Shane Observed

(*Released in 1986)

I recently received the Communication Arts Advertising Annual, and have been working my way through it. Today I read an interesting "Creativity" article by Natalia Ilyin, who emailed several questions to Bill Hill (the creator of ClearType). One of his answers really stood out to me.

QUESTION

"Your blog's "Digital Declaration of Independence" asserts "every human has an equal anunalienable right to the means to create, distribute and consume information." And yet you are a big fan of Amazon's Kindle, which puts distribution into the hands of a very small group and reading only into hands that can afford a reader. How do you envision solving these problems?"

HILL: "I deliberately drew a parallel in theat "Declaration" with the United States Declaration of Independence. That asserted that all men were created equal and had certain fundamental rights, but it took more than 200 years before the U.S. could elect a black President."
"It was a great document, because the men who created it realized its purpose was to serve as a beacon. You can't climb the hill all at once—but someone has to stick a flag on the top and say: 'Here's where we have to go!'"
"The kindle is a transitional device. When the first pocket calculators appeared, they cost hundreds of dollars. Now you get one free when you fill up at Exxon. But Kindle is helping to drive digitization of hundreds of thousands of titles. It's 'good enough' for now, but devices need to get better and cheaper. We're not at the top of the hill yet, by a long way."

Now although I personally feel that, "electing a black President" is not the best example of where our "Declaration of Independence" has taken us (in fact I would go as far to say I feel we, as a country, are twisting and taking the Declaration of Independence in the opposite direction, that the writers intended. But that is off subject so I will refrain). I do understand the point he is trying to make. I really enjoyed his example of the calculator, and where that has taken us as far as technology and the digital revolution has come. I still have my fathers calculator which is a really old Texas Instruments calculator that is very simple compared to the calculators that are out now, but at the time my Father spent a nice chunk of money on this calculator. Now I'm interested in seeing if the Kindle is really that same starting point as far as digital reading devices are concerned.

Formula to Happiness

THE PREFACE

Over the years I have learned the formula to achieving happiness. However just as in math knowing the formula is only half the battle. It's an entirely different story when you actually have to apply the formula to actually solving the real world problem (equation). I should know, seeing as how I always struggled in math class. The majority of the time I was able to completely understand how the formula worked, however I would always miss a step along the way. I wouldn't carry the negative sign, or I would go to fast and make careless mistakes which led to me coming up with the incorrect answer.

In my pursuit for happiness I often face the same problems with receiving the correct answer, which in this case is happiness. In other words, by me "claiming" to have the formula to happiness does not in any way mean that I am ALWAYS happy.

THE FORMULA

I firmly believe that ALL people regardless of race, color, religion, or nationality have a personal set of morals and ethics in which they set for themselves as a standard "code of conduct". For many people religion, culture, family, and other outside forces influence this moral code of standards. In many cases it is almost sub consciously imbedded into their system. Meaning that for the majority of people it takes a lot of soul searching before we are able to realize what ours is. This is the first obstacle in being able to find the answer in the equation of our own happiness. Up until the point where we are able to learn this moral and ethical code of conduct it remains the "x" in our formula.

CREATING ESCAPES

A lot of our lives are spent trying to figure this out. I call this soul searching process "escapes." What I mean by this is that we all find aspects of our lives that if we escape them it will equal happiness. Let me use a personal example as to what I mean by this. In the beginning of my mission for the LDS church in Brazil I went through some very difficult and frustrating times. I was in a foreign country without any family or friends. I didn't speak or comprehend the native language and I was 19 years old. So in the beginning I remember thinking, well once I know the language this will be easy and I will be happy. Once I learned the language I only became aware of more issues, and obstacles. So then I began to search for a new escape. I continued down this path until finally it dawned on me that none of those things bring happiness. In fact the absence of obstacles, stress, and tribulation does not equal happiness. Alot of times that is our first mistake. We see all of these stresses in our life, and we begin to think, if only I was able to rid myself of these stresses I would find myself FREE of stress thus resulting in happiness. This is a very destructive path, mainly because the only way anyone can experience growth and edification is through overcoming trials and obstacles in their lives, but that in itself can and should be reserved for it's own post.

