Sometimes…

I just like pictures that speak to me on some level…

Peace…

Flakes

Huge flakes today. Also it is snowing! lol

I live in Missouri where it can get pretty cold during the winter. No news flash there. Here in the Midwest we occasionally get some snow accumulation. Not much mind you but some. In proportion to like Cleveland or Buffalo our snowfall is like a golf ball compared to their beach ball. Yet with this daunting half to three quarters of an inch of white stuff coating the median (there really is not much in the actual lanes of traffic) the fraidy cat drivers in their expensive SUV’s glancing at their pacifiers (aka cell phones) every two seconds are horrendous drivers.

Let me backtrack a second. Previously I noted how terrible the drivers in St Louis and cross-over Illinois drivers are when it comes to simple highway driving during periods of sunshine, darkness, wind, overcastness, light rain, heavy rain, icy conditions, perfect conditions, with dirty cars near them, with pristine cars near them, riding with the windows up, riding with the windows down, seeing someone with a missing hub cap, when the radio signal is staticy and many other non-driving factors that for some reason turn their driving IQ down to single digits. Granted some of this can be attributed to people just being pure bred a$$holes and not taking anyone else into consideration. Oh you are only doing five miles per hour over the speed limit? Let me ride your bumper, zoom around you and cut you off with less than two car lengths ahead all while ignoring to signal (yes, the gosh darn blinker).

Sidebar tangent: If you watch Ridiculousness with Rob Dyrdek you have probably heard of a segment called Instant Karma – where someone does something idiotic or jerkish and within a few seconds something bad happens to that person. Two days ago as I was late for work and entering the on-ramp to Highway 55 – the lane tapers out and you are forced to merge onto the highway. I was accelerating to get onto the highway and noticed as the lane was ending a gold SUV. There was about ten car lengths behind me open to merge onto the highway but this driver sped up and passed me virtually on the shoulder to get in front of me and promptly he had to brake as the traffic was sluggish causing me to have to brake more sudden than I should have wanted to. Anyway, after a few minutes the gold SUV driver zig-zagged (without signaling) his way onto the overpass to merge onto Highway 270 and I lost him for a minute and returned my hand to resting on the gear shift (I briefly raised my hand and may have indicated with one particular finger what I thought of his selfish driving). Soon I was on the overpass and trying to merge onto 270 but all four lanes of traffic were at a stop. Curious. There were no reports on the radio of an accident or stalled cars in this vicinity. As I inched by in the slow lane I saw across the lanes of traffic…a gold SUV had rear-ended a smaller passenger vehicle in the fast lane. The driver of the gold SUV, a 20-something dude with dark hair and severe eye brows, was approaching the other car on foot. Now I hope the driver of the passenger vehicle was OK but the universe finally put paid to one of these d-bag drivers who has no regard for anyone but themselves.

OK so back to my story about how the drivers on 270 this morning were completely paralyzed by the half inch of powder blowing across the lanes of traffic. Just because you are able to afford some of the nicer vehicles with all the safety bells and whistles does not exempt you from having to #$^%#$ing pay attention and apply some freaking common sense in that driver’s seat. My commute, if I leave early enough and the weather is devoid of precipitation, normally will take me about 25-30 minutes to go from my doorstep to the front door of my employer. My trek this morning took roughly 75 minutes and I knew based on leaving a bit later and the dusting of snow that it was going to be so. A special shout out to the petrified driver from Illinois in the dirty tan Pathfinder who refused to go faster than 40 miles per hour in the fast lane with a 10-15 car length gap ahead of them causing me to be trapped behind them for about 15 minutes while the lane adjacent passed me and gave me dirty looks for having to also do 40 MPH. I can understand if you are driving a rear wheel vehicle with bald tires and want to be cautious but if that’s the case stick to one of the slower lanes and let me by you fool.

Aaaahhh. I feel the tiniest bit better. Hope you are having a spiffy Thursday. Bartender, set me up!

Peace.

