Have a few more random notes for the night.
1) I’ve already achieved one of my New Year’s resolutions. Last Sunday this blog received over 200 hits completely shattering my goal of breaking 100. For the record, I was not one of those hits as I took the entire day off from the blog. I assume this means that I was linked to by something though I have no real clue what it could possibly be. Still, great to know that I have readers out there.
2) Here is one of those strange stats I found out while trying to figure out how I go that much traffic. If you use google this site is one of the top links if you a) search for “strawberry shortcake’s enemy” or b) images of Rolos candy. I have no idea why either is the case but I get a surprising amount of traffic from it.
3) I also did find proof that I am still listed as a blogger who supports Funkhouser for mayor of Kansas City and I guess that I will now officially state that I am fully behind keeping the Funk in Kansas City. No town is in more desperate need of funk than KC. Hey, he brought the Chiefs a home playoff game. What more could you want? Plowed streets? A sports arena that actually showcases, you know, sports of some kind?
4) I am glad to see that the Biggest Loser is now letting us know a little more about the level of workouts that the contestants are doing and how we might measure up. As in last night I was slightly slower doing my 5K on a treadmill than two morbidly obese people running a tag team 5K on a treadmill. I’m not sure what my response to that should be. I guess I am roughly as fit as two really fat people put together. That doesn’t sound nearly as impressive as I would like.
5) There is a lot of press around that Tiger Mother book that basically states that the proper way to raise a child is by forcing them to be successful at everything, do not have them participate in sports, and grow up friendless which, now that I think about it, sounds surprisingly like my childhood. Actually, I’m pretty appalled by what I’ve read in the media about the parenting technique because it just sounds like the perfect way to have a kid burn out at 16. I actually wasn’t pressured into being the top student at the expense of everything else. It just happened to be the way I am and I found that my competitive streak was better suited for academics than sports. My parents didn’t push me in any way; they were amazingly supportive.
The reason I say this burns kids out is something I learned in electrical engineering and saw a ton of people suffer from in my MBA program, which is the higher the level of education you go the more likely you are to become average. When I entered EE I went from being one of the smartest people around to being pretty typical. Some classes I was above average, some I was below. That is a huge shot to your ego and not everyone can adjust to it. I was prepared for it in grad school but others weren’t. It is amazing to sit in a room filled with brilliant people during orientation and realize that from this moment on half the people here are below average.
The other thing, and a few commentators have brought this out, is that this whole parenting method is presented as a Chinese thing when in reality it is simply an immigrant thing. All immigrant groups place a focus on their children becoming successful and academics is the easiest path to success. The pressure to do your best is not new to society at all. I was raised to understand that school was important, that college was not expected but required and that the biggest thing at the end of the day is not how well you did but rather that you did your very best. If I was raised any other way I don’t think I would have turned out nearly as well.
Showing posts with label Funk Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Funk Life. Show all posts
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Keep the Funk in KC!!!
I saw a car with the license plate “WISDUMB” today. Very seldom am I caught wondering if what I am seeing is brilliant or quite possibly the stupidest thing I have ever seen. This one put me in that mode and I have to say that after careful consideration I am going to have to side with the latter.
Also, can someone explain to me why it is impossible to get all of the episodes of the Monkees on DVD? The collection of the series (of which I think there were only two actual seasons) is out of print and I’d be forced to pay an insane amount on Amazon for them. Isn’t this show one of the best things that could ever possibly be on DVD? Who wouldn’t want to own every single episode of the Monkees? This bothers me greatly.
(By the way, apparently my dream of having the Monkees inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is being stopped by Jann Werner of Rolling Stone, who pretty much has the final say in the entire process. So if you ever needed a reason to hate Rolling Stone even more than you already do here you go. Seriously, is there anything more representative of Rock and Roll than the Monkees? Sure they didn’t play their own instruments but isn’t that the entire point? In Rock and Roll certain things like talent, skill or playing in tune aren’t technically required.)
