there in calling them 'hicks?'
I don't know, I guess I am dignifying the comments with a response. I thought the game was great. I would have never dreamed WVU could beat a team as talented as Wake. I don't expect them to go futher, though I would love to see it. I guess I would just like it better if people would find something new to pick on. I have heard all of the backwoods jokes before. They are old and tired. But it's easy, and when someone is looking for something to grab on to, they grab the easiest branch.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Bring on the Madness
Let me see.... Highlighter? Check. Brackets? Check. Wings and beer? Check and check. It's March Madness. 65 teams fighting for the National Championship. The best part? Single elimination. Anyone can win a game. One game can change the course of the tournament. If a 14 seed knocks off a 3 seed - something that should not happen - the tournament is changed.
Drama. The NCAA centers around drama from the one game. The last second shots, the underdog's run, the improbable happening before your very eyes. This can draw the casual viewer in. It makes it human. These are kids. 18 - 22 year old kids. Trying to deal with pressure. Trying to raise their game. Trying to pull of what people say cannot be done. But if you are in, you have a chance.
Then there are the brackets. Everyone has a bracket. The reason? It gives you a personal interest in every game. It gives you someone to root for. You may have not seen Pacific play a single game, but if you pick them in an upset, you are invested in the game, and root for them as if they were your Alma Mater. And if your Alma Mater is in the tourny... all the better.
In college, we would take a class off and watch all day. My older brother still takes time on the first 2 days to watch the game. Unfortunately I have to work. But I will sneak a peek at the internet and pull my brackets out from under my other documents and highlight my wins and cross out my losses. Picking a winner or even a round correctly is almost as hard as winning the lottery. I mean you can tell who is more talented; who is taller; who has the best shooting percentage. But you cannot see from any web page, or newspaper, the intangibles: hustle, desire, heart. Some teams take a team lighty and get shocked. Some teams get nervous. It's facinating.
The unpredictablility of sport is what makes it so wonderful. So kick back, turn on the TV (or 2 or 3) and enjoy.
Drama. The NCAA centers around drama from the one game. The last second shots, the underdog's run, the improbable happening before your very eyes. This can draw the casual viewer in. It makes it human. These are kids. 18 - 22 year old kids. Trying to deal with pressure. Trying to raise their game. Trying to pull of what people say cannot be done. But if you are in, you have a chance.
Then there are the brackets. Everyone has a bracket. The reason? It gives you a personal interest in every game. It gives you someone to root for. You may have not seen Pacific play a single game, but if you pick them in an upset, you are invested in the game, and root for them as if they were your Alma Mater. And if your Alma Mater is in the tourny... all the better.
In college, we would take a class off and watch all day. My older brother still takes time on the first 2 days to watch the game. Unfortunately I have to work. But I will sneak a peek at the internet and pull my brackets out from under my other documents and highlight my wins and cross out my losses. Picking a winner or even a round correctly is almost as hard as winning the lottery. I mean you can tell who is more talented; who is taller; who has the best shooting percentage. But you cannot see from any web page, or newspaper, the intangibles: hustle, desire, heart. Some teams take a team lighty and get shocked. Some teams get nervous. It's facinating.
The unpredictablility of sport is what makes it so wonderful. So kick back, turn on the TV (or 2 or 3) and enjoy.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
iMac therefore I am
I don't think it's any secret that I use Apple computers. Anyone who has seen the wedding web page has seen the dog sitting in front of a PowerBook. Recently Apple released the Mac mini. It's been well recevied by those who review computers (people who know more than I). I have also read a bit of "push back" from dedicated Windows users. I have no problems with people who like their machines, and adhere to their preferences. If you prefer a PC, then that's fine.
My problem is when people bring up the 'canned' arguments: "You can't use a Mac for work," "Macs are for graphic designers," "Macs can't run the same programs," and "You can't play games on a Mac." These are stereotypes that PC users seem to have come up with to not try a Mac. To not even try one.