Castaway

I recently watched the movie Castaway with Tom Hanks on Netflix. Fantastic movie in my estimation. It was not the first time I watched it. If I had to guess I would guess that it was more like the sixth or seventh time I’ve watched it. If you are counting, that is four times already that I’ve used the pronoun it – for that I apologize.

Some people would ask how I could watch a movie that for the most part has a single character on screen (unless you count Wilson the volleyball) with minimal action or dialogue? OK so go ahead and ask. (Jeopardy theme playing while I wait for you to ask that question) Great question!

From my perspective I think once you get past the traumatic events of the plane going down and finding the fish food pilot’s body, you put yourself in Chuck Noland’s socks for a minute. Stranded on a deserted island shedding all the responsibilities of society’s daily grind could be liberating – once you get your fire started and your thirst sated. Escaping life for a day would be nice but then the real challenge of getting off that island and back to everything (and everyone) you truly do love about life would be terrifying and overwhelming. This is where the movie always breaks out for me. You do not need to be stranded on a physical island to be cut off from the world. The movie becomes a metaphor for isolating your self and the struggle to get over those crushing waves and find your way back without getting dashed on the jagged coral beneath the surface.

From a laundry perspective I think the island lifestyle has its upside but from a personal care, dietary and entertainment view – Island de Chuck would leave a lot to be desired.

Once he does overcome his fears and barriers to leaving the island, he makes it all the way back to where his life was. Only that life was gone. Poof. Just like the self isolation scenario, the things that meant the most were no longer there for him once he made it back. Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around for a while, you could miss it. Oops, sorry. Wrong movie quote.

There is much in today’s status update or snap society that I do not particularly think is healthy but there is something to be said for being in the moment AND realizing what you have. Chuck said, he never should have gotten on that plane, to Kelly when it was too late (because four plus years later when he returned she had moved on and gotten married and started a family with a new man). My point is that you never know figuratively when your plane will go down (I have now just started the disambiguation populace on a hyperventilation path, sorry). Tomorrow is not guaranteed so focus on what you have today. It is OK to plan and hope for what you would like tomorrow.

So take out your map at your crossroads and figure out where you would like to go next and what you hope will be there. Safe travels my friends.

Peace.

Double Standards

I am utterly confused. Why is baseball, St Louis in particular, celebrating the legacy of Oscar Tavares? In this epoch of persecuting athletes for reprimanding their children and abusing their spouses and various other shades of gray – why are we exalting for a man who willfully drank to excess and then drove with a passenger – his girlfriend – ultimately committing murder to both himself and her? Am I missing something here? Hypocrites please explain the redeeming qualities to pass down to the youth of today for this lesson?

It may seem like I’m being heavy handed here but c’mon give me any sort of credible answer? If Mr Tavares profession was anything but professional athlete he would not be getting put up for any local adulation based on his actions. He would have been a blurb on the local news and we would shake our heads at such foolishness and wastefulness. If he had lived through the accident, he would most likely be facing a reprimand through Major League Baseball to send a message – if not legal action for vehicular manslaughter if he had survived and his girlfriend did not. The Cardinals organization would have denounced his actions and said they were reaching out to him for support and to get him help to make sure it never happened again.

Adrian Peterson was accused of abusing his son – not convicted mind you, but just accused. His punishment was suspension from his job and being ostracized from coast to coast. Ray Rice knocked out his wife in a drunken state – on video. His punishment was losing his job and being shunned (for good reason) for his actions. Aaron Hernandez murdered at least one person and tried to cover up his actions. As a result he is in jail and his name is the butt of jokes and he will never play professional football again. So Oscar Tavares did a major no-no and paid for it with not just his life but the life of someone he allegedly loved. His immature actions tragically changed the lives of his family, friends and his girlfriend’s family and friends. So we should publicly give him an atta-boy? If so, then bring out Jerry Springer to be the Master of Ceremonies for this circus. Ridiculous. What’s next: A Chris Benoit foundation to get more kids to try steroids?

