What Were You Thinking ?!?! #5 (NBA Administration)
OK.. I understand and actually agree with the suspension placed on Arenas and Crittenton. However, I DO NOT think the rest of the NBA players, nor sponsors, should be held in contempt for two individuals that did not utilize proper judgement.
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are featured in a new Nike Ad. In which they are describing their passion and dedication to winning and the game. Kobe's quote says,
“I’ll do whatever it takes to win games. I don’t leave anything in the chamber.”
OH NO... HE SAID "CHAMBER"... A Chamber relates to guns.. You do the math. So are we not allowed to say, he "shot" the ball anymore? The NBA is going at Nike now saying,
“We had no prior notice of this ad,” spokesman Tim Frank said. “We think it is inappropriate.”
Are you serious? You've already punished the people for the crime, now you're holding everyone else liable to enforce sensitivity to the situation?
If you really want to get down to it, why don't you just ban alcohol? That's normally a precursor or an aid in voilence isn't it? Since we're being "sensitive" to the situation. Allusions to guns throught marketing, as long as I've been alive, have never caused a violent crime, but someone getting too drunk definitely have.
From my understanding, teams can't even play card games on the airplane anymore. They're actually regulating what GROWN MEN can do during trips now? First the dress code, now no "go fish"? Come on..
Here's the original article for you to determine your own point of view..
Kobe-LeBron Nike ad features gun language
What were you doing at 9?
I read this story and it truly touched my heart. I can't remember anything but good times in my life at 9. That was the first time I went to Disney World, I was in the 3rd grade, had a lot of friends, life was grand. So when I read that a 9 year old hung themselves in the bathroom at school, I couldn't even think what would drive a child to do this. I can't imagine what will go through the minds of these parents. I know they will dissect every second that they spent trying to identify signs that this might be about to occur. But it will still be too late.
9 year old boy hangs self in bathroom
What is going on people? I don't understand. There were things that I didn't even know EXISTED when I was 9. Are we so desensitized and surrounded by violence now that kids know of ways to take themselves out if they want to? I think the most violent thing I watched at 9 was Tom and Jerry. I get nervous when my 2 boys (5 and 4) run around the house talking about "blasting and light sabres" from lego star wars. They get rambunctious enough with just that. I couldn't imagine letting them see the real thing with people getting their hands sliced off, sons killing fathers, mentally choking the life out of people, etc. Even the GI Joe movie and Transformers were too adult for kids to watch, but daily my son comes home from school asking if he can watch it because his little friends were playing it, or discussing it on the playground and he feels left out.
You can control only so much in your own home. What happens when you let your children go out into the world and the others that surround them teach them of these "worldly things?" Daily, my oldest child comes home with questions about things that we'd prefer him not know about. But to not answer those questions is like sending him to war without "weapons", so you must prepare them. I'd rather him learn the truth from me, so that I can introduce him to certain topics and ideas properly and accurately, than another child brutally take his innocence away from him by giving him misinformation.
I think as parents that we need to be more involved with our children. I mean truly involved. We always like to blame what we do during our days (work) with why we don't have time to do things. But we're to the point now to where our children are coming up in a very "adult-oriented" world. Children are experimenting with sex younger and younger, and children are also learning of violence at a younger age. A lot of children aren't able to handle the world we live in, they can't separate fact and fiction. If violence is all they're surrounded with, they can't foster any hope or positivity. They think all of the world is evil and it will only get worse. They're not allowed to stay innocent children anymore, so for their own sake, TEACH THEM!! They're being stripped of their childhoods by being introduced to the "world" too soon. Do you know what your child did today at school? Ask them about their day, who their friends are, what they like to do. BE INVOLVED!!!
When I went to Jr. High, I had it pretty rough due to my weight and I was considered "nerdy." I got picked on daily.. That was a very rough time for me. Every kid, I'm sure, has a story of a rough period they had to endure going through their scholastic careers. If not, they were probably the ones picking on kids like me. How those that are picked on deal with it normally has to do with the support system they have, or the relationship they have with those that they can trust enough to come to. So many of us assume that we know our kids, but there's so much that goes on throughout the day that they either don't tell or would rather forget. Protect your children, give them knowlege, nurture them for as long as you can.
Then there's the kids that are doing things they know are wrong, but fear rebelling against their peers for fear of being picked on as well. The "If you can't beat'em join'em mentality". That's just as bad. Kids will end up doing something that could potentially shape the rest of their lives. Give them an avenue to escape. Show them an alternative. Let them know you're there to protect them. SHOW SOME INTEREST IN YOUR CHILD!!!
A conversation could save your child's life.
Experience Haiti – Help Haiti
For those of us that have been under a rock, or don't watch the news, on January 12, a series of earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 6.5 to 7.3 devastated Haiti. Hundreds of Thousands of people were displaced, killed and affected by these earthquakes. This is ranked as one of the worst natural disasters of all time.