I have worked on both PC and Mac. And even more, I have worked on PC and Mac at work. The first "push back" has always been - "yeah, but can you use it at work?" The answer anymore is "yes." Now I should point out that the Mac mini is designed for home use, as well as the iMac, and iBooks. I currently use both a Windows machine and a Mac at work and have zero problems transferring files from one to another. Even if you create a presentation in Keynote (Mac presentation software that is similar to PowerPoint) you can convert that slideshow to PowerPoint. You can also run all of Microsoft's office suite on a Mac, and the files translate perfectly fine.
And that's the majority of the work applications that people generally use. All I am saying is that the "use it for work" argument doesn't really hold water for the majority of the corporate world. They truly are not just for graphic designers anymore. While it works very well for that, it is now just a stereotype.
Games is the other argument, but to a number of users, it's of minimal concern - however, I have played "Halo" (one of the most heralded recent games) on a Mac. And more and more games are coming out with Mac versions. I don't know what capabilities or features a computer must have for a 'serious gamer,' but I do know that there are companies that have to make super-souped up systems for gaming regardless of the platform. An everyday Dell computer is not optimal for gaming either.
I think a lot comes down to "because everyone else is using Windows." And my mother always said "if every one else was going to jump off a bridge, that doesn't mean you have to."
Both platforms work fine. But, all I am saying is that opening your mind you will find that the Mac systems perform at least as well in all areas you would want to use it for than any other machine and in some cases better. If you are a home user, every Mac ships with a suite of softweare called "iLife." This is designed for the home user. iPhoto, is probably the best digital photo application out there. It allows you to edit and crop photos and even put together a slideshow accompanied with any of the music in your iTunes library. You can use iMovie to piece together photos and put into a Quicktime movie (like I have used to make the movies on my hompage). You can also hook up your video camera an import clips. Then you can take that movie and put it into iDVD and make a professional looking DVD complete with menus. All of these applications work seamlessly together.
That's my schpiel.
My problem is when people bring up the 'canned' arguments: "You can't use a Mac for work," "Macs are for graphic designers," "Macs can't run the same programs," and "You can't play games on a Mac." These are stereotypes that PC users seem to have come up with to not try a Mac. To not even try one.
I have worked on both PC and Mac. And even more, I have worked on PC and Mac at work. The first "push back" has always been - "yeah, but can you use it at work?" The answer anymore is "yes." Now I should point out that the Mac mini is designed for home use, as well as the iMac, and iBooks. I currently use both a Windows machine and a Mac at work and have zero problems transferring files from one to another. Even if you create a presentation in Keynote (Mac presentation software that is similar to PowerPoint) you can convert that slideshow to PowerPoint. You can also run all of Microsoft's office suite on a Mac, and the files translate perfectly fine.
And that's the majority of the work applications that people generally use. All I am saying is that the "use it for work" argument doesn't really hold water for the majority of the corporate world. They truly are not just for graphic designers anymore. While it works very well for that, it is now just a stereotype.
Games is the other argument, but to a number of users, it's of minimal concern - however, I have played "Halo" (one of the most heralded recent games) on a Mac. And more and more games are coming out with Mac versions. I don't know what capabilities or features a computer must have for a 'serious gamer,' but I do know that there are companies that have to make super-souped up systems for gaming regardless of the platform. An everyday Dell computer is not optimal for gaming either.
I think a lot comes down to "because everyone else is using Windows." And my mother always said "if every one else was going to jump off a bridge, that doesn't mean you have to."
Both platforms work fine. But, all I am saying is that opening your mind you will find that the Mac systems perform at least as well in all areas you would want to use it for than any other machine and in some cases better. If you are a home user, every Mac ships with a suite of softweare called "iLife." This is designed for the home user. iPhoto, is probably the best digital photo application out there. It allows you to edit and crop photos and even put together a slideshow accompanied with any of the music in your iTunes library. You can use iMovie to piece together photos and put into a Quicktime movie (like I have used to make the movies on my hompage). You can also hook up your video camera an import clips. Then you can take that movie and put it into iDVD and make a professional looking DVD complete with menus. All of these applications work seamlessly together.