Shame on Cardinals Nation. Luckily I’m not a Cardinals fan. So I can stand back and see how wrong this is and just shake my head.

February 20th

On this date in 1811 the country of Austria declared bankruptcy. In 1869 Tennessee Governor W C Brownlow declared martial law in KKK (Ku Klux Klan) crisis. In 1887 the first minor league baseball association formed (Pittsburgh). In 1943, Phil Wrigley & B Rickey charter All-American Girls Softball League (see A League of their Own).

In 1978 at the 4th Annual People’s Choice Awards: John Wayne & Barbara Streisand win awards for motion pictures and James Garner & Mary Tyler Moore win awards for TV. In 1992 Ross Perot states on the Larry King Show he will run for president of the United States and the Florida Marlins open their first spring training as a franchise.

In 2003 during a Great White (rock band) concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island a pyrotechnics display accidentally sets the club ablaze – killing 100 people and injuring another 300. And in 2013 Kepler-37B – the smallest known exoplanet is discovered.

2014 on this day…there were millions of Tweets and Facebook status updates.  🙂

Peace.

Open Up

There’s a scream in my throat
That comes out as a laugh
But add that to the smile on my face
And you are just not sure
What’s going on behind the scenes
A blank page locked in a glass case

If I walked by no one would see
Anything different from them
But maybe you should look closely
Is there something tingling in your mind
What’s that thing, can’t pin it down
Nothing there, but a feeling mostly

I’ll talk about the weather
And how I hate when its cold
But you can be sure I do not care
When sun shines or the rain drowns
What’s the difference to anyone
If my words are here or not there

Fighting myself on a daily basis
Never going to win or get the last word
But I’ll keep on fighting
Because I am not afraid to chase my tail
What’s it going to hurt
Nothing, its just mentally exhausting

Seven words that repeat over and over
Harping like a bad pop song, repeating
But I can’t shake them out, get out
This might be the death of me, it’s
What’s playing in my head, in my dreams
Whispers in the background, as loud as shouts

Open up and say hello
Open up and walk inside
Open up, pandora’s box
Open up, how bad can it be

Tissue Paper

If you will, stop for a moment and think how delicate tissue paper is. Like the stuff you find in a box with a gift wrapped shirt or the facial tissue (aka Kleenex for you brand name sticklers) – its so thin and tears so easily.

The reason I start you off with this imagery is for comparison. Now think about all the friends you know. How many of those friendship would tear apart with almost no provocation? Most people think their friendship are pretty strong…until there is friction or a difference of opinion or a change in the dynamic. Then things get interesting and generally not in a good way. Long standing friendship can crumble just based on one friend becoming ‘busy’ or a second-hand comment coming back to the other friend that may be out of context.

Just as a pre-cursor, I am widely considered ‘odd’ and somethings I observe are just my opinions and may differ from your own perspective. But…I have seen in my four plus decades roaming around North America a few things go down. Long time friends can stop talking or become embattled enemies over a new person in one of their lives. Long standing traditions erode and fade into history due to increased family obligations or illness or a myriad of other variables. Time stands still for no one.

In many ways I like to think I mentally stay pretty active and embrace the constant barrage of changes life throws at me (technology, work challenges, etc) but sometimes my mind slips a few gears and I find myself lost in a memory of more simple times: changing the oil in my first car, sledding at my parent’s home in Dittmer during the big snow storm of 1982, writing articles for my high school newspaper and a very young me dragging a bag of candy along a sidewalk on a Halloween night only to get home and realize I lost almost all of my goodies from the worn hole in the bottom of the cheap trick or treat bag.

We only have this moment before it slips out the bottom of our bag. Treasure it. Remember it. Tomorrow is coming, ready or not. You can re-Tweet me on that.

Peace.

Friday the 13th

Somehow I almost missed the off ramp to this relatively rare occurrence of the date of the 13th falling on a Friday. It’s kind of like a little cosmic bingo and I almost forgot due to the looming candy heart holiday that is but a mere 15 hours away as I am writing this piece.