MOVING FORWARD

Once we are able to comprehend that escaping what is bringing stress into our lives like, the lack of money, lack of friends, lack of family, lack of a job, etc... will bring about happiness. We are finally able to make some progress through this formula. We are then able to understand that only ONE person is in charge of our happiness. In fact only ONE "thing" is in charge of our happiness. We are the only ones who decide weather or not we are going to be happy. Regardless of circumstance happiness can be achieved. This does not mean to say that the pursuit to happiness is as easy for everyone, however "easy" or "hard" in itself is a relative term and is highly based on personal perception.

The only true way to find happiness is by living up to your own personal moral and ethical code of conduct inwhich we have all set for ourselves. Everyone's morals and ethics differ, so there is no RIGHT answer. However when you you don't meet your own expectations then you don't love yourself. If you don't love yourself you also are unable to comprehend or allow others to love you. Love is important because love is what brings about happiness. However when I use the word love I mean love in it's purest form. The love I speak of is synonymous with the word charity. So the best definition I can find is in the bible which says:

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in ainiquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth

1 Corinthians 13

*I find it important to note, that in the Brazilian Bible they interpreted the word charity as the word love. Which is more proof as to how perhaps love and charity are really the same word, but their definitions have become lost in time by man.

IN CLOSING

Please note that at the time of writing this post I am only 29 years old, and in my meager 29 years of pursuing happiness this is what I have learned and began applying to my daily life. I always find when I am unhappy it is almost ALWAYS in direct relation to how well I am doing in meeting my own personal moral and ethical code of conduct. So by going through the necessary steps to repair my own relationship with myself through forgiveness I am able to once again be on the pathway to happiness once again. So please feel free to add your own beliefs that you have learned along your travails of life.

RELATED:

5 Simple Rules for Happiness

80 Percenter

I've always thought of myself as an 80 percenter. I like to throw myself passionately into a sport or activity until I reach about an 80 percent proficiency level. To go beyond that requires an obsession and degree of specialization that doesn't appeal to me.

— Yvon Chouinard, Let My People Go Surfing, Founder and owner, Patagonia, Inc.

Related Article: A while back I wrote an article that talks about this philosophy. I wish I would of read this quote back then, it fits in perfectly to what I was attempting to say.

Good, Great, Greatest

Lately I've been thinking a lot about what goes into being good, great, or greatest at something. So I came up with a few ideas. The tricky part with this is how the words, "good", "great", & "greatest" are very relative in their definition. What I mean by that is, the definition of all of these will vary dependent on the person and their given experience with whatever they are applying the word to. You also have to apply the element of opposition, you can only know sweet by also knowing bitter, but then your degree of what you consider sweet will vary dependent on the amount of sweetness you have experienced. So yeah, this is a pretty complicated subject as you can see, but let's just take this little journey, and feel free to chime in with your comments and we will see if we can come up with something memorable in the end.

GOOD:

To be good at something I feel that you first need to learn the fundamental aspects of that something. As an example let's use basketball, although this can be applied to almost anything. So to be a good basketball player first you must learn the fundamentals of the game. Once you have a solid comprehension of the fundamentals I feel you are well on your way to being good. The next step is to actually practice, and by practicing you slowly begin to make progress. The more you practice the better you become.

GREAT:

To be considered GREAT, I feel you need to not only have a solid foundation of the fundamental aspects that govern whatever you are striving to be great at, but you also need to have an added degree of focus. This focus involves a higher degree of practice. You also must begin to find people who are already great or even greatest and begin to emulate them. I remember as a kid I began trying to play like my favorite basketball players, as well as my older brother. I would see him (or them) do different moves and then start practicing them. Gatorade didn't chose to use "I Wanna Be Like Mike" as their marketing campaign for no reason you know? Thats also why people wear "WWJD" wristbands as well. Trying to emulate Jesus is never a bad thing.

Even applying this to web design, I am always looking at the people who I feel are great or even greatest and then I try to emulate them not as people, but as designers.

