Adventures in My Mind
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Aug 31, 2007
Birthday Wishes
As noted below, today is my birthday - number 38. And it's kind of a big deal. Not that I'm speeding rapidly toward middle age, which I am, but because my birthday is like New Year's to me. Most people see New Year's as a time to take stock of their lives, count their good deeds, erase the bad, and generally try to determine if they are on the right track. Instead of Jan. 1, I do that on Aug. 31 every year.
So what's the score? I don't know. I'm not the one to ask. If you know me ask yourself. How am I doing? Am I keeping it together? Am I a good guy? Are you glad to know me? If you can answer most of the questions in the affirmative and with a smile, then I guess I'm doing okay.
As for my opinion, I am doing okay. But I could be doing a lot better. And that's where my little yearly ritual comes in. It provides some personal perspective. It gives me awareness of my strengths and weaknesses. It shines a light on the dark parts and hangs a frame around the good parts and sets my path for another year.
Admittedly, it's not a perfect system. The biggest shortcoming is in follow through. I think I'm like most people in that so I try not to be too hard on myself when I come up short of a goal. The most important thing is to first have a goal - a specific, defined goal that can broken into small pieces and digested a little bit at a time. The goal should also be written down and reexamined periodically to judge progress against it.
Cheer the successes and forgive the failures. If you work hard at it, there will soon be many times more of one than the other. Can you guess which one?
And that's exactly what I'm hoping for: A little more success than failure and an understanding that no matter how things turn out that I've done my best ... in all things.
1 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 12:51 PM
Happy Birthday!
Wow! That beats what I got. Of course the day is still young and hope springs eternal!
Thanks to all my friends and family that have wished me well!
1 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 10:48 AM
Aug 16, 2007
Gimme Some Sugar Baby
For those who don't know, I'm a huge Bruce Campbell fan. Here's why:
Not funny, you say? The hell with that! It is pure genius! It's another of several commercials he's done for Old Spice. (Full disclosure: The author has been using Old Spice deodorant and body wash for many years.)
Bruce just may be the ultimate B-List celebrity, and I mean that in the most positive way.
He looks like he could've done guest spots on "The Beverly Hillbillies" as a young spoon fed trust fund baby that Mr. Drysdale tries to marry off to Ellie May. There could've been a great episode with Bruce and Dash Riprock competing for Ellie's affection, while Ellie is only interested in wrastlin' out by the cee-ment pond. I would love to see that one!
And, of course, Bruce's performance would've been both effortless and spot on.
"Hail to the King, baby!"Labels: Bruce Campbell
1 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 9:28 AM
Aug 13, 2007
Quagmire: How Much is Saddam Worth?
To date he has been worth (in U.S. terms only) over 4,000 lives and nearly $1 trillion.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 10:42 AM
Aug 7, 2007
Pick Your Candidate
Dennis "Cubby" Kucinich and Mike "The Hammer" Gravel seem to be my best fits. Fortunately, the guy I've thrown my support to, Barack "Barry" Obama came in third.
Duncan "Himmler" Hunter seems to be my antithesis. I wonder if has goatee in his evil alterverse?
Take the test and see where your candidate is.Labels: Politics
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 10:46 AM
Aug 6, 2007
Further Shatner Segue
I found this while looking for stuff for the last post. It makes me sing. It makes me dance. It gives me a release of inner energy. And it feels good!
1 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 12:26 PM
A Hank Monday
Over the weekend, I found myself in a funk over the deplorable state of American democracy. Lies, grandstanding, graft, demagoguery, obfuscation, theft, cronyism, intentional ignorance, and duplicity have, I think, once and for all replaced the hope, freedom, and brotherhood embodied in the Constitution and the spirit of this nation. I sprinted from my usual state of simmering indignance to a quiet melancholy at the thought that the system is broken and now, finally, beyond repair.
Political and citizen action may, on occasion, work to create change; but, for the most part, we who have less are now and for always at the mercy of the whims of those who have more. This is so because they do not have the ability to recognize our humanity. We are strangers to whom they have no connection. We don't shop in the same stores. Our children don't go to the same schools. We don't share the same concerns and worries. They are motivated by profit and power, while we are motivated by survival and subsistence. They can't see us any better than they see the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi's who have perished in the name of so-called freedom.
We are liabilities to the status quo. We are to be regulated and controlled while markets are to be free and unfettered. We are resources to be exploited. They, their agendas, and well-connected friends are investments to be nurtured.
So, yes, I was in a funk. I wanted out of it so I turned to Henry Rollins. It wasn't long before my normal simmering indignance burst through my woebegone state. I found particular comfort in these videos:And still I wasn't where I wanted to be. So for more inspiration, I turned to Bill Shatner. Seriously.
3 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 11:16 AM
Aug 3, 2007
Tomlin Traveled I-35W Bridge (Gasp!)
Of course he did; he used to live in Minneapolis! He and everyone else who has lived or traveled through it crossed that damn bridge. Did he take Tylenol in the 80s? Was he ever in the World Trade Center? If so, it does not mean that our beloved new coach was almost a fatality. It just means he crossed the bridge, had a headache, and was a tourist.
I am sick to death of local news looking for local connections to tragedies in other places. I'm waiting for the coverage of the next major Asian tsunami or flood or earthquake to end with "... luckily, no Pittsburghers died in the tragedy in Kuala Lumpur." And aren't we all lucky for that bit of good news!
We get enough saturation coverage from cable news providers and USA Today. Local news should dispense with the "me too" mentality, especially when there is no connection. Save the Pittsburghers-are-reeling-tonight handwringing for when there is a bona fide connection to a major event.
Had Tomlin been visiting Minneapolis Wednesday evening and found himself unfortunate enough to be on that bridge at around 6:05, that would be a story. But don't get all breathless and tell me how close he came to dying at the bottom of the Mississippi river when he was here in Latrobe, PA reviewing scorecards from morning practice. Isn't there better news from football camp? Doesn't somebody have a groin pull?5 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 11:00 AM