That's my schpiel.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Rough Friday
In general I love Fridays. Even though I have to go to work, it's usually a good day, because everyone is in a little better mood. But yesterday - which was Friday - was so bad that it's the reason that I am writing this from my office. I'll get to that in a second.
As the Training Manager for a technical support center, I want to go through the training for all of our clients. Doing this for some is not that difficult - a few days, to a week of training. Not too bad. Over the last 2 weeks though, I have tried to go through one. I want to sit through like a student, and experience everything. I managed to accomplish this for the majority of the time. Anyway, Monday I start a different session with our largest client, and that will be 4 weeks long.
The hardest thing about doing this, is it severly reduces my ability to be a manager. I have reports and projects I need to get done, and my boss (who is great most of the time) was really demanding that a lot of these things get done by the end of the week. Well, given that sitting in class was usually 8 hours of my day, meeting I have during the week I had to reschedule during my "lunch" (I use the quotes, because it's not like I had the opportunity to eat) and anything else I needed to do would have to be done outside of class. Until Wednesday. On top of all of these things, we are hiring a couple new trainers for the client whose training begins Monday. The deal is the client sends someone to train the class while the three of us (along with regular trainees) sit through the class and pay attention not only to the information, but how the trainer presents it. It's called "Train-the Trainer." Hiring a trainer meant that I had to be a part of the interviewing. This took me away from training class on Wednesday and Thursday. On top pf this, the curriculum for Monday's class was completely changing. Which meant we had to get the software and the materials ready and printed for Monday. They said everything would be ready by Friday. Friday? Yes, Friday. If we didn't have to have 20 manuals printed and bound for Monday, that would be fine. But here we have a time crunch.
So Friday comes, and everything was starting out ok. We got the software, and we waiting on the materials. I went to training class. At which point the trainer came in and said that the class was pretty much done. All that was left was for us to go out and listen to phone calls with another associate. This is called "mentoring." I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to get some of my little 'projects' done, and then I could mentor in the afternoon. And that's when things went awry.
As a manager, most of my days are not spent completing projects, getting paperwork filed and filled out, and such. Most of my time is spent "putting out fires." Handling the small issues that pop up during the course of the day.
Fire #1: A trainee - we'll call him "Chad" has missed 30 hours of training. The rule is you are jepordizing your job if you miss 8. Then we make a judgement call. The biggest thing we ask is that if you are going to miss, then call us and let us know. If you don't then we are free to assume that you quit. Chad missed Thursday, and did not call in. This put him to about 30 hours missed (I failed to mention that he was originally tranferred from another class because he missed to much time in it). He decided to come in on Friday...late. So the trainer sent him to my office. I pulled up the "Sick Line Log" which shoes who called and when. He came in and sat down. I said "Where have you been?" (this was not the first conversation I had with him about attendance). He said "On (interstate) 83." I said "Since yesterday? That's some traffic." He said "No, I was sick yesterday." Quickly, I asked "Why didn't you call?" He replied "I did." I go "Well, I'm looking at the call log and I don't see anything that remotely resembles you name." He then said "I called Wednesday night, I can get my phone to prove it." I said "Okay." He went to get his phone and could not show where he called in. He sat there and lied to me, and I called his bluff. He lost - both the battle of wits, and his job.
Still waiting for the updated material so I can take it to the printer. I went back to work, trying to get a couple things done. I got a little done.
Fire #2: A class was graduating yesterday. However, one of the students didn't have the average to pass. The trainer let me know. I emailed my boss (who is head of HR) to see how she wanted me to handle. She got back to me an hour or so later. He was going to be let go. I told the trainer to send him to my office. He came down. We'll call this trainee "Norman." Norman sits down and I asked him "Do you know what average you need to pass training?" He said "No." I asked "Didn't the trainer let you know what you needed to pass." He shook his head. For a brienf moment - I wondered if he really didn't know until I realized that the trainer didn't tell his class what they needed to pass... I DID. On day 1 (about 4 weeks ago) I went in and gave a presentation which includes a slide that tells them what average they need to pass. Norman said that he messed up test 3 because he was rushed. I asked him if he didn have as much time as everyone else, and he didn't have an answer. I figured it up and let him know that even if he got a 100% on the test he messed up on, his average would still be below the acceptable level. He, too, lost his job.
