Month: June 2016

Here’s what I know: Volume 2

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Hello. As you attempt to disrobe from the sticky ugly smelly disgusting outfit you wore outside in the Sahara of the Midwest today, I’ll open things up with a few groups of people who shouldn’t be eliminated from life but need an ass kicking.

Let’s run down a list of things that boggle the fucking mind. The things no one wants to mention or uncoil over because feelings will be hurt or apologies will be in order. In other words, things movie stars can’t say on social media without getting a phone call from their publicist.

In no coherent listing or order….

People on Twitter who complain about sub-tweets. Let me catch you up cavemen types who don’t use the social networking platform that I’ve built a career on top of. Sub-tweeting happens when someone gets into an argument with someone directly on Twitter and afterwards they complain to the rest of their following without mentioning said person. Guess what? We all fucking do this. Every day. We do it in real life. Away from computers. Rarely do people tell someone how they really feel. They will wait and complain to others. Stop complaining about, you hypocritical asswipe.

A word about people at the gym who wear spandex. Rethink it. I know it’s the place where you can be yourself and let your peacock fly but stop it. No one needs to see that. Until you carve the body you need to wear those clothes, leave the spandex at home. In fact, burn that shit with the 1980’s concert t-shirts you still have. Def Leppard will understand. I don’t wear skin tight clothing and I’m in good shape. It doesn’t look good. When you try to dance, your stomach contorts in a way that produces groans. Do that shit at home. Just advice.

The parental advice crowd. This is always humorous coming from people who don’t have kids. Do the world a favor and never give other parents advice about their kids. Their world is a different place than your own so stop it. 99 % of people who give advice need a lot of it themselves. They want to come back at them and help them so it’s their indirect way of starting the conversation. When someone you don’t know, trust or like attempts to give you advice, stop them. Give them the good fortune of thinking about their own life than others. Or politely request for them to fuck off. Either way. The latter is less characters if it is a text.

The people who want you to donate 65 hours of time to their TV show of choice but won’t watch the one you recommend. First, watch whatever TV shows you like but understand one thing. When I tell you to watch a TV show, I’ve watched it twice and know you’ll like it. I don’t just recommend anything. I don’t recommend bullshit. I want you to watch something that is different. However, please watch whatever you want. There’s nothing worse than someone telling me to watch The Walking Dead over and over. I tell them, “Watch Kingdom on Audience” and it’s a deal. They are then puzzled and leave the conversation. I asked them to watch less than 30 episodes of something but they want me to watch over 65 episodes of a zombie show. Forget it. Two way street.

Hey LA Rams owners, associates, and share holders trashing St. Louis five months after taking a football team from my city. Understand this. You won’t win a Super Bowl for years. I am talking 5-10 at least. You won’t catch lightning in a bottle like St. Louis did in 1999-2004. Forget it. There’s dipshits that still smack St. Louis even though they will play football games in 2-3 years in front of a half full stadium. What a crock of shit. STL didn’t shit on LA in 1995 when they got the Rams. It goes to show you how some people on this earth deserve to have a nasty shit filled diaper rubbed across their dry face.

A word about people who disrespect single parents. What the fuck do you know? Single parents are the true heroes of this world. Sometimes life dishes you a bad hand and things must be dealt with. Life keeps going on while bad things occur. The good people who just want to raise their kids are fucking warriors. The people who slight them or deny them respect can eat a good old toasted six inch sub full of excrement. Yeah, it happens so don’t ask who unless you have 45 fingers.

Well, that’s enough of that.

Here’s what I know this week. Sometimes, you just need to go to sleep. Nothing worth happening will go down that can’t be recapped when you wake up. Sleep is underrated.

Call your fucking parents. If you have one left, call him or her. If you have two and hold a grudge, call them. If you they don’t care about you, then call the one friend who resembles family.

Speaking of friends, don’t hold it against them if they don’t text or call for a few weeks or month. Life happens. A lot. There are times where 24 hour sets sprint by someone and they don’t think about their friends. It’s not always personal. It’s just part of the hustle. I have good friends I don’t speak with for weeks and then we do and it’s like no time has passed. Good friends aren’t people who constantly stay in contact; They are the ones who will be there when you need them.

