Hey! Do I have your attention? Let’s greet this despicable Monday with a few thoughts.

5. If you haven’t watched Game of Thrones yet, stop holding out. It’s worth the time. Fuck Walking Dead and Prison Break. GOT concluded season 7 last night and there are approximately 18 months until the eighth and final season, so get on it. The show’s storyline is so well written and multi-faceted that you leave every episode wanting more. Sword, wolves, dragons, sex, and utter brutality between humans wrapped around powerful character development. It’s like the medieval version of Sopranos with more fucking and killing. Do you like sword fights and action? Yes. How about sex and nudity? Yes. What about dragons burning everything in its wake? Whatever you desire, Thrones has it and tells a story that keeps you off balance and just enough in the dark.

4. We will never have enough time. I work two jobs, take care of a house, try to stay in shape, and have a family. All I hear is just relax and take a moment for yourself. Well, when I do that, who is doing my laundry and cleaning my house? Who cleans up the dog piss on my couch? Am I showing enough attention to myself and loved ones? The next day after a mental cleanse is never easy. It’s not even noon and I’ve already gotten my kid to school late and screwed up the side mirror on my car. There’s never enough time in life to do what needs to be done for you and everyone else. All we can do is try as hard as we can to get enough done. Today I need to drive to make money, write to stay sane, and also work out a bit. And be a good husband and father. There’s never enough time and I feel like I’m letting people down constantly.

*I also have to find time to watch TV shows. Can I buy a few hours of time? Bribe a clock? Persuade a day to slow down? Serious answers only.

3. Up and down baseball seasons are hard to cover. The Cardinals can’t decide if they want to drift away or flourish, so as a writer, I’m constantly juggling moods. “They’re shit”, “All they need is this”, and “Give Peace a chance” have all made appearances. Fans hate you if you’re too positive and grill you when the negativity sets in. Here’s my unfiltered: Calm the fuck down. Let’s all take a minute. More often than not, fans and writers will be disappointed. Until MLB becomes the Oscars and 8-10 teams can win the award the big prize.

PS: Get your shit together, Cardinals. To quote a man named Red, get busy living or get busy dying. I’m tired, Boss.

2. Give me a movie about troubled writers trapped in a love quarrel in the beauty of New York with a great cast, and I’m all over it. I don’t care if it’s preachy or self-indulgent. I’m yours. That’s why “The Only Living Boy in New York” gets my vote. Also, Jeff Bridges is amazing in the movie. Still underrated as an actor. More than the dude. Watch this and last year’s “Hell or High Water”.

1. Drive your cars carefully. My car was new a few months ago and now it feels like it was put through a Fast and Furious film shoot. The descent is real and taking your car to a shop turns us into little kids scared at the amount of punishment it will receive. Drive slower. Be careful. Take care of your most important friend.

One more thing: Conor McGregor acquitted himself well against the best of the best in Floyd Mayweather Jr., but know one thing: the boxer toyed with Conor for seven rounds before picking off the tiring MMA champ. It wasn’t as close as some made it seem. It wasn’t a brutal stoppage either. In the end, I imagine Conor whispered to Floyd, “what took you so damn long?!”

Boxing is a sweet wonderful science. No one can step in and be great. That said, Conor did well.

Song I’m listening to: Tony Crown covering “Fly Like An Eagle”.

Show I’m watching and liking: Ozark.

That’s all. I need more coffee.

Comment, share, and react accordingly.

-DLB