Fire #3: A guy needed his original hire sheet to prove that he told us about a vacation that he had planned in April. I don't know why he emailed me, but then I had to go find it, talk to his Supervisor, emailed him, and the Operations managers. No resolution as of yet.
Fire #4: Had to print Non-Disclosure agreement forms from the client to use on Monday. Keep the information secret. Put those in the printer.
Still no new material.
Fire #5: One of my trainers is being moved to a different position to help New Associates on the floor. By doing this, he's changing managers. He went to a couple meeting with that manager. And decided that he didn't like it. And wanted to talk to me about it. Well, one of the positions that we hired for was the one left vacant by this transition. So, if we was wanting to come back, he really couldn't. He didn't go that far, and we talked for a while.
Finally! We got the new material. I had one my trainers download it and send it to me. Once I got it, it burned it to a CD. Popped it out and was on my way.... Driving out of the parking lot I looked up at the building that provided me with a horrible Friday, and felt releived... until I remembered. I had left all of those copies of the Non-Disclosure form in the copier. I stopped turned around and went back. I ran to the copier and grabbed the copies, and got back into my car. Driving away I looked up at the building that provided me with a horrible Friday. I was on my way to Staples to have the manual printed.
I took me a half hour to get there. I took the disk in and she popped it in her computer to find she could not open it. I went to the car and grabbed my laptop. Put the disk in, and I could not open it either. The file was "corrupt?!?" After running it through a small repair, I could open it. I burned another copy.... nothing. She still couldn't open it. Maybe it's the CD. I burned a 3rd copy on a brand new CD-R, and still nothing. I would have to print it all out. Since it is 420 pages, I can't do that from home. Which leads me to why I am in the office today. I am printing out 420 pages, so I can take the hard copy to a printer and pray that they can make the manuals by Monday morning. My weekend is killed by my Friday.
As the Training Manager for a technical support center, I want to go through the training for all of our clients. Doing this for some is not that difficult - a few days, to a week of training. Not too bad. Over the last 2 weeks though, I have tried to go through one. I want to sit through like a student, and experience everything. I managed to accomplish this for the majority of the time. Anyway, Monday I start a different session with our largest client, and that will be 4 weeks long.
The hardest thing about doing this, is it severly reduces my ability to be a manager. I have reports and projects I need to get done, and my boss (who is great most of the time) was really demanding that a lot of these things get done by the end of the week. Well, given that sitting in class was usually 8 hours of my day, meeting I have during the week I had to reschedule during my "lunch" (I use the quotes, because it's not like I had the opportunity to eat) and anything else I needed to do would have to be done outside of class. Until Wednesday. On top of all of these things, we are hiring a couple new trainers for the client whose training begins Monday. The deal is the client sends someone to train the class while the three of us (along with regular trainees) sit through the class and pay attention not only to the information, but how the trainer presents it. It's called "Train-the Trainer." Hiring a trainer meant that I had to be a part of the interviewing. This took me away from training class on Wednesday and Thursday. On top pf this, the curriculum for Monday's class was completely changing. Which meant we had to get the software and the materials ready and printed for Monday. They said everything would be ready by Friday. Friday? Yes, Friday. If we didn't have to have 20 manuals printed and bound for Monday, that would be fine. But here we have a time crunch.
So Friday comes, and everything was starting out ok. We got the software, and we waiting on the materials. I went to training class. At which point the trainer came in and said that the class was pretty much done. All that was left was for us to go out and listen to phone calls with another associate. This is called "mentoring." I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to get some of my little 'projects' done, and then I could mentor in the afternoon. And that's when things went awry.