GREATEST:

I think to get to the greatest category it comes down to your level of commitment, focus, and most importantly the details. The majority of guys you see in professional sports or the Olympics eat, sleep, and drink their sport. Just look at how hard Michael Phelps trains for example:

"Bowman actually started training Michael Phelps when the Phelps was still 11 years old. He pushed Phelps to swim at least 50 miles each week. According to him, kids at that age, is able to increase the size of their hearts and lungs in ways that no longer possible later on. The larger the heart and lungs, the bigger the aerobic engine. Phelps has been training almost 5 hours a day and 7 days a week without any rest day. Bowman admitted that he has trained the star to the extent that Phelps has little time or energy left at the end of the day for anything except to eat, sleep or occasionally watch the television. Phelps has to swim on his birthdays and Christmas too. He probably has missed some of the things he should have enjoyed at his age, but he has probably gained much than what he has missed. By the way, Bowman was a college swimmer before he became coach and he has a degree in child psychology. That helps, I guess.

Click here for the full article

The thing to be worried about when you are looking to be in the greatest category to me, is you really need to think about your priorities in life. In all reality the only things I want to be greatest in are being a father, & a husband. When you chose something like a vocation to be greatest in, you really are sacrificing a lot of other aspects of your life in order to become greatest. Most insanely successful individuals go through countless divorces, and have poor relationships with their children and family. It's all due to the amount of focus and commitment you have to have to reach the level of greatest.

If your vocation, sport, or hobby is that important to you, then I suppose it is all worth it. To me I would much rather be considered the GREATEST dad, or the GREATEST husband. So to do so, I believe I have to stay focused on what it is that makes a person the greatest dad, or husband.

CLOSING REMARKS

That is why I am more than happy with simply being great at designing websites, or basketball for that matter (if I can even be considered great that is). I am not saying that ALL people who are in this greatest category don't have great relationships with their families. I'm also just not confident that you can truly be greatest at more than one thing. Perhaps this only applies to me, and my capacities.

I do feel like in regards to web design I am at that stage where I am constantly trying to analyze what makes other web designers great. I have also changed the way I look at the world in general. When I go to the grocery store I am constantly looking at package designs, posters, and displays for different aesthetic aspects, and how effective they are. When I drive down the road I pay close attention to each and every billboard, as I sit in the mall while Hannah is playing I sit and stare at the Dillards logo and get irritated by the poor kerning of the letters. When I watch TV I pay very close attention to most commercials and the little details involved such as the fonts used, colors, music, camera angles, cinematography, and more. Similar things happen to me when I watch a movie, even my basketball watching experience has changed since I now over analyze the graphics on the screen. How they display the score and other statistics throughout the game. I flip through magazines not only to read the articles, but also to enjoy the layout and graphical elements of the magazine in general. I try to figure out what type of grid was used in the design of the magazine. There are countless other ways that my attempts to become a better designer has changed the entire way I see and interact with the world. Like I said, that to me is the only way to become great at it.

I am also constantly looking at web galleries, and almost stalking each and every web designer I feel are some of the best in the world. I visit their blogs on almost a daily basis. I subscribe to different design related magazines and do my best to read them from cover to cover.

I just hope I never allow myself to focus more on design, or basketball than I do my daughter, soon to arrive son, and wife. I think back to my youth, and how I did similar things in regards to basketball. My junior year I began shooting at least 100 three pointers a day, as well as 50 free throws. If I would of known what I know now, I probably would of gone the extreme route of Michael Phelps, because at that time in my life basketball and being successful was almost everything to me. At least I told myself that, I didn't have the focus and work ethic to quite back it up. I think many times people want to be great so bad, but don't want to actually put in the work necessary to obtain it. Mostly because they see someone that is already at that level, and don't pay close enough attention to see what that person actually did to get to that point. They just see their fame, money, & talent and covet it.

What are your thoughts?

Bing?

There are plenty of other blogs and sources critiquing the functionality and efficacy of Bing, so what truly brings us all here today is the sad, awful, unforgivable mutilation that has been done to these four poor letters of the Latin alphabet.

—By Armin

TypeKit

As a Typekit user, you’ll have access to our library of high-quality fonts. Just add a line of JavaScript to your markup, tell us what fonts you want to use, and then craft your pages the way you always have. Except now you’ll be able to use real fonts. This really is going to change web design.

—Introducing Typekit

Now this sounds VERY promising, something I am VERY excited about!

