I Miss The Old X-Games

I remember a time when the x-games was huge. I remember a time when skateboarding and moto x weren't the only two things that the x-games focused on. I want the old x-games back. I miss guys almost killing themselves racing downhill on skateboards, luges or rollerblades at like 50 miles an hour. Those downhill races were some of the coolest and hotly contested events they had. Everything can't just be about doing tricks right? I mean they added Rally racing to the x-games so why can't we have all those other races again?

I used to do a little aggressive inline skating when I was younger and the x-games is what got me started. How is it possible that almost 10 years later I don't even think that there is aggressive inline at the x-games anymore. If there is they sure as hell don't televise it or even mention it. How can you completely kill off a genre of extreme sports? Just because you are ESPN? That's bullshit. I remember Chris Edwards jumping out of a cherry picker onto the vert ramp. I remember when people first started dropping 1080's. Give me aggressive inline again!!!

I used to look forward to watching the x-games pretty much all day on the weekends as event after event poured onto my TV. Yeah bungee jumping and skydiving were somewhat weird but that was the point. You weren't going to see this stuff at the olympics. It seems as if the producers of the x-games only want to focus on the most dangerous and "BIG" events possible. It used to be that "BIG" things just happened at the x-games. There was no setup necessary for Tony Hawks 900. He just took it to that level. He didn't need a 40 foot ramp in a stadium to be great.

I am afraid to think that since Rally has been so popular that their next inclination will be to add Drifting next year. However I really doubt it because there aren't any ramps involved and you can't make people jump something while going sideways. It lacks that "BIG" quality that's Oh So Important...

A Passion for the Game: Entry Level Doesn't Exist Anymore

So the gauntlet has been set forth and I aim to meet the challenge head on with unrelenting geekitude.

See Link: http://www.thejargroup.com/create-your-own-search-marketing-job/

I think that the current job market/scene is straight up ridiculous. Spend a few hours on Craigslist and you can see what I mean. Every job has a specific set of skills that needs to be met before they will even call you. Positions are being melded together to make super work soldiers instead of pay 3 people to specialize at respective fields. It is straight up wrong. What ever happened to the days of working your way up from the mailroom? That type of upward mobility is dead today. It used to be that your personal character and talent would be the basis for you career. Now its all about stats and previous experience.

Now don't think I am stupid enough to disregard previous experience as a valid qualification but I am sure plenty of people out there have hired people based on what they said they did only to find out that while they did have the experience they didn't have the talent to actually make it. Just because I played Little League for 10 years does not mean I am worth anything to a minor league team right?

So whats the solution you ask? I don't think there is one pre set solution to anything but I do have an idea that I think everyone should consider. Build your talent pool with people who are "Rookies". So called rookies with the passion for the game. They guy who is willing to do anything and sacrifice his body for the game; in this case maybe sacrifice his MacBook Pro! The type of people I would hire are the ones who would kill to be in my industry because in some twisted way the long hours and lack of a social life would be fun. This is the type of guy/girl who will ask questions, learn and find something they are passionate about and pursue it. Rookies don't always care about the money as long as they are playing for the right team.

My proposal is to have the opportunity to be hired as a candidate for Rookie of the Year. My dream would be to come in and get a chance to work with every department. To have my services be available to any project. With the goal being to learn about every aspect of the business. To see all the cogs in the wheel and actually learn about them would be a total Geek-Out for me everyday. I say maybe have a few candidates too! Competition is always fun right? Whats the worst that could happen? Maybe the entire company has a fire ignited as they help some youngsters make their mark, which in turn helps the company make their mark on the industry!? Sounds pretty fun to me...

It is a pretty bold idea and its probably not for everyone but what did it cost me? A blog post... 15 minutes or so... I think its worth it when you think big.

The Greatest Display of Car Control I Have Ever Seen!!!

It is now my goal in life to someday be able to control a car half as good as this!

Good Stories

I think everyone in the world appreciates a good story. Everyone has a preference for how they like those stories to be delivered. I prefer T.V. and Movies for the most part. Others like to read books or comic books exclusively. Whatever floats your boat. I will read a book or a comic every now and again if I dig the story; and I usually tear through it quickly. So lets talk about a few of my favorite stories right now...