Tonight would be a great time to bust out the collective works of Jason Voorhees – even Jason X in space! Popcorn and machete art – bam! Six degrees of Kevin Bacon finds him in Friday the 13th so…I want to play a game (last part in Jigsaw voice from the Saw series). Did Jigsaw tweet his crimes? Feel like I’m getting off track a bit.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you and here’s to hoping you have a smile on your face at some point tomorrow whether there is candy or flowers or a pile of money involved.

P.S. If you are reading this and you receive snowfall where you are this weekend – please email me a picture of your snow:  scottlatta@gmail.com  — Mother Nature has seen fit to make it cold enough for snow here in Missouri but as of yet she has been playing keep away with the fluttery flakes like a group of older, taller boys with a book bag held high above the outstretched fingers of a smaller, untanned boy who leaps but just can’t reach said book bag.

Reese’s Pieces.

Blog-A-Mania

I’d like to give a shout out to all my Blog-A-Maniacs who say theirs prayers, eat their vitamins and train everyday to become the weirdest they can be! Wooooooooo!

OK so I’m going to go on a super nuclear meltdown rant on…oh is that a cute cat video…

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Cats are awesome. What was I saying? Hmmm. Guess it wasn’t that important. Have a spiffy Friday the 13th!

Recess. Peaces.

Ha Ha Friday

I saw this interaction at a McDonald’s and couldn’t help but laugh and share.

There was a pregnant lady standing back from the counter viewing the overhead menu with her hand resting on her ample belly bump. She was approached by another woman whom she did not appear to know. The stranger lady smiled and asked the pregnant lady, “Do you know what you are having?” With no hesitation at all, the pregnant lady offered, “I am going to go with a number two and an extra hash brown.” The look on the stranger lady’s face was just priceless.

Seppuku (Hara-kiri)

Pleasant day to you and I hope you are someplace warm. Here in Missouri where it is presently ten (10) frigging degrees Fahrenheit we have no such luck. On top of the coldness, Mother Nature, who apparently is in a pissy mood, conjured some freezing rain and pathetic snow to wreak havoc with driving to work. Thanks you ho!

Anyway, as I was inching along in traffic behind different drivers tap dancing on their brake pedals, I started to consider Seppuku. Considering the concept, not doing the act, despite the agonizingly slow trek over virtually dry and clear road surfaces.

Seppuku (Hara-kiri) is originally a form of ancient ritualistic suicide of Japanese samurai as part of their honor code. The two words basically mean the same thing: Seppuku and Hara-kiri. Seppuku is typically referred to in writings and Hara-kiri is the normal verbal or spoken version. Japanese rules dictate the usage.

Particularly interesting is that Seppuku or “cutting the belly” is performed by sticking a tanto (dagger) or Wakizashi (short sword) into the gut and slicing from left to right. Not right to left mind you, they will not validate your honor (or your parking).   On the female side, there is Jigaki which is the practice of female ritual suicide for those who are wives of samurai who committed Seppuku. Unlike Seppuku though, these women cut the arteries of the neck with one stroke (they are taught the best way to do this as children – wow). In keeping with trying to restore the family name with honor, these women usually also tie their legs together so in the throes of death they do not end up in some vulgar or compromised position. Fascinating.

If you are curious you can purchase a tanto on Ebay for anywhere from a few dollars to several thousand depending upon what you are looking for in sharpness or artistic taste? Need honor? Buy It Now!

What if Tonto from the old black and white Lone Ranger TV show had suddenly realized he had a Japanese samurai bloodline and in having a bad day, he disgraced Kemosabe? Would Tonto acquire a tanto and in a near tantric state disembowel himself to try to get back into TLR’s good graces?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seppuku

Just a little food for thought as you make your way through your day. I was looking for a cute little running with scissors joke to tie in here but alas I think it would cheapen the piece so I digress.

Peace and honor to you.

Words with Friends

Good day, Hump Day or other day if you are reading this later (probably not earlier than when I post it).