Don't Chase Money

"Don't go after clients because of the money. Be sure the client fits your culture. Angelo says, (of David&Goliath) "We look at our client partners as an integral part of the brand. They're as much a part of our place as anyone here."

words by: Julie Prendiville Roux in an article published in the Communication Arts Interactive Annual 15

I don't think anyones primary goal in business or in life should be money. When you REALLY think about it, everyones primary goal in life is to be happy, so why not make that your primary goal in business as well. If you are thinking, "money will make me happy." Well that is a sad and slippery slope to be on, because you will never make enough money for that to REALLY happen.

Lessons of the Heart

Oh when the wild was all covered by snow,
I forgot the colours that the grass tend to grow.
Oh the trees were all leafless,
And lifeless and black,
And I wondered if the leaves could grow back

For your heart is like a flower as it grows,
And its the rain, not just the sun that helps it bloom,
And you don't know how it feels to be alive,
Until you know how it feels to die

The lyrics of Noah and the Whale are so good, I always enjoy to constantly be reminded that life is about both the good and the bad, and that we must have the bad to know the good. The bitter to appreciate the sweet and so forth.

The Beauty of Forgiveness

The beautiful thing about forgiveness is that it can be given freely to all without asking anything in return. Forgiveness does not demand an apology from an offender, it doesn't require justice to be served, nor does it require forgiveness to be reciprocated. When we forgive ourselves as well as others who may have offended us or wronged us we are able to make the first steps to becoming happy.

James E. Faust said:

“Forgiveness is freeing up and putting to better use the energy once consumed by holding grudges, harboring resentments, and nursing unhealed wounds. It is rediscovering the strengths we always had and relocating our limitless capacity to understand and accept other people and ourselves.”

"Most of us need time to work through pain and loss. We can find all manner of reasons for postponing forgiveness. One of these reasons is waiting for the wrongdoers to repent before we forgive them. Yet such a delay causes us to forfeit the peace and happiness that could be ours. The folly of rehashing long-past hurts does not bring happiness."

In order to forgive ourselves and others we must become humble, and selfless (un-selfish). One of the best tools I have learned in the forgiving process is to apologize even when you don't feel as though you need to apologize.

It is funny to me that through becoming selfless we are truly able to find ourselves. This being a difficult process by the very nature of man. I believe C. S. Lewis said it better than I when he said:

“The moment you have a self at all, there is a possibility of putting yourself first—wanting to be the centre—wanting to be God, in fact. That was the sin of Satan: and that was the sin he taught the human race. Some people think the fall of man had something to do with sex, but that is a mistake. . . . What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could ‘be like gods’—could set up on their own as if they had created themselves—be their own masters—invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come . . . the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.”

I began to first comprehend this concept during my time in brazil, but it didn't truly sink in until I locked eyes for the very first time with my daughter, and it only has been magnified during the past 3 (almost 4) years of her life. Dallin H. Oaks expressed it recently in a talk he gave about "Unselfish Service" where he said;

"...the sacrifice parents make for their children. Mothers suffer pain and loss of personal priorities and comforts to bear and rear each child. Fathers adjust their lives and priorities to support a family."

I recently tweeted, "Unselfishness is the pathway to happiness." while listening to Dallin H. Oaks talk I began to connect the dots where forgiveness and unselfishness are interwoven and connected. Whereby you can not forgive yourself or another without being unselfish, likewise you can not be unselfish without forgiving yourself and others.

I believe the one single emotion we all strive for in this life is happiness. Sadly the majority of us fall into the natural trap that C.S. Lewis described as being "the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy."

Enjoying the Sound

Lately I've been listening to Noah and the Whale both at work and in my car. Hannah is even a fan, requesting we keep the song below on constant repeat while strolling down the ave. Their music reminds me of a Wes Anderson film, which is basically me saying it's good!

"On the surface the name Noah and the Whale seems to be a mashup of biblical stories. In reality it’s an homage to Noah Baumbach’s film The Squid and the Whale. If you only listen to Noah and the Whale’s single “5 Years Time” you’ll think they were a sunny quirk-pop group. In reality their music is a tasty cake made from many ingredients, from twee to shoegaze. What’s that old expression about judging a book by something?"

here's the full story


Enjoy™

Harvey Danger: Little By Little

Psych had a special Friday the 13th episode on Friday the 13th. Where they played off of the old Friday the 13th movies, which was GREAT. During the episode they played a song that was familiar to me, but I couldn't recall who sang it or what the song was called. So I asked my friend Amanda (who works with me) if she knew who sang the song that went like this, “Paranoia, Paranoia they’re coming to get me...” So she said it was a Harvey Danger song called Flagpole Sitta. So I did a quick Google search and come to find out they have a relatively new album, and this what their website is saying:

"We are offering the entirety of our third album, Little by Little..., as a free download** (if you're curious why we're doing this, you can read our reasons here)."