As a manager, most of my days are not spent completing projects, getting paperwork filed and filled out, and such. Most of my time is spent "putting out fires." Handling the small issues that pop up during the course of the day.
Fire #1: A trainee - we'll call him "Chad" has missed 30 hours of training. The rule is you are jepordizing your job if you miss 8. Then we make a judgement call. The biggest thing we ask is that if you are going to miss, then call us and let us know. If you don't then we are free to assume that you quit. Chad missed Thursday, and did not call in. This put him to about 30 hours missed (I failed to mention that he was originally tranferred from another class because he missed to much time in it). He decided to come in on Friday...late. So the trainer sent him to my office. I pulled up the "Sick Line Log" which shoes who called and when. He came in and sat down. I said "Where have you been?" (this was not the first conversation I had with him about attendance). He said "On (interstate) 83." I said "Since yesterday? That's some traffic." He said "No, I was sick yesterday." Quickly, I asked "Why didn't you call?" He replied "I did." I go "Well, I'm looking at the call log and I don't see anything that remotely resembles you name." He then said "I called Wednesday night, I can get my phone to prove it." I said "Okay." He went to get his phone and could not show where he called in. He sat there and lied to me, and I called his bluff. He lost - both the battle of wits, and his job.
Still waiting for the updated material so I can take it to the printer. I went back to work, trying to get a couple things done. I got a little done.
Fire #2: A class was graduating yesterday. However, one of the students didn't have the average to pass. The trainer let me know. I emailed my boss (who is head of HR) to see how she wanted me to handle. She got back to me an hour or so later. He was going to be let go. I told the trainer to send him to my office. He came down. We'll call this trainee "Norman." Norman sits down and I asked him "Do you know what average you need to pass training?" He said "No." I asked "Didn't the trainer let you know what you needed to pass." He shook his head. For a brienf moment - I wondered if he really didn't know until I realized that the trainer didn't tell his class what they needed to pass... I DID. On day 1 (about 4 weeks ago) I went in and gave a presentation which includes a slide that tells them what average they need to pass. Norman said that he messed up test 3 because he was rushed. I asked him if he didn have as much time as everyone else, and he didn't have an answer. I figured it up and let him know that even if he got a 100% on the test he messed up on, his average would still be below the acceptable level. He, too, lost his job.
Fire #3: A guy needed his original hire sheet to prove that he told us about a vacation that he had planned in April. I don't know why he emailed me, but then I had to go find it, talk to his Supervisor, emailed him, and the Operations managers. No resolution as of yet.
Fire #4: Had to print Non-Disclosure agreement forms from the client to use on Monday. Keep the information secret. Put those in the printer.
Still no new material.
Fire #5: One of my trainers is being moved to a different position to help New Associates on the floor. By doing this, he's changing managers. He went to a couple meeting with that manager. And decided that he didn't like it. And wanted to talk to me about it. Well, one of the positions that we hired for was the one left vacant by this transition. So, if we was wanting to come back, he really couldn't. He didn't go that far, and we talked for a while.
Finally! We got the new material. I had one my trainers download it and send it to me. Once I got it, it burned it to a CD. Popped it out and was on my way.... Driving out of the parking lot I looked up at the building that provided me with a horrible Friday, and felt releived... until I remembered. I had left all of those copies of the Non-Disclosure form in the copier. I stopped turned around and went back. I ran to the copier and grabbed the copies, and got back into my car. Driving away I looked up at the building that provided me with a horrible Friday. I was on my way to Staples to have the manual printed.
I took me a half hour to get there. I took the disk in and she popped it in her computer to find she could not open it. I went to the car and grabbed my laptop. Put the disk in, and I could not open it either. The file was "corrupt?!?" After running it through a small repair, I could open it. I burned another copy.... nothing. She still couldn't open it. Maybe it's the CD. I burned a 3rd copy on a brand new CD-R, and still nothing. I would have to print it all out. Since it is 420 pages, I can't do that from home. Which leads me to why I am in the office today. I am printing out 420 pages, so I can take the hard copy to a printer and pray that they can make the manuals by Monday morning. My weekend is killed by my Friday.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Oscars and My Super Sweet Sixteen
Funny enough, I watched the Oscars last night. I don't make it a habit of doing so, but I did. Admittedly, I flipped back and forth from 'Law & Order' but still.