Life is a challenging, damaging, and ultimately rewarding test of endurance. A true experience. As the Big Austrian once said, stick around. Next week, my family is once again making a bold choice for the greater good and it’s not going to be easy. You’ll find that few things in life are worth chasing down that don’t involve a little hardship.

The dark and funny thing about life is that when you least expect it, something you love dearly will be gone. Whether it’s a friend you know that loses someone or an old friend of yours who passes, it’s a gut punch.

One good pint of beer is better than three okay pints.

One good shot of whiskey is better than three fingers of watered down whiskey.

copywriting-immobiliare

A good cup of coffee can not be beat. 

I love what I do and I’m only getting started.

Thanks for reading and so long for just a little bit.

Jonathan Tucker: The wild card of Audience Network’s Kingdom

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AT&T’s Kingdom on The Audience Network wouldn’t be possible without wild unpredictable characters like Jonathan Tucker’s Jay Kulina. The epitome of sexy energy, Tucker injects the series with a blend of “you never know”.  A show about the inner turmoil that MMA fighters clash with outside the ring needs coiled up DNA wiring specimens like Jay and actors like Tucker to bring them to life.

Think of it as a kitchen and creator Byron Balasco is the chef. He can’t just have seasoned meat like Frank Grillo or a binding element like Matt Lauria. You need a spice like Jay Kulina to give the environment a kick. Energetic spark plugs like Tucker to propel the action into uncomfortable but devilishly entertaining areas. He’s the Joker of Navy Street.

Tucker has held my attention since he played a young Billy Crudup in Barry Levinson’s Sleepers back in 1996. An innocent young man in Hell’s Kitchen who goes through a massive traumatic experience that changes him for life. Tucker would go on to steal scenes in The Virgin Suicides, Hostage, and the short lived NBC series The Black Donnellys. (more…)

Anton Yelchin: A fine young talent gone too soon

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Real life is no movie. While reality can include some cinematic flair on occasion and feature characters that inspire creations on screen or influential people who actors eventually portray, the land of make believe teases us that performers only die temporarily.  They’ll come back in a different form in a different movie and thrill us again. Anton Yelchin, who died too young on Sunday due to a freak accident, didn’t waste a single second of his 27 years on Earth.

An underrated actor who will be remembered most for his role as Chekov in the new fleet of Star Trek films, Yelchin crafted a fine career for a young man. He starred in several good films and a few great ones. His innocent features built on a backbone of vulnerability that made all of his characters easy to relate to.

Yelchin burst onto the cinematic scene as the young protege to Anthony Hopkins mysterious thief in the enchanting film Hearts in Atlantis. He held his own with one of cinema’s giants at the age of 12. He would do a slew of small television roles including The Practice, Without a Trace, Curb Your Enthusiasm, NYPD Blue, Huff(David Morse played the older version of his character in Atlantis), and Criminal Minds. (more…)

Fathers Day: Don’t take it for granted

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Call your parents. Please don’t forget. Whether you are close or not, it’s important to call. It’s a rarity that a talk with your parents goes smoothly. One side is thinking about one thing and the other side is more than likely deflecting topics to get off the phone. It’s awkward sometimes but damn it, please talk to your parents. Keep in touch with your family because sooner or later they will be gone and you may not get a warning.

When it comes to life, there is no script or plan. Things happen and only part of the time is there a reason or theme attached. I’m a lucky guy. I grew up with two All Star parents who kept a roof over my head, worked hard to provide for my brother and I, and didn’t give up. As I sit here 34 years old and counting, I am very close with my parents, especially my dad. We are best friends and so much alike it is scary yet cool at the same time.

I am not entirely sure what I will do when my dad goes. I am not sure how I will act or care to be perceived for weeks or months. I may just want to shut down. I may want to hit something. I may want to cry. It is a day that I can’t even think too long about because someone up top may notice and push it in motion to challenge me to react. Life doesn’t warn you about a loss coming. It just takes something away and waits to see how tough you are as a result. I need my dad around and every son or daughter should at least make an effort to speak to their dad. (more…)

‘Gleason’ trailer tugs hard at the heart

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“That’s what dads do. They pass the best of themselves to their kids.”-Steve Gleason

Steve Gleason is known around New Orleans as a legend due to his legendary block of a punt in the first game after Hurricane Katrina decimated the city. Watching it in St. Louis and not being a Saints fan, I couldn’t help but be moved and pumped up by it. It was like he picked up the city and threw it on his shoulders when he launched himself in front of an Atlanta Falcons punt. He didn’t know years later that he would make an even bigger mark on the world. Gleason, the new documentary, documents that journey.  (more…)

Here’s what I know 

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There’s nothing better in life than the things that you know and believe in. It’s your own brand of authenticity and it’s a necessity. A way of saying this is me and that’s all there is to it.

