sorryless

Things That Made Me Go HmmMonday

Sorryless36 Comments

I’m not sure who my mind thinks it is, inviting these thoughts and observations over at all times of the day and night. But I’m not going to complain, since that wouldn’t change things anyhow. Instead, Imma serve up a sampling. Please . . silence your phones during this post so that the voices in my head don’t get all pissy with me.

The Russians Are Coming!- Is it just me, or do these peeps end up in every conversation? From fixing Presidential elections to laundering money in London, playing a dangerous game of Chess in Syria and using Reddit as a propaganda machine. Talk of the Russians has become so insidious that some are even accusing them of playing one side against the other in the NFL’s anthem debate. And don’t go reading the Drudge Report to get the latest lowdown, because that Matt Drudge guy is a Russian agent.

So what’s fake and what’s worth being concerned about? Hard to say, seeing as how there’s so much Russian chatter out there. Which really, is the point. Because the Russians have found their time; a time when highly sensitive information is bought and sold at breakneck speed and mysteriously shrouded third parties are privy to plenty of our ‘mo. The Putin’s World watermark is deftly crafted conjecture, gone viral. To wit, the Russian Question is a thing. And it’s being peddled with street corner privileges that never mind the placebo effect. Our imaginations will pay retail, and that’s all that matters since we’ll never know the whole truth.

We never do.

Major League Baseball Is Cheating Again- Stop me if you’ve heard this one. Baseball shattered the record for most league wide HR’s hit in a season last year whilst also setting a record for revenues. Well, if you lived through the Mitchell Report Era of the game where performance enhancing drugs laid waste to the sanctity of the sport’s most hallowed records, then you know where I’m coming from.

So what’s going on? Is this power surge simply a wonderful coincidence? Is it the baseballs that are juiced? Are hitters watching more Chuck Norris flicks? Or is better living through science having at it once again?

If I had to place a bet in Vegas as to where all this muscle bound intrigue is coming from, I’d go with data. The emphasis is weighted to this shit like never before. From a la carte pitching match-ups to shape shifting diamond defense to terms that seem to have been penned by Black Sabbath. Terms like WAR, Exit Velocity and Launch Angle. The science has overtaken the soul, the numbers have crunched intuition. As such, you have a bevvy of buff specimens whose mandate is all or nothing.

As much as I love the MLB, the truth is, they are being paced by every other league not named the NHL. So this boom or bust version of the game, it keeps the former national pastime relevant. Romance be damned.

Use Your Voice- A bunch of my fellow bloggers follow The Voice. And well . . they got me all curious and such. So I consulted YouTube for the final tabulations, and I found this little pixie, Brynn Cartelli. Those pipes are some hot buttah goodness, tell you what.

Light It Up- Watched HBO’s remake of the classic dystopian tale, Fahrenheit 451 this week. I knew the casting was going to rock the house, with Michael Shannon playing Captain Beatty and Michael B. Jordan in the role of Gus Montag. But I had NO idea I would love it as much as I did. The movie is thematically faithful with scenarios that eerily dovetail the realities of our technological day and age. It’s scary to think, but in some ways? We’re already here.

IPA’s- I’ve lambasted the craft beer craze for years, but truth be told, there is plenty of talent out there. They’ll never replace my starting lineup, but as a pinch hitter/substitution? Batter up!

The Meaning of “Me Too”- Is one of solidarity. And it only matters if the voices are heard. So the next time someone complains about “another one” coming forward, ask them if they would be so flip if that another one was a wife, girlfriend, mother, daughter or close friend. Personally, I hope every last voice that wants to be heard, is. There’s no expiration date for this kind of thing.

LeBron James is going to the NBA finals. Again. With these guys . . .

The Anthem Debate Gets Sillier- Which is exactly what happened when the league announced that any player who kneels during the anthem will incur a fifteen yard penalty for his team. Reprimanding peaceful protests isn’t very patriotic. But then again, this was never about patriotism. It was a workplace conflict of interest. Some of the players simply wanted to create a dialogue while some of the owners felt the protests would hurt their bottom line. The irony here is that the overwhelming majority of peeps on BOTH sides of this debate care deeply about their country. The nuances have created the chasm. And that, is silly.

In closing, here’s to our freedom to be silly. It is provided to us by the brave men and women who put their lives on the line every single day. So that we may have a place to debate and discuss and most importantly . . .

Dream.

 

 

 

36 thoughts on “Things That Made Me Go HmmMonday”

  1. As the whole playing of the national anthem thing is actually a somewhat recent phenom, I wish they’d just go all Jersey and ‘fugettaboutit.’ Despite having entered into a collective bargaining agreement with the players association the NFL owners have now decided to change the contract wily-nilly because they are terrified of a certain Tweeter? Give me a break. These owners make more money than God with all the stupid commercials and yet they tremble at the thought of a tweet because they’re losing market share. Lighten up on the commercials and stop having a break every 87 seconds instead of politicizing a game or worrying about how the sad bloated mango feels. Thank goodness the final for the Cup starts tonight, at least there’s still a couple of weeks before football takes over (at least in the Denver market). Go Caps 🏆

    Liked by 2 people

  2. Brynn’s voice is way beyond her 15 years.

    I still need to watch Fahrenheit 451. I try not to watch things that remind me of current reality, but for this classic I’ll make an exception.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Tara,

      I didn’t realize she was 15! I knew she was a baby, but my God! And to sing like THAT? Is just wow.
      Yes, there are many parallels in 451 to what’s going on today. I thought the acting was superb and the vibe quite moody.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. B,