I discovered why I don't normally watch these shows. They are boring. Especially when you haven't seen any of the movies they are talking about. Sure, for the visual Effects and such, they had Spiderman 2 and I saw that. For Sound, they had Shrek 2 - I saw that. But 'The Aviator', 'Sideways,' 'Million Dollar Baby'... For some reason, they hype around 'Million Dollar Baby' makes me not want to see it. I feel like Jerry Seinfeld. Everyone is asking both Rach and I "Have you seen the Baby, you must see the Baby, go see the Baby."
We don't want to see the Baby! I bet it's a great movie (though I know the end now). But these movies, at this status, move into some 'elitist' category, that I somehow rebel against. I have never rented or saw a movie solely based on the fact that it was nominated or won an Academy Award. I have seen movies prior to it being nominated - but then, it feels like I discovered it rather than jumping on the bandwagon. In fact, I'm fairly certain that I have NOT rented a movie based on the fact that it won an Academy Award at least once.
I guess that's why I don't like the Yankees, Cowboys, 49ers, Lakers, 'Lost,' 'American Idol,' 'Microsoft/ Windows,' Shaquille O'Neal, but I think I covered my 'underdog' preferences in an earlier entry,
Outside of the fact that these shows are boring, I don't get a charge out of seeing the dresses. "Oooooh, what did Hillary Swank wear?" (I like saying 'Swank' for some reason, it sounds dirty). "What was Halle Berry wearing? Or more importantly - Who were they wearing? Oh, I MUST know." Also, does anyone else find it wrong that the designers usually GIVE these actresses the dress so they get advertising. These are dresses that cost thousands of dollars. And these are the only people on earth that can who can afford them... one of the biggest mind bogglers; Why do rich people always get more free stuff than people who aren't rich?
So forgive me if, when I turn on this show, I see a room full of obscenely wealthy, good looking people wanting to get an award. The award being: are you the best at pretending you are someone else? This is one of the most prestigious awards in America. It's not "who saved the most lives;" "who gives the most;" "who fed the most homeless people." It is "who is the best liar." You'd think the money was enough, but the kicker is the award gives them the "intro" and consequently leads to more money. By intro I mean, from now on when ever Jamie Foxx, Morgan Freeman, etc. are introduced (even if it is for movies made prior to them winning the award) you will hear "Academy Award Winner" in front of their name.
I wouldn't be surprised if they introduced themselves that way; "Hi you've reached the Voice Mailbox of Academy Award Winner Hillary Swank. Please leave your name..." And it follows them anywhere "Today Academy Award Winner Marlon Brando passed....;" "Academy Award Winner Kirsten Dunst used Proactive..." "Today, Academy Award Winner Glenn Close had an 'unintended' video release..."
Thinking about it makes me angry somehow.
On another note - Over the weekend MTV played some episodes of 'My Super Sweet 16' with commentary from the party throwers. I thought this was an interesting take as I often wondered how these spoiled brats would react to seeing these. I would much rather them do this 15 years from now. Now THAT would be a slap of reality - especially to the guy who threw one. Talk about perspective. I don't like a lot of the things I did when I was adolescent, and I was never thrown a party that cost a quarter-of-a-milliion dollars like these kids.
But anyway, the one I questioned was Ava's. The others I saw had at leasst one other person commenting. Hart had his equally delusional dad. The Roswell chick, had her Roswell friends. And usually there were spurts of reality and banter as they called each other out on some of the stupid things they said or did. But Ava's commentary was just her... that's it. She just spent the show "Oh I look cute," or "My boobs are real," or "picking out the shirtless guys was really fun." There was no teasing, or calling out. Nothing. It was almost as annoying as watching the original. She was still stuck up, spoiled and though there was nothing wrong with what she did - not even in the crying because she didn't get her $40,000 car at her birthday dinner.