The best birthday cards I get are the ones from my parents because they are the shortest and contain the most to the point sentences inside.

The last one read. “My three favorite words. That’s my son.”

Here’s what I know. Random and without an editor, so file your complaints with my vacant assistants desk.

  • The Shawshank Redemption’s ending can play on a loop all day and I’ll watch. Stephen King’s most underrated book and Frank Darabont’s best film. Red and Andy. Add Thomas Newman’s score and it’s mint.

  • You can hate Trump and Clinton all you want. Guess what? One of them is going to be taking office in Jamuary. I think Clinton sucks a little less. Trump in office is like Bill Pullman in Independence Day but a lot less cool and a lot dumber.
  • Baseball is an exhausting game to love. Unlike most sports, you don’t get much of a break and even the off days seem like long commercials. It’s relentless and unless your team is impeccable, it’s going to whip you in several directions, and frustrate the shit out of you. Every year. For seven to eight months. The Cards do this every year and they can win 86 or 100 games. It’s a long year. So it’s important to stay seated as long as you can. Get mad and throw things but don’t give up inside three months. There’s so many games left that when I notice Twitter followers wanting to sell, I laugh. They never learn. It’s a long year.

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Learning from Orlando: Preaching Acceptance

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Why can’t we just lay our egos and beliefs aside and learn to accept one another for who we are?

Let me back up and explain.

I’m an emotional person. When something bad happens, I react immediately. I wish I could take my time and wager a few thoughts but I just say or do what comes to me right then. I came out of the box swinging hard on Monday with my initial reaction of The Orlando Shootings. Like a boxer going for the knockout in round 1. Let me try again.

Part of being human is not only being yourself but accepting that certain things are out of your control. This shooting in Orlando has been on my mind for three days and I haven’t been able to wrap my head around the logistics of a solution or how to help prevent it from happening again.

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The real weapon of terrorism: Fear

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The definition of fear: an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.

Earlier this morning, there was a bomb threat near Mercy Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. Law enforcement and the Bomb squad had to shut down a portion of a major highway in the city, I-270, in order to defuse a bomb threat and ensure the safety of hundreds of people. If you were traveling between the Ladue exit and the I-64 interchange, you were derailed. For good reason.

This was a real threat. Sure, they blew up the two devices they found and all was well…..today. Backpacks or duffel bags that may or may not have contained something terrible. It was real. You don’t shut down a major interstate on a hunch. 270 takes passengers from North County to South County. It connects cars to the central highway of the city in Highway 40, which takes them into the city or out to West County. It takes cars to I-44 and I-70. It is a major highway and the biggest one in the city. Holding that up costs businesses money and people time. It was done for a reason.

Hospitals are a juicy target. There are people of all ages inside a hospital and more importantly, there are caregivers. Kids, babies, middle aged folks, young doctors, and elder souls. Take out a hospital and you aren’t just taking away life, you are taking away care for life. When a terror attack happens, the first place ambulances and officers think of is a hospital. Take that away and it incites more fear. That is the greatest weapon in all of this. FEAR. Every time an attack takes place, the fear count triples.

It can happen overseas. It can happen in Paris, Russia, China, or on United States soil. Terror lead to a heightened sense of fear and a different way of looking at people. It’s easy and marketable to say an attack brings people together. It can also spread people apart. After the shootings at the Pulse gay night club in Orlando, Florida, I bet one out of every three people went to the gun store and bought. 1 in every 2 family members applied for a concealed carry license. When they walk down the street and see someone that unfortunately carries the skin color of a radical from ISIS or someone who merely unsettles them, violent tendencies will occur. Whether it’s for a legit reason or not, it will happen. Terrorism leads to more fear which leads to distinct reactions to race and therefore sparks terrible evil things inside the most innocent souls.