Not all of us have the luxury of actually going to Haiti to lend a helping hand to those that suffered loss due to the Earthquake.. But technology allows us to see see the destruction caused by this natural disaster..
Visit Haiti 360 - Driving down the street
Use your mouse to pause and unpause the action and then you can look in a 360 degree view of the devastation that hit Haiti. You can see buildings still stand, and other buildings that are just leveled right next to them.. Notice all of the people that are displaced walking on the sides of the roads. This was shot in Port-Au-Prince on Jan 18th..
Visit Haiti 360 - Walking Among the People
This gives you a closer look of what is happening to those families that are displaced due to this tragedy. Imagine being removed from your home one day, and being driven to living on the street in a plastic covered tent. That plastic being the only thing that separates you from the elements. And as you can see, the ones with even that plastic are rare, most people are just laying on the ground without even that.
Visit Haiti 360 - Highly Affected Area
The last stop on the trip is a highly affected region of Port-Au-Prince. You can get up close and personal with the visuals of this catastrophic event. Can you imagine having nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, the very earth beneath your feet quivering? I don't even think our imaginations can place us or even conceive of what these people had to go through and are still going through. To lose so many loved ones and still have hope, or HAVE to remain positive just to be able to make it from day to day.
My heart goes out to each and every person affected by this tragedy and hopefuly these visuals will promote someone to send more aid their way. Remember, just because it's not on the nightly news doesn't mean that the situation is over. Reconstruction will take a LONG time for this area. They are still rebuilding Louisiana from Katrina. Please continue helping. If you're looking for a cause to devote yourself to, this would be an excellent one. Get intimate with the situation. DO SOMETHING!!!
Just imagine if people didn't help, this kid who was saved after 8 days, would have never seen the light of day again. This is probably the most famous image of this disaster thus far, but there are still so many that need to be saved.
Red Cross - Haiti Relief and Development
Wyclef - Yele Haiti
If there are other links that you guys know of, please feel free to add them to your comments.. The more avenues of aid the better..
A cockpit. An engine. Two wings
After watching this, I don't know whether to believe it, or cry.. This was simply amazing. I loved the cinematography, the anticipation of what was going to happen, how they let you not really know what was going on till the very end, EVERYTHING.. THIS is a commercial. Simply Amazing.
Just watch and you'll understand why I haven't gotten a grasp of reality enough to write properly.
A cockpit. An engine. Two wings
What Were You Thinking?!?! #4 (Gilbert Arenas)
Gilbert, Gilbert, Gilbert...
I don't get it.. You are alleged to have brought a gun(s) to the Washington Wizards locker rooom. You say that was for a "joke" on your teammates. At NO point did you stop to think that was a bad idea, or that it might be taken out of context? Did we not learn ANYTHING from Plaxico? I mean come on, Washington's NBA franchise changed their names from the Bullets because the owner didn't want to have that negative connotation with DC's murder rate being so high. So you wanna bring the "bullets" back to Washington?
Now you're suspended without pay indefinitely because you were in essence taunting the commissioner by calling him "mean" on twitter. Did you not know employers were looking at social sites to hire/not hire people now days? Guess it's been a while since you were on an interview. So I might be persuaded to let that one pass.
Gilbert Arenas indefinitely suspended
I'm wondering how the NBA Players Association is going to come to his rescue (they always do). Are they going to condone him bringing a gun into the locker room? There isn't (I don't believe) any specific rule that says he couldn't. I mean if they can get Latrell Spreewell off for choking his coach, I think Gilbert stands a chance.. He didn't physically touch anyone, nor did he even get caught, he was just a little too talkative after the fact. I mean Ron Artest only got suspended a year for actually PUNCHING a fan.
The only other thing he might have to worry about is the Wizards themselves actually revoking his contract. No one can help him if that's the decision that organization comes to.
Gilbert, Gilbert, Gilbert...
What Were You Thinking ?!?! #3 (Chris Johnson)
Is this real? Chris Johnson really thinks he stands a chance racing Usain Bolt? He REALLY thinks he can use Usain's "slow start" to his advantage if they race a shorter distance.. GET OUT OF HERE!!! Don't get me wrong, Chris Johnson is EASILY the fastest dude in the NFL (+2000 yds rushing proves that, congrats) But it's completely different than sprinting.. Now with proper training, and all that natural talent, you might have something there.. But as of right now? Nah... No way..
Test Chris Johnson for Drugs NOW!!
I recently had a race with a "football player" (I ran track in my youth) and he went on and on about how he was faster than me (I outweigh him by 50 lbs). I tried to tell him track speed is a LOT different than football speed. Told him that he doesn't know "how" to run. In track, you break down your steps, start, arm position, stride, foot placement, how to push without overstepping, etc.
Needless to say, he pulled a hamstring trying to catch me on the last race. We ran 3 times..
My record against him? 3-0.
In the words of the author:
Short or long, it doesn't matter. Let me write this slowly so there's no confusion: Johnson. Doesn't. Have. A. Chance.