(**Click on the title to head on over to their website for the FREE download).

Brandon Vaughn

I recieved an email earlier today from Bob Banta, of the American Statesman asking me to call him to answer some questions about Brandon. I pointed him in the direction of two closer friends instead. I contacted Bob at around 6:30 pm to find out that he had just finished writing the story and thanked me for my help. I asked him to email me the article when it went live. If you're interested here it is:

"Two youths killed in car wreck shared love of basketball"

I also found out that his Funeral will be held at:
One Way Baptist Church off of Hairyman Road at 11:00am on Monday (December 22, 2008).

Last Night

Longhorn Basketball

My friend Eric called me yesterday afternoon offering up four Longhorns basketball tickets on the 9th row. They were playing Texas Southern (whom I've never even heard of & still have no clue where the school is even located). So I called up one of my friends to see if he wanted to join me, and he ended up bringing his brother and his four year old son. We were supposed to meet at 6:15 at the Round Rock stake center, but he didn't show up till after 6:30. Then we had to drive down to 360 and Bee Caves to Eric Mott's office to pick up the tickets then on to the game which started at 7:00. So we didn't end up making it to our seats until half time where the Longhorns had a one point lead.

The game ended up being pretty good, and the seats where GREAT, right down on the 10th row in the corner. That's the closest I've ever sat to any basketball game other than a Highschool game. Also the first time seeing the Longhorns play in person.

A.J. Abrams had 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting, but it was Pittman who provided the much-needed spark for the Longhorns (9-1).

A.J. Abrams was quite impressive to me, even though I only saw him play half the game, it was impressive to see this 5'7 or 5'8 dude weaving in and around guys working to get open, and he would go long periods of time without touching the ball and then as soon as the defense gave him any daylight the ball was dropping straight through the net. I only saw him miss 2 shots, and one of them it seemed like he never really wanted to shoot it in the first place.

I actually brought my camera with me and accidentally left it in the car because we were running late. Hopefully Eric Mott will think of me again next time he doesn't want to use his tickets.

William Brandon Vaughn

Sadly my day ended NOT so well. I got a phone call around 11:00 at night from a guy I play basketball with on Wed nights. He informed me that another friend of mine who I also play ball with on Wed nights died in a car accident last night. I believe he was only 19 years old, maybe 20. I didn't know very many personal details about him. I only really spent time with him on the basketball court, and most of our conversations revolved around basketball. I didn't even know his last name, but you know how some people just radiate goodness. Well that was Brandon, he was just an all around good dude. Seriously, I've been playing with him for about 2 years almost, and he was one of my favorite people that showed up each and every week. It was shocking news, and I just feel bad that I wasn't able to know Brandon better than I did. My heart goes out to his parents, especially his mom, and all of his friends. The world lost one of the good guys last night...

**UPDATE**
I've talked to some more people and found out some more info, and I also learned his full name. I then was able to find some stories about the accident online.

"Two teenage boys were killed in a collision in Bastrop County Tuesday afternoon.

"According to police, William Brandon Vaughn, 19, and James Jackson, 18, both of Round Rock were traveling in a 2002 Ford Focus heading north on Highway 95 about 5 miles south of Elgin.

"The driver was passing other vehicles that were on the shoulder, when he lost control of the vehicle. The car then slid into oncoming traffic, hitting a 1996 Ford Explorer. The two occupants of the Ford Explorer received non-life-threatening injuries.

The incident happened around 3:55 p.m."

Source here.

Yet Another Reason of Why NOT to Use Internet Explorer

"Users of all current versions of Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer browser might be vulnerable to having their computers hijacked because of a serious security hole in the software that had yet to be fixed Monday."

"The flaw lets criminals commandeer victims' machines merely by tricking them into visiting Web sites tainted with malicious programming code. As many as 10,000 sites have been compromised since last week to exploit the browser flaw, according to antivirus software maker Trend Micro Inc.."