Note to my KC brethren: I finally checked my official blog email (which is seldom read because, well, everyone who reads this knows me in real life except for possibly my fanbase in Brazil) and I have several emails from the Funkhouser reelection campaign. Some people might actually remember that a few years ago I was named an “influential blogger” by the Funkhouser campaign for my innovative campaign slogans like “Bring the Funk to KC” and “We need the Funk” and “Funk this town!” I am not making this up. I was invited to press events and everything which is rather hysterical given that much of the rest of the blog was devoted to describing KC as a cowtown with a distinct lack of cows.
Well, I was able to get Funk elected and then left town before I had to deal with the consequences. That doesn’t mean that I am off the press list though as I am receiving a surprising number of emails from the campaign inviting me to events around town, asking if I want a Funk bobblehead or a t-shirt reading, and I quote here, “Funk your mayor.” It is often said that people get the politicians they deserve. If there is one city more deserving of Funk than KC I have yet to see it.
Also, can someone explain to me why it is impossible to get all of the episodes of the Monkees on DVD? The collection of the series (of which I think there were only two actual seasons) is out of print and I’d be forced to pay an insane amount on Amazon for them. Isn’t this show one of the best things that could ever possibly be on DVD? Who wouldn’t want to own every single episode of the Monkees? This bothers me greatly.
(By the way, apparently my dream of having the Monkees inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is being stopped by Jann Werner of Rolling Stone, who pretty much has the final say in the entire process. So if you ever needed a reason to hate Rolling Stone even more than you already do here you go. Seriously, is there anything more representative of Rock and Roll than the Monkees? Sure they didn’t play their own instruments but isn’t that the entire point? In Rock and Roll certain things like talent, skill or playing in tune aren’t technically required.)
Note to my KC brethren: I finally checked my official blog email (which is seldom read because, well, everyone who reads this knows me in real life except for possibly my fanbase in Brazil) and I have several emails from the Funkhouser reelection campaign. Some people might actually remember that a few years ago I was named an “influential blogger” by the Funkhouser campaign for my innovative campaign slogans like “Bring the Funk to KC” and “We need the Funk” and “Funk this town!” I am not making this up. I was invited to press events and everything which is rather hysterical given that much of the rest of the blog was devoted to describing KC as a cowtown with a distinct lack of cows.
Well, I was able to get Funk elected and then left town before I had to deal with the consequences. That doesn’t mean that I am off the press list though as I am receiving a surprising number of emails from the campaign inviting me to events around town, asking if I want a Funk bobblehead or a t-shirt reading, and I quote here, “Funk your mayor.” It is often said that people get the politicians they deserve. If there is one city more deserving of Funk than KC I have yet to see it.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
All hail the Funk!
Tonight’s pictures: For those of you wondering what my view of the world was on many a night this one pretty much sums it up. I was always amazed when I watched Donna and Joey close up the tabs at the end of the night since the cash register seems to have been made fifty years ago and watching that thing print out the end record was always a wonder to behold. Especially after a few too many shots. Plus, you can see the televisions that always distracted me when Erik and I would have our father-son discussions (which always seemed to devolve into a conversation about music.) I’m sorry but bright lights and motion always get my attention.
Plus, since I walked by them I figured that I would take a picture of the trophy case with the seven Heisman trophies. That’s not something you see everyday. Especially not on the Illinois campus where we still talk about how great Jeff George was.
Ok, on to business. I would like to take a moment and officially recognize that the reign of Funk is at hand! Yes, thanks to my tireless efforts the mothership has landed in Kansas City and Mark Funkhouser has been elected mayor. No, I’m not kidding. It’s the same guy I wrote about a few months ago and came up with campaign slogans for that just happened to show up in his advertisements. The one who started inviting me to press events. Even after I wrote that he “looks vaguely like Rasputin” and “always seems to be auditioning for the role of third zombie in the next Dawn of the Dead remake.” It is entirely possible that I a) influenced the politics of a mid-major American city and b) might be named vice mayor as a result. I deserve an easy politico job out of this to say the least.