OK so I am here to brag about my Words with Friends skills! This is a phone app that I believe can be played on a tablet computer or through social networking sites like Facebook on your regular computer. When it comes to playing Words with Friends against my cyber and real friends I almost always sometimes win. I did just rattle off a winning streak of 5 games in a row (after losing 6 in a row). According to the game stats I’ve play 945 games to completion with 545 wins, 398 loses and 2 ties (I was not given the option to take those two into a shootout). I’ve played all seven of my tiles 47 times and 97% of the words I play are 2 letters. My best scoring word ever was Juniper for 123 points. Not too bad for only playing the last 40 months. 🙂

I am currently playing 11 games and winning only two of those. If I am currently playing you – it is on like Donkey Kong played wrong!

Alright that is enough rhyming just to be chiming. Shizzle fo dizzle up in hur with a kitty about to purr. My vernacular is not whack and my triple score is on the attack!

Softball season is just around the bend so if you have them injuries let them mend. League fees gonna be due so write a check and them dollars aint just a few so say what the heck.

Hope your start to February is off to a pleasant start.

Remember cats reduce stress and people increase it.

Peace and let’s meet back here soon.

SUPER BOWL 49 – Patriots 28 vs Seahawks 24

As they say, I didn’t have a dog in this fight as the expression goes (yes, I know dog-fighting is reprehensible) but I found the game itself to be compelling. Honestly I would not have been ‘upset’ with whatever the outcome was but I slightly wanted the Patriots to win based on my affiliations with Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman in the fantasy football arena. I also think Tom Brady is an elite quarterback, even better than Peyton Manning in my estimation so I was in his corner to accomplish some history. Alot of people in Missouri and the St Louis area in particular hate the Patriots based on the Spygate controversy that may or may not have enabled them to beat the St Louis Rams in Super Bowl 36 (2001). Even my East Coast bias was pushed aside (I hate the Yankees and Red Sox in baseball) to see the Patriots for the skilled, entertaining team they are and the Seahawks as the thuggish, grinding team they are.

Truth be told, I did not watch the first quarter but I did turn on the radio (as I was in the car) towards the end of the first quarter in time to hear Brady throw an interception at the goal-line. Despite the turnover, the Patriots seemed to be dominating (by now I was out of the car and in a friend’s man-cave basement Super Bowl party). The Patriots scored shortly thereafter with a touchdown to Brandon Lafell. Following some poor defense by the Patriots the Seahawks tied it only to have the Patriots answer with a beautiful touchdown catch to the best tight end in the league – Gronk for a 14-7 lead. Then the Patriots employed the lethal (lethal to their own team) and dreaded Prevent Defense. This farce of strategy allowed the Seahawks to move a large chunk of the field (partially aided by a 15 yard face-mask penalty) and score a touchdown with just a few seconds remaining before halftime to tie the game at 14-14.

For the Patriots team and their followers it had to be pretty disheartening to have outplayed the previous year’s Super Bowl Champion handily but to have no lead to show for it. To substantiate my assertion, the quarterback Russell Wilson for the Seahawks set a Super Bowl record for longest time to start a game without a completed pass – spanning the entire first quarter and into the second quarter.

Next up was the Halftime show abomination with Katy Perry. One of the funniest things I heard all night was one of the guys at the party saying: How can she (Katy Perry) close her eyes? Her hair is pulled back so tight. The 15-20 minute spectacle was almost as much fun as having dental work with no numbing agents. First off the tempo of her songs was off from the radio versions and the sound system quality from the stadium was atrocious and made her lip synching look pretty sad. Her costumes looked like they were made by a high school home economics class from 1986. They tried to sprinkle in some Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott but by then the artery had been nicked and my interest had already bled out. Mercifully ‘the show’ ended and it was time for the game to resume.

In the second half the Seahawks imposed their will on the game and pounded out a lead of 24-14 thanks in part to some questionable calls and non-calls by the officiating crew. For the final tally the Seahawks ended up with 7 penalties for 70 yards and the Patriots had 5 for 36 yards but that total for the Seahawks was skewed by some dirty, poor sportsmanship at the end of the game.