"Many security experts, meanwhile, are urging Internet Explorer users to use another browser until a patch is released."

So why not make the switch to a smarter more efficient Internet Browser today?

P.S.-- Click the title to hop on over to the entire article.

IE 6 : (

“IE 6 is a last-generation browser. This means that IE 6 can’t provide the same web experience that modern browsers can. Continued support of IE 6 means that we can’t optimize our interfaces or provide an enhanced customer experience in our apps. Supporting IE 6 means slower progress, less progress, and, in some places, no progress. We want to make sure the experience is the best it can be for the vast majority of our customers, and continuing to support IE 6 holds us back.”

Click here to read the full article.

Let's hope this means the end to IE6 is quickly approaching us.

Featured

In my attempts to master the ways of the interweb I have spent the last year and a half reading books and websites to gain a Jedi-esque knowledge of the web standards as described by the W3C

"W3C primarily pursues its mission through the creation of Web standards and guidelines. Since 1994, W3C has published more than 110 such standards, called W3C Recommendations. W3C also engages in education and outreach, develops software, and serves as an open forum for discussion about the Web. In order for the Web to reach its full potential, the most fundamental Web technologies must be compatible with one another and allow any hardware and software used to access the Web to work together. W3C refers to this goal as “Web interoperability.” By publishing open (non-proprietary) standards for Web languages and protocols, W3C seeks to avoid market fragmentation and thus Web fragmentation."

(In other words I am a HUGE Geek!)

So recently I have been able to successfully validate both my XHTML and my CSS (Cascading Style Sheets.) In doing so I have been able to get my website ShaneGuymon.com to be featured on these websites:







I'd like to thank these websites and online galleries for adding my website to large quantity of standards compliant websites out their on this world wide web we all enjoy. As a small token of my gratitude I have added a section on my sidebar which is titled Featured On which has links to the different sites that have featured or showcased my website.

NBA Finals 2008

I can't help but entertain the thoughts of conspiracy theories in regards to the NBA's involvement in how this whole NBA Finals has worked out, did they have this planned the entire time, were refs urged to make BAD calls to help one team over the other? Or if it really is just "The Perfect Storm." It's hard to think it just happened with how HUGE the NBA is taking advantage of this on a marketing level. I mean before the game they had a whole tribute to the history of the match-up. All over ESPN and NBA.com and anywhere else you find throwback pictures of Tragic and Bird. They've even gone so far as to make a "Split Face" commercial with Bird and Tragic (Magic) Johnson.



There is only one HUGE problem with all of this madness. The NBA is trying to artificially create the drama and emotion that existed back in the 70's and 80's between the two teams. They are trying to awaken the rivalry from the dust. Only those same emotions don't exist anymore. Not between the players and NOT between the fans. All though my hatred for the LAkers has NEVER worn off since those shining years of the 80's growing up rooting for Larry "LEGEND." My LOVE for BOSTON didn't stick around either. Although I am rooting for the Celtics, and have been the entire season because as far as the franchise is concerned I want to see them return to what they once were, however they aren't the same team anymore. The main reason I want the Celtics to win is because I have been a fan of both Kevin Garnett & Ray Allen for quite some time. So I am excited for both of them to "hopefully" get a championship. They both deserve it, but Kevin Garnett more so.

I think Scoop Jackson put it best from his Page 2 article he wrote for ESPN.com:

"The '80s takes it. Because of the one factor that existed then but doesn't now: race. The black versus white element of the rivalry in the '80s was just as important as anything geographical or basketball-related. That's what made a sports event transcend athletics and enter into America's social structure. Race -- built on the Bird/Magic non-basketball dynamic -- was the core reason we all were galvanized and fascinated. And though many would consider this a hindrance to what the rivalry was about, in truth it essentially made the rivalry beautiful. It made each race respect the other, forty-eight minutes at a time."

To add to that, I wouldn't say it was ALL race, but more so it was BIRD and Magic, I mean they were rivals in college battling each other for the College title, and then they both entered the NBA as rivals again competing for Rookie of the year. So although they are friends now, during their years on the court they HATED one another. If you were a Larry Bird fan you weren't a fan of Magic (you might of respected his game, but you HATED him.) Likewise if you were a fan of Magic Johnson then you HATED Larry Bird. Those emotions and sentiments between fans and players don't exist anymore.

