Standing your Ground

This is not a post about great ambition, but small victories like admitting to a group of your friend that you like "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer". I have seen every episode twice. I own the CD from the musical episode. I admit it. I think we all have admissions like this in our lives. Interests in totally uncool things. I know Buffy was cool, but most likely not for middle aged math teachers. Actually, I liked the show so much that I bought the Angel series to keep up with the whole Joss Whedon universe. Want some more odd? I love "Smallville" and "King of the Hill". I like Clay Aiken (see Idol fans, I was once tied into the series). I have 4 CDs from Debbie Gibson and I know the words to most of the songs. I even own a copy of Samantha Fox's greatest hits. There is a great song called "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips that I will still crank up when I hear it. I also sing along with it. That's getting hard because they are all female singers.
The point here? What makes us interesting and a bit unique is the collection of odd ticks, habits and interests. They help define us and we should be strong enough to stand our ground. Do you like the "High School Musical" movie? Good for you. How about liking the early Brittney Spears songs? Fine. Digging Michael Jackson? Awesome.
Right now there is a new CD by Def Leppard that I like. Sure they were big in the 80s and maybe they are no longer cool to the world. So what?
I think whatever gives you a bit of joy and fulfillment is good. Is it following a sports teams no one else likes? Wear the jersey and be proud. Get a good rush from new episodes of "Flavor of Love"? Well, thankfully, VH-1 plays it all the time.
So the next time the gang is gathered together talking about the cool new band, the hot t.v. show and more, be proud of your love and dedication to the uncool. Wear your New Kids on the Block t-shirt. Be a little uncool in the world. Others will catch up. As for me...I am on to another episode of Smallville, followed by some practice playing "Here There Delilah" on my guitar.

Idol Comments

I have not watched one second of Americal Idol this year. There is no real reason other than I guess I am tired of the idea of the show. It has been on for many years and the show feels like a repeat. Besides, I hate all the commercials. But tonight while reading something about the show a thought came to mind. I think the success of the show reveals much more about us as a society than we may want to admit. Each week people sit around the lunchrooms of the country (although not ours...weird) and rip the contestants to pieces over their clothes, their look and their voices. Meanwhile we sit on our increasingly fat butts (I include myself in this) and pass judgment on these kids all the while trying to justify it by saying that they deserve it by being on the show. It really is a two way street.
I feel the same way about paparazzi. They keep looking for the dirt and the embarrassing photos but we keep reading the stories and looking at the pictures. There is a show on TV called TMZ where a bunch of really mean spirited people stand around talking about the hot story they have where a celebrity made a fool of themselves. Wow. Hard news indeed. The problem is that the show is getting more popular. Heck, I just mentioned it and I should not give them the time of day. They may say they are feeding a hunger and I guess they are right.
I have discovered something as I get older. I do not really want to know all that much about the people I see on TV, in the movies and on the CDs. When I do get a little overzealous and start to learn more I get disappointed because, ultimately they are just people like you and me. Sure they may be better singers, a lot better looking and driven, but still...they are people. So I enjoy the movie, the TV show, the new album and move on. I would like people to do that for me. I bet you would as well.
But here's the kicker. In our daily lives we tend to remember only the one mistake someone makes, the wrong look, the weak moment when someone's bad day spilled over into the public realm. And when we do that we overlook all the amazing things that people do each and every day. I am going to do my best to remember that I would like to be judged on my cumulative actions and not the times I stumbled. To that end, I rarely let people get too much of a look and stay pretty much to myself. I will work on that as well.
This has become something of a confessional but I would like to think there are other people like me who are constantly trying to improve. And it has always been said that admitting the problem is the first step. Now, about those other steps...

Now Listen (& Hear) This

One of my favorite authors is someone I have never actually read. His name is David Sedaris and I have all of his books. Confused? You see, I have them all on CD. His are the only books I own that are on CD. The reason? His reading style combined with his prose is very, very funny. I saw him on Letterman years ago just reading a chapter from his book and I was hooked. So, to keep the ball rolling I am posting a You Tube video of that moment and invite you to sample his style for yourself. He has a new book coming out soon and there is a rumor that his books will soon be turned into movies.

Upgrades

This week Microsoft rolled out the "official" Service Pack upgrades for XP and Vista. They actually have been available for a while through unofficial channels. This is important news for all of you who do not upgrade your software, and I know there are many of you. If you do not have Windows automatically check for updates you will be surprised at the number of updates there have been. In fact, if you try to install the whole batch of service pack upgrades you will spend some time at the computer. If you have been vigilant with the upgrades then things will go much more quickly.
But this begs the question, "What did we do with all of our time before wasting it all caring for our computers?" It has been so long that I actually do not remember. But I went from school, to college, to work, to marriage, to parent so much of my time was already spent. But now I do recognize how much time I spend trying to get my computer in tip-top shape because it is so important. Which actually bugs me. Why can't these things just work the way they are supposed to. Why do we passively accept all the upgrades, patches and more? It seems that companies are in such a rush to get product out that the release poorly scripted software on us and we have to take it. I know you can live without Windows or Macs and use Linux, but even that operating system is increasingly under attack from hackers and has to tweak their software.
Sometimes I think I just need to disconnect, use pen and paper, listen to CDs as opposed to MP3, watch TV on cable as opposed to the internet, and so on. Man, I am part of the problem. I guess I knew it, but now that I have admitted it maybe I can back off some of my computer time.
Either way...off to upgrading all my software again.

This guy cracks me up

Sometimes I get really into news and news programs. I listen to NPR and I think I am pretty knowledgeable. Then I get burned out and sick of it all. Then, every once in a while one of the pundits I like writes something that just kills me and normally it is P.J. O'Rourke. Here is a proposed speech to graduates. So real it hurts.

Like...WOW!

I have never seen anything remotely like this trick pool shot before.

Now See This - The King of Kong

This is mainly the geekier readers but anyone who plunked down some quarters to play old school video games like Pac-Man, Dig-Dug or Donkey Kong will enjoy the movie "The King of Kong - A Fistful of Quarters". It is about the quest for the highest score for the Donkey Kong game and the rivalry that develops between the legend Billy Mitchell and the newcomer Steve Wiebe. It is a look into the lives of people who love playing the old school games and those who keep the records including the judges. It is fascinating, funny, and very odd, but a well done documentary. I will not divulge any of the story line but if you get a chance to watch it, let me know. There are parts of the story that I would like to discuss. Also, I have been the arcade shown in the movie and it is as cool as you might expect.