After the Seahawks got their lead they seemed to be complacent to just coast on the backs of their vaunted defense to keep one of the most potent offenses in the league in check. Um, not a wise choice team from Seattle, Washington. With about twelve minutes remaining in the game and trailing by ten points, the Patriots systematically set about going down the field with some running plays and short but effective passes. A little over four minutes later the Patriots breached the end zone for a touchdown to Danny Amendola (former St Louis Rams receiver) and with the accompanying extra point shaved the deficit to just three points. The Seahawks took possession but only held the ball for about a minute. Once again the Patriots remained composed and marched down the field. In about five minutes, (actual game time elapsed) the Patriots picked apart one of the most feared defenses in the league and in front of millions of spectators did the unthinkable. They took the lead with a touchdown pass to Julian Edelman and once the extra point tumbled through the uprights the Patriots were up 28-24. Only two minutes and two seconds remained on the clock and the Seahawks with their full compliment of time outs needed to go 80 yards for a touchdown to win as a field goal would do them no good.

Let me say this. I cannot for the life of me understand why it is at the end of the half and at the end of the game it seems to be so ridiculously easy for the offenses to move in big chunks of yardage when for most of the game they are unable to move the ball at all. Perhaps its fatigue or conservative play by the defenses but aren’t the offensive players just as tired? Any who as you may have guessed the Seahawks relatively easily moved across midfield and on an absurd tip and catch play got the ball inside the Patriots 10 yard line with less than a minute to go. After a running play took the ball to the one yard line with about twenty-five seconds to play, the unthinkable happened.

Seattle is known for their punishing style of running the ball thanks in part to their running back Marshawn Lynch. He may not win many popularity contests but the man is a talented and powerful running back. Conventional wisdom would dictate that Seattle, who still had a time out in their possession and enough time on the clock would just pound the ball to Lynch and have him overpower the tired defenders for a Super Bowl clinching touchdown. However…

Yes I said however…someone somewhere rubbed their magic lamp and made a wish of the genie. For what happened next was something of a twist against the grain of conventional wisdom. The quarterback who was so ineffective in the first part of the game was tasked with winning the game on his arm instead of the fury and tenacity of his all-pro running back’s legs. This decision I’m sure caused a collective gasp of mortal shock throughout Seahawk supporting bars up and down the west coast.

Wilson got the play from the coach, set up the formation, took the snap, stepped back and flung the ball into the middle of the field for his receiver’s outstretched arms…only to have the Patriot’s defender collide with the receiver at the same instant the ball arrived and intercept the pass high on his shoulder and then frog-like hop out of the end zone to the 1 or 2 yard line with the change of possession.

The unimaginable happened. The unthinkable was being thought about everywhere. Stunned was a good word to describe how so many people felt. Sometimes smart people out think themselves and that certainly happened to the Seattle Seahawks team on that play. After an off-sides penalty got the Patriots off the 1 yard line and out to the 6, the outcome of the game was sealed. With eighteen seconds remaining on the clock, the Seahawks defensive players showed a lack of respect for themselves, their city and organization by taking some cheap shots in the kneel down formation with no logical hopes of victory. You want respect, how about you act with class and dignity even in defeat?

More than just the fallout in Vegas for betting people, the call affected countless people who purchased ‘Super Bowl Squares” for fundraisers or because they have a legit gambling problems leaving people with 8 for the Patriots and 4 for the Seahawks in line for their payouts instead of switching to 8 for the Patriots and 1 for the Seahawks. Just a tidbit to consider. 🙂

OK so that is my recap of the Super Bowl. Stay tuned for my break down of the Australian Open (tennis). 🙂

Happy Monday – its 17 degrees in St Louis with a handful of snow flurries. Bring on baseball season!!

Remember to appreciate and communicate to the ones you love because you just never know.

Peace.