So David Stern, please give it up man, just let the finals be what they are, a GREAT match-up between two GREAT teams, and not a rebirth of what ONCE was.

Grape

So the other day Hannah asked for a red popsicle and I wasn't able to find a red one in the freezer but she was happy to take an orange one instead. I decided I wanted a grape one. So we are both chillin on the couch eating our popsicles, when she decides that the grape one I am eating looks better so she takes it and holds it close to her chest as if she had just won a trophy and exclaims,

"This is my favorite for my tummy and my blue eyes!"

I Wish

"The flower said
I wish i was a tree
The tree said
I wish i could be
A different kind of tree
The cat wished that it was a bee
The turtle wished that it could fly
Really high into the sky
Over rooftops and then dive
Deep into the sea"

"And in the sea there is a fish
A fish that has a secret wish
A wish to be a big cactus
With a pink flower on it
And in the sea there is a fish
A fish that has a secret wish
A wish to be a big cactus
With a pink flower on it"

"And the flower
Would be its offering
Of love to the desert
And the desert
So dry and lonely
That the creatures all
Appreciate the effort"

"And the rattlesnake said
I wish i had hands so
I could hug you like a man
And then the cactus said
Don't you understand
My skin is covered
With sharp spikes
That'll stab you
Like a thousand knives
A hug would be nice
But hug my flower
With your eyes" (--Antsy Pants, Tree Hugger)

I think this song is great, because I think everyone can relate to it. I'm sure that everyone at one time or another, maybe even still today has wished they had someone else's life. Like this song shows it's really just one endless cycle where ironically even the persons life that you view as "the perfect life" also wishes he had someone else's life. It's sad that so many of us waste so much time in our lives wishing for something different then what we are already blessed with. When really we should all just be grateful for the life we are currently blessed with.

So anyways, I watched Juno this past weekend and LOVED it, the script was unique and honest in my opinion. What made the movie even better was how perfect the soundtrack fit each and every scene helping tell the story. I enjoyed it so much that I have been listening to the soundtrack both in my car and at work every day this week.

I've heard a few people say the movie was a bit crude, and I've heard others tell me flaws in the messages it is seeming to spread concerning teenage pregnacy, I don't really agree with either critique, to me the characters where honest and believable rolls. The character of Michael Cera especially was one that I, as a shy awkward person can relate to. The movie evenly distrubtes doses of drama sprinkled with humor. It truly shows how to turn lemons into lemonade!

Solid Gold

I received a Veer's Solid Gold catalog at work a week or so ago. I usually get these things and quickly flip through them and enjoy all the nice stock photos, "cool stuff for creatives," and in the back they always have a selection of fonts I usually just check the fonts out and wish I could have some of them. I never actually read anything written in them, however this time I actually read some of the paragraphs they had written as fake articles to show off some of the fonts, after breaking out in laughter I began a closer investigation through out the entire catalog and I found a few good ones.

AN UUNLIKELY REUNION
"Guitar legend Dickie Avery announced at a press conference that he and estranged bandmate Philip McCoy will reunite for a concert in Central Park. The duo, whose hits included "Wishing on Stars," "The Love Triangle," and "That Old Hat of Mine, " split in 1978, citing artistic differences. When pressed about the odd timing of the reunion, Avery defended his decision, "Just because Phil has been dead for 10 years doesn't mean we can't reconcile our differences. He never added much anyway."

RAPPER INJURES SELF IN BRAWL
"Central City (March 20, 2008) - Obscure hip hop artist Owen Daniels, known to a small group of fans as The 10th Wonder, was treated for minor injuries following an altercation with himself outside a downtown nightclub Saturday morning. Though there were not paparazzi on hand to capture the incident, Daniels contacted local media with a statement, "Nobody disrespects me and gets away with it. I've always been my own harshest critic. so then it was on."

A POSITIVE SPIN
Local vintage vinyl shop thriving

"They're celebrating at Spindustrial Revolution, the independantly owned record shop. Despite a poor location and low foot traffic, owner Shaun Watts maintains that his business is a success. "Technically we do record sales every month."