But wow, the Funkster has been elected. I’ll have to say that this will make reading the news much more enjoyable. Can you read the words “Mayor Funkhouser” and not smile? Plus, if he can actually do what he wants to focus on he might actually be a good mayor. He has big plans like fixing the sewer system so that a) the streets don’t flood every time it rains and b) the water mains no longer burst, thus flooding the streets every time it doesn’t rain. Or fixing the potholes that seem to swallow up entire cars. Or dealing with a mass transit system that I’m not sure technically exists. It’ll be some interesting times, that’s for sure.
(And please can we have P Funk for the inaugural ball? That dude in the diaper should definitely play Hail to the Mayor or The Train from Kansas City or whatever the hell the official song is.)
Also, in a case of target marketing gone berserk Ticketmaster made sure that I was the first person to know that I can get tickets to see Morrisey play in KC. I’m not sure that this is a good thing. For the record, I’ve never been a Morrisey/Smiths fan though seemingly everyone I hung out with was. But there is something intriguing about going to see a show from someone who lost relevancy once I left high school. Plus, what is it like at one of his shows anyway? Do we all just hang out and get collectively bummed? Except now that we are old and bummed? It’s like you’ll have an entire crowd in their mid-thirties going “Aw man, this reminds me of being back in high school and being depressed and being picked on by jocks and having no one understand me. Man those were the days.”
Finally, I have a link to pass on thanks to my good friends at deadspin.com. One of the great things about college basketball is that the season ends with the greatest montage in sports; the playing of One Shining Moment. As cheesy as it may sound, this one song always gets to me. This one site has decided to collect all of the clips in one handy link. Plus, I think he goes back far enough for the awesome Teddy Pendergrass version. If you have time to kill (and don’t mind getting choked up as you watch your favorite team lose in the title game) these are incredible. The link is http://tmastc.blogspot.com/2007/03/one-shining-moment.html
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
What's on my mind...
It’s random comment time! It’s kind of like Peanut Butter Jelly Time except, you know, without the baseball bat.
1) My last Super Bowl comment. I should have known that Indianapolis was going to win the Super Bowl the moment that the Colts dedicated the game to Barbaro. You just can’t match that type of emotional commitment. The best the Bears could do was a pledge to work to prevent forest fires.
2) As of yesterday, if you typed “Battling the Current” into Google this blog is the number two link out of a million plus possibilities. If you search for “kcgatsby” every single link is in one way or another related to my media empire. I don’t know if this impresses anyone else but I’m really proud of this accomplishment. Especially the “battling the current” one as that is a real phrase that someone could legitimately search for. I’ve at least convinced search engines that I’m important.
3) Ok, one more Super Bowl comment. I personally found the Robert Goulet ad to be the best of the night. There really isn’t enough Robert Goulet on television, the guy seems perfectly willing to parody his own personality and does a great job at it. The Bud Light slapping people instead of fist bumps is a rip off of How I Met Your Mother and in turn, me. I so totally started doing that at trivia two months ago. Otherwise none of the commercials were anything that I would remember forty eight hours later, much less a year from now.
4) Great news on the mayoral front as we have brought the noise and the Funk in the latest poll. He ranked second amongst the apparently three dozen candidates for mayor and if he holds that position it would give him a run off in the general election. Yes, this city is about to get funkified. Plus, the guy in first place is named Alvin and seriously, who the hell would vote for someone named Alvin. If I was him I would have changed my name the first chance I got. And probably to “Optimus Prime.”
5) I’m serious, how friggin cool would it to be named Optimus Prime? I’d do it just so I could announce myself on conference calls. Hell, I’d hold calls just to do roll. Life would just be improved if everyone referred to you as Optimus.
6) Thankfully, after watching How I Met Your Mother last night I realized that I didn’t somehow forget meeting Emmitt Smith at some point in my life. Apparently, Super Dave is the one who met him (and to be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually had). My doppelganger Ted simply built a sensory depravation headset and I designed one of those in college. How else were you supposed to study in a bar?
