New England Patriots - Far From Boring

So I was talking to a friend about the Superbowl the other day. He said that it was one of the more boring SBs that he can remember. He said everything was boring, the commercials (except the GoDaddy.com one), the halftime show, and the pregrame show was boring. I was with him in agreement until he claimed that even the New England Patriots were boring and if they kept winning, it would drive people away from watching the NFL.

Wait a minute. A team that plays like one, that displays heart, that exemplifies intelligent strategy, and that bears poise when it counts - that's boring?

If you can't tell yet, I'm love watching the Pats. I think a part of me for some reason lays claim to Boston, even though I've only been there for a month and a few scattered weeks. I just love the town.

But more importantly, I like the way the Pats play. They actually believe that sacrificing for the team is more important than individual accolade, stats, or excuses. They genuinely feel that they need to improve every week and that God himself/herself didn't just happen to bless them with wins. Their coach actually believes in intelligent and creative strategy and brilliantly using it to effect change during the course of a game. A true football fan would love the patriots.

Which brings me to the next point. We've become a society so founded on selling and instant gratification that subtelty and excellence without flash is seldom appreciated. If someone doesn't stimulate our adrenals with gratuitous boobs, flashy touchdown dances, or fancifully absurd gunplay - we change the channel to find something that does. Substance seems to be lost on the current social psyche. Flash is the new caffeine for our internet trained minds.

Some of y'all can keep your Terrell Owens, 20" chrome rims, hip-hop bling, and spider eating "reality" shows. I'll stick to my (hah somehow already I claim them as my own) New England Patriots.

Boys Suck Part 3: What happened to Hello?

There's an overwhelming shortage of reality for most men. I think many of us delude ourselves into thinking we got "game." We tend to think that part of the reality of relationships is to "kick your game" to the "wimmins" because thats what they want. We think they want to hear us boast, see us get aggressive, or have us be persistent. Its the lines that guys need to feed to get the "wimmins," right?

Lets analyze reality.

(yes these are real lines I've heard about from some of the women I know - maybe its funny to only me but I'm a lonely comic like that)

"Damn GURL, you're so fine you make me wanna do somethin." Do what? Why be so ambiguous? Are you going to slap the bartender? Are you going to run naked through the streets? How bout wearing a pink thong and doing the cabbage patch?

"Hey, I'm going to win you over sometime!" If you haven't already, you're working uphill like prostitutes in a crowd of eunichs. Persistence is important - but you don't assume you'll be successful, one. Two, you can make it sound like you're gonna be outside of her house stalking the hell out of her.

"OOOOOH GOT DAMN U FINE" This is the worst, at least I think. Be subtle man - don't be crass. Girls like to be noticed - but you don't have to be all loud about it. Save it for later. Go up to her and tell her personally. Yelling shit reeks of impulsiveness and lack of planning.

"Give me a chance, I can give you multiple orgasms" You're setting yourself up for failure. First, 30% of women actually experience ONE orgasm - just a fact. Second, maybe 0.071% of men can actually elicit one. Third, multiple? Dude, be happy if you can even find the g spot. Whats worse about this is that if you fail the first time - you're a fraud and you should have your ass sued for false advertising.


Those are just a few. Its sad but true. And its not reality, thats showing off your bad grades in your marketing minor.

Maybe its just me, but I'm not trying to "sell" myself to any woman. I'm presenting myself as who I am, but as a gentleman. I'm old-fashioned like that. I tend to think that being honest, vulnerable, but confident is the only way to go - you're not only real with yourself, you're letting her make her own mind up. There's nothing wrong with saying hello and saying that you'd just like to get to know her better - no worries.

Plus, I wouldn't want any woman who buys into the sell. If you buy into the sell, you're more a victim, but you propogate the ridiculousness that modern society calls courtship. Guys who like women who buy into the sell? They'll always treat them like customers, not partners. They'll do just enough to keep em coming back - but never enough to win them over for the long term.

If you were to make the best cars on earth - would you want people to buy them jsut because of the sell? I wouldn't. I want my product to speak for itself. Thats how longevity in love and women is found.

Again, I'm not a guy hater. Its just some of em or so damn weak all I can do is stare and shake my head. Then again, I won over my wife with my Girbaud jeans, polo shirt, and pager out the side. Go figure.

Lauryn Hill

If you've never heard perfection, you need to listen to Lauryn Hill's "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill."

I was listening to this album last night while waiting for things to happen in the lab. And like Catcher in the Rye or Good Will Hunting the next experience is always better. Everytime I listen, her voice gets more vulnerably sweeter, her lyrics deceptively deep, and her rhyme comfortably strong. Its pure genius and not many albums get better than this. You feel like you know her, like you've talked to her, and like you've shared with her your life when you listen to her. Very few albums do that for me.

Which is all the more interesting given what has happened to Lauryn Hill now. She's disappeared, relatively, 6 years after dropping "Miseducation." Her one album from an MTV Unplugged show is disjointed, overly long, and disconcerning for the revelation that Lauryn Hill was lost.

Was it the money, the politics, or the pressure to be perfect day in and day out? I think so. And there's nothing wrong with that. The world is pretty stressful as it is and I never blame someone when they decide that the next stop off the express is the best stop. But at the very least, she touched genius for a time, redefining her art and profession and leaving a lasting impression. At the very least.

I think its worse to be mediocre for your whole life. For one moment, you shine and thats greater than a lifelong mediocrity. Lets hope Lauryn Hill finds her way and shines again.