    I love how your mind works. And how you get from thought to “page”, so to speak.
    I’m not touching on the Russians, nor on baseball, for a couple of reasons… 1) it’s Russian everything, everywhere. 2) I just don’t dig on baseball – but adore baseball movies, so hopefully I don’t lose too many points with you…
    K, so I’ve watched a total of zero episodes of The Voice (other than the snippets that we see on FB) and had to Google her. Lawzy… the pipes on that what? FOURTEEN YEAR OLD? Ah là là….
    We’ve already discussed this… F-451 is now on my to-watch list.
    IPA – hey… who am I to diss anyone’s beer choice? We likes what we likes…
    #MeToo – Hells yes! As long as there are (damn you, Morgan for bursting my bubble!) Men (sorry… I know there are women, too) abusing their power, then yes, there will be more finger-pointing. Will be nice to one day not have to talk about this. I don’t know a single solitary woman who has not had one little incident (no matter how benign) of inappropriate behaviour (yes ‘U’) at one point in their lives.
    LaBron – sorry, that video is not available in my country because we are so friggen far from you… or something.
    Anthem situation. Sigh. I’m with you.
    Whitney. Just. Whitney.
    Fabulous as ever, my dear B…
    Lotsa love,
    Q

    Liked by 1 person

    • Q,

      I wish Russia would just go back to being the big red menace. It would make things a lot easier, AND it would make Olympic hockey fun again!
      I figured you didn’t like baseball, seeing as how you haven’t had a decent baseball team in Canada since the Clinton administration, 🙂
      It doesn’t seem possible . . to have a voice like that coming out of a little girl!
      I only dig a couple IPA’s, but truth be told, I just don’t think most craft beers taste very good at all.
      That rendition of the Star Spangled Banner by Whitney is Just!

      Peace and YouTube videos

      Liked by 1 person

      • B,

        You’d think it would be easier… and the hockey would be a plus… Maybe the type of kick in the was the Habs need.
        Well now… I did enjoy going to see the Expos live once in a while…
        Can’t say I’m a fan of IPA’s in general though there have been one or two not so bad (so far).
        Yeah that woman could crank it out. Another flame doused way too soon…

        Rock on…

        Liked by 1 person

        • Q,

          Les Expos were cool. And they once fielded the best team in baseball that never got a chance to play out the season because of the MLB strike. Which, come to think of it, was probably a government conspiracy. I mean, if the Expos WOULD have won the Series, that would have made it three straight titles for Canadian teams. Unacceptable!

          Liked by 1 person

    • Emerging,
      This obsession with the Russians has seeped into everything. And maybe you’re right, maybe a level of suspicion has always been there and now it’s simply playing out inside of a time where insidious activities have ever more far reaching ramifications.

      Thank you for the props!

      Peace and light

      Liked by 1 person

  5. On baseball … while more home runs are being hit, there are also more strikeouts. April had more Ks than hits. Teams and pitchers are on pace to break Ks per 9 innings stats across the board. And there is all sorts of controversy now about pitchers who hide pine tar here and there. Which they use to get a better grip on the baseball to increase the “spin rate” which apparently increases the bite on their breaking pitches and the movement on their fastballs.

    All I know is this … the HR or K philosophy of baseball is ruining my interest in the game. No. Strike that. I’ll always be a San Francisco Giants fan and will root for them no matter what. But my interest in the game at large? Dying a slow, but quickening, death. Add to that lefthanders refusing to hit to the opposite field when confronted by the shift and that they are not implementing the shift with right-handed batters, too, and … well, baseball is just losing something for me.

    Liked by 1 person

    • K,

      It’s entirely feast or famine. And why does it seem that pitchers aren’t held in the same contempt for cheating as hitters are? Maybe it’s just how I perceive it.

      I love baseball, but there are many things about it that drive me batty- pun intended. Players not hitting the opposite way . . players not bunting . . players not running out ground balls . . . I could go on and on.

      Like

  6. Marc. I enjoyed this yesterday and suddenly discovered I had not thrown in my two cents. The Russians are the new America’s Pastime. Forget sports we now have them to keep us entertained. NFL is so over yet I still love my Steelers. Of course, unless I want to lay out one hundred bucks I can only pick up a game or two a year. (sad thing but I’m not going to pay.) Congrats on one of the best Memorial Day posts out there.

    Liked by 1 person

    • John,

      I think it’s the long weekend. I was out early yesterday morning attending a Memorial Day event and home late last night after working, so really the day felt like a couple days wrapped into one. And today? Felt like Wednesday, lol.

      The Russians ARE indeed! And I was tossing with getting that NFL Sunday ticket when I signed up for Direct TV, but I probably wouldn’t use it enough.

      You flatter me always, and thank you for that!

      Peace and remembering

      Liked by 1 person

  7. The Voice is awesome! And of course, we were American Idol junkies this season too, Ugh… I hate when networks pit them against each other and I have to bounce around hahaha And yes, who isn’t sick of hearing about Russian something or another at every turn. Almost as much as Stormy “I don’t have a life” Daniels. And basketball… yeah.. I may have mentioned with my team not getting so far this year I haven’t been the most attentive basketball fan 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    • Sassy,

      I used to watch Idol, way back in its first incarnation. As for the Russians . . . Awww Sputnick! Enough is enough people! As for Stormy Daniels, I can’t even. I mean, you can tell me if I’m offensive, but where is her pride? In herself? She makes a regrettable decision and then it becomes someone else’s fault? And yes, I do remember you’re the Spurs fan. And hey, don’t feel badly. Unless you live in Cali or Cleveland over the last four years, June is for baseball!

      Peace

      Liked by 1 person

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