Good thing I'm here to make appropriate comments for her.
I discovered why I don't normally watch these shows. They are boring. Especially when you haven't seen any of the movies they are talking about. Sure, for the visual Effects and such, they had Spiderman 2 and I saw that. For Sound, they had Shrek 2 - I saw that. But 'The Aviator', 'Sideways,' 'Million Dollar Baby'... For some reason, they hype around 'Million Dollar Baby' makes me not want to see it. I feel like Jerry Seinfeld. Everyone is asking both Rach and I "Have you seen the Baby, you must see the Baby, go see the Baby."
We don't want to see the Baby! I bet it's a great movie (though I know the end now). But these movies, at this status, move into some 'elitist' category, that I somehow rebel against. I have never rented or saw a movie solely based on the fact that it was nominated or won an Academy Award. I have seen movies prior to it being nominated - but then, it feels like I discovered it rather than jumping on the bandwagon. In fact, I'm fairly certain that I have NOT rented a movie based on the fact that it won an Academy Award at least once.
I guess that's why I don't like the Yankees, Cowboys, 49ers, Lakers, 'Lost,' 'American Idol,' 'Microsoft/ Windows,' Shaquille O'Neal, but I think I covered my 'underdog' preferences in an earlier entry,
Outside of the fact that these shows are boring, I don't get a charge out of seeing the dresses. "Oooooh, what did Hillary Swank wear?" (I like saying 'Swank' for some reason, it sounds dirty). "What was Halle Berry wearing? Or more importantly - Who were they wearing? Oh, I MUST know." Also, does anyone else find it wrong that the designers usually GIVE these actresses the dress so they get advertising. These are dresses that cost thousands of dollars. And these are the only people on earth that can who can afford them... one of the biggest mind bogglers; Why do rich people always get more free stuff than people who aren't rich?
So forgive me if, when I turn on this show, I see a room full of obscenely wealthy, good looking people wanting to get an award. The award being: are you the best at pretending you are someone else? This is one of the most prestigious awards in America. It's not "who saved the most lives;" "who gives the most;" "who fed the most homeless people." It is "who is the best liar." You'd think the money was enough, but the kicker is the award gives them the "intro" and consequently leads to more money. By intro I mean, from now on when ever Jamie Foxx, Morgan Freeman, etc. are introduced (even if it is for movies made prior to them winning the award) you will hear "Academy Award Winner" in front of their name.
I wouldn't be surprised if they introduced themselves that way; "Hi you've reached the Voice Mailbox of Academy Award Winner Hillary Swank. Please leave your name..." And it follows them anywhere "Today Academy Award Winner Marlon Brando passed....;" "Academy Award Winner Kirsten Dunst used Proactive..." "Today, Academy Award Winner Glenn Close had an 'unintended' video release..."
Thinking about it makes me angry somehow.
On another note - Over the weekend MTV played some episodes of 'My Super Sweet 16' with commentary from the party throwers. I thought this was an interesting take as I often wondered how these spoiled brats would react to seeing these. I would much rather them do this 15 years from now. Now THAT would be a slap of reality - especially to the guy who threw one. Talk about perspective. I don't like a lot of the things I did when I was adolescent, and I was never thrown a party that cost a quarter-of-a-milliion dollars like these kids.
But anyway, the one I questioned was Ava's. The others I saw had at leasst one other person commenting. Hart had his equally delusional dad. The Roswell chick, had her Roswell friends. And usually there were spurts of reality and banter as they called each other out on some of the stupid things they said or did. But Ava's commentary was just her... that's it. She just spent the show "Oh I look cute," or "My boobs are real," or "picking out the shirtless guys was really fun." There was no teasing, or calling out. Nothing. It was almost as annoying as watching the original. She was still stuck up, spoiled and though there was nothing wrong with what she did - not even in the crying because she didn't get her $40,000 car at her birthday dinner.
Good thing I'm here to make appropriate comments for her.
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