7) It was strange how I ended up at the Lindsay Buckingham show on Friday night. It really was a recommendation show, as a lot of my friends who are into music told me that I had to see the show. Typically you can’t get me to a show on the promise of virtuoso guitar playing (I get bored at around the fourth solo) but I decided that Lindsay was always the sanest member of Fleetwood Mac. That’s not much of a compliment, it’s pretty much the equivalent of calling someone the tallest Smurf. I think Stevie Nicks had to declare bankruptcy due to he scarf habit.
8) I had good seats to both shows over the weekend but in a really random occurrence both times I sat on the aisle by a doorway. This typically wouldn’t be a problem except that the Uptown Theater is drafty and people left the doors open and it was in the single digits meaning that every two minutes a very cold breeze would blow in my direction. I’ve never been tempted to put on a pair of gloves at a show before. I’m trying to think of what would look less cool? Somehow having mittens pinned to your shirt at a punk rock show would probably be so uncool that it is cool.
1) My last Super Bowl comment. I should have known that Indianapolis was going to win the Super Bowl the moment that the Colts dedicated the game to Barbaro. You just can’t match that type of emotional commitment. The best the Bears could do was a pledge to work to prevent forest fires.
2) As of yesterday, if you typed “Battling the Current” into Google this blog is the number two link out of a million plus possibilities. If you search for “kcgatsby” every single link is in one way or another related to my media empire. I don’t know if this impresses anyone else but I’m really proud of this accomplishment. Especially the “battling the current” one as that is a real phrase that someone could legitimately search for. I’ve at least convinced search engines that I’m important.
3) Ok, one more Super Bowl comment. I personally found the Robert Goulet ad to be the best of the night. There really isn’t enough Robert Goulet on television, the guy seems perfectly willing to parody his own personality and does a great job at it. The Bud Light slapping people instead of fist bumps is a rip off of How I Met Your Mother and in turn, me. I so totally started doing that at trivia two months ago. Otherwise none of the commercials were anything that I would remember forty eight hours later, much less a year from now.
4) Great news on the mayoral front as we have brought the noise and the Funk in the latest poll. He ranked second amongst the apparently three dozen candidates for mayor and if he holds that position it would give him a run off in the general election. Yes, this city is about to get funkified. Plus, the guy in first place is named Alvin and seriously, who the hell would vote for someone named Alvin. If I was him I would have changed my name the first chance I got. And probably to “Optimus Prime.”
5) I’m serious, how friggin cool would it to be named Optimus Prime? I’d do it just so I could announce myself on conference calls. Hell, I’d hold calls just to do roll. Life would just be improved if everyone referred to you as Optimus.
6) Thankfully, after watching How I Met Your Mother last night I realized that I didn’t somehow forget meeting Emmitt Smith at some point in my life. Apparently, Super Dave is the one who met him (and to be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually had). My doppelganger Ted simply built a sensory depravation headset and I designed one of those in college. How else were you supposed to study in a bar?
7) It was strange how I ended up at the Lindsay Buckingham show on Friday night. It really was a recommendation show, as a lot of my friends who are into music told me that I had to see the show. Typically you can’t get me to a show on the promise of virtuoso guitar playing (I get bored at around the fourth solo) but I decided that Lindsay was always the sanest member of Fleetwood Mac. That’s not much of a compliment, it’s pretty much the equivalent of calling someone the tallest Smurf. I think Stevie Nicks had to declare bankruptcy due to he scarf habit.
8) I had good seats to both shows over the weekend but in a really random occurrence both times I sat on the aisle by a doorway. This typically wouldn’t be a problem except that the Uptown Theater is drafty and people left the doors open and it was in the single digits meaning that every two minutes a very cold breeze would blow in my direction. I’ve never been tempted to put on a pair of gloves at a show before. I’m trying to think of what would look less cool? Somehow having mittens pinned to your shirt at a punk rock show would probably be so uncool that it is cool.
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