At the core of our nature, we are innocent and good. Every soul starts out as noble and well. It can then be twisted or bent into something else through teachings, events seen, or just a need to be different. Religion plays a heavy part in terrorism. More often than not, someone is trying to do right by their God by taking life. NBC News reported that the shooter in Sunday’s Florida killings called police and declared himself a radical of ISIS. This terrorism cell is coming over the water and onto USA ground. All of it comes from a certain belief.

I have no horse in the religious game. With no offense to slant to the believers in God, I believe in life, choice, and chance. I believe in what I see. Right now, all I see is death and violence. Via the US government, over 1.6 million people have died via domestic shootings since 1963. Since the 1700’s, 1.2 million Americans have died while serving their country. It’s real. When did the world become so violent? It all begins and ends with fear.

Whenever something bad happens, fear ratchets up like a volume dial. Once it goes up, it can’t go back down. It doesn’t matter who is in office. Obama. Trump. Clinton. Blah. The system remains the same with any talking head in the big chair.

Some say take weapons out of peoples hands. What good will that do a family trying to protect their home and future if evil comes knocking? Guns don’t go off by themselves people. Bad people get them and fire them. It’s all about the user and not the instrument. What about the various attacks where a man or woman has a weapon on them and takes out the shooter before more harm can be done? What about a good soul trying to protect his wife and kids carrying a weapon? Guns don’t kill people. People kill people. You can have four more Florida events and that won’t change.

No matter the weapon used, the end result is fear and what it does to people. Who can you trust? Will you be at the wrong place at the wrong time? Can you stop something from happening or merely wish to survive it? Evil lurks everywhere and there’s nothing we can do about it. What you can do is protect your own. There shouldn’t be a law against that.

Whenever something terrible happens, I look at my four year old son and wonder what I will tell him when he gets older and starts to understand this madness. What can one man do to calm his son of the chaos that awaits him one day. I’ll tell him that I still believe there are more good people than bad ones out there. I will tell him the evil have their hands full. That, at the end of the day, the good can still win. The painful thing is the fight is an ongoing one with no end in sight.

All we can do is hope the fear doesn’t spread so fast and produce wild reactions. Terrorism or not, the real damage comes from what we do to each other as a result of fear.

Or as Walter White once said…

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Gordie Howe: Worth traveling back in time for

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When I finally catch up with Doc and the DeLorean, there are a few places I am going.

I am going to watch Bob Gibson act like a wizard on the pitching mound at Busch Stadium in 1968.

I am going to watch Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fight like warriors in the “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975.

I am also going back in time to watch Gordie Howe play hockey.

“Mr. Hockey” finally gave out Friday at the age of 88 years young. He went peacefully and surrounded by his loved ones. This world was no longer fit for his presence. Howe, a legend for the Detroit Red Wings and owner of four Stanley Cups and the gusto of a war ship, is someone every hockey fan should know about and understand. (more…)

The “I could” writers are the worst

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There’s nothing more annoying than hearing someone on social media say they can write better than someone and not backing up with an actual piece of evidence. I call these people the “pretend” writers. The “I’m going to” or “If I had time” writers.

Let me make something crystal fucking clear. You either write or you don’t. Forget the promise or planning. Sit down and do it. Life passes you by while you are busy making plans to do something else. Opportunity and credibility also run past if you keep pretending.

I ran across this from one of my biggest trolls on Twitter last night.

Let me introduce you to Nick and what a troll is. A troll on social media is someone who doesn’t engage yet merely stops by to pick at an old scab and then run away. They pop up when they feel it’s time to hate and then disappear. They rarely wish to have a conversation. That would be too much. For example, this is the 15th or so time Nick has complained about these writers at the Post Dispatch. Keep in mind Jose Ortiz, Ben Frederickson, and Benjamin Hochman are all on social media and have accounts but Nick didn’t want to tag them for fear of actual engagement. He lists their names and trolls them. Nick is a coward. Don’t be like Nick.

The above tweet angers me most. “I absolutely could” is a big statement for a man who hasn’t written an article(or at least one that I could find) in the past year. He’s pretender. (more…)