Lost

I don't care what anyone says. Lost is good. I have yet to hear an argument against lost that did not involve someone else laziness and or sheer stupidity. Comments such as "How hard is it to build a boat?" do not go well with me in this regard. I will admit I lost the show for about a season and a half when other shows diverted my attention but I still payed attention and eventually got back up to speed. Besides the middle seasons were a bit dull I will admit but no show is relentlessly Awesome so chill. Plain and simple what JJ Abrams started; other have continued and there are so many "Say What!" moments in Lost I really just don't see why people don't give it a chance. I bet anyone to watch the first season in its entirety and not get hooked.

Last nights finale was another "Fuck" moment when it ended because I now have to wait ages to see what happens and man do I want to know what just took place before my very eyes last night!

Fringe

Fringe is very cool because its almost like a believable X-Files. They have all sorts of crazy scientific experiments gone wrong but there's an actual reason behind all of them. Theres an undelying theme of the advancement of mankind through science thats interesting even though its through an extremist group. The main thing is that the characters are so good that you really enjoy watching the interations. This is another JJ Abrams project and you can clearly see the man has a visionary eye. Yeah he fucked up Superman but everyone makes mistakes.

The bottom line is that this is probably one of the best stories on television right now. The season finale had quite possibly twoof the craziest plot twists I have ever seen. EVER. I saw it coming and then Bam: Me Thrown for a Loop!!! Not only was it cool but the ramifications of the last 10 minutes of that one episode should resound throughout the entire second season.

Dollhouse

Joss Whedon; the man who gave us Buffy has crated something that actually has more spinoff potential than any of his other works. Dollhouse is a cool show with hot chicks and action. It does however have a story that's worth paying attention too. The rabbit hole on this conspiracy theory goes very deep and the moral implications brought up in pretty much every episode are pretty poingent. There were like 3 or 4 episodes that were essentially useless other than a few key story advancements but overall the finale set the stage for a very good second season and the possiblity for spinoffs is very high considering there are Dollhouses all around the world all linked together. There were also quite a few very cool surprises that upped the ante by a huge margin toward the end of the season.

So what kind of stories do you like?

I don't know if this is exactly what would happen in real life but this reminds me why I love Audi sooo much.

LeBron & Kobe Playoffs Commercial

This is just great!!! Enjoy...

Rebooting Franchises

Lately many people have been up in arms about all of the new Reboots of old series' we used to love as kids. Star Trek, Transformers, G.I. Joe etc... To be honest I don't see what the big deal is. There are some things in life that can't be redone because the first time was and always be the best. When it comes to Star Trek I agree that it's hard to imagine someone else playing Captain Kirk but when you really sit down and watch the original series half the time the episodes are so hokey and silly it makes you wonder why it is so revered. The reason is that the original was an innovation when it came out. Gene Rodenberry had so much subtext in that show it was crazy. A multi racial crew flying around the galaxy? Seriously?! The man had balls and was a visionary.

So what does the new Star Trek have to do to be considered in the same light? A lot! Does it have to try to be what the first series was? No! If JJ Abrams tried and half succeeds I think we can give the man some credit. So far it seems like he is getting the nod from everybody and I think the new Trek will be very successful. It looks like what we will get is a visually arresting and action packed movie with some story thrown in for shits sake. They want to build a new following first then start throwing cool trekkie storylines at them once they are hooked. I am fine with that.

However I must say that I am very worried about the new G.I. Joe movie. At first it looked cool with just the tidbits they were releasing but now that I have seen a full trailer I am scared shitless. I know that the original show was pretty out there but damn. They are going all out with the secret lairs and crazy vehicles which is cool when its a cartoon but when its a live action movie it just seems sooo outlandish that I think I am going to have a hard time believing something I am not supposed to believe anyways. They could have done just fine stickign with the basics that were in place. Cool laser guns. Soldiers who could take out entire armies by themselves. Crazy Cobra Commander. Thats all you really need.

What bothers me is when people whine and complain about the lack of creativity from Hollywood and how they are ruining their favorite shows from childhood. Listen to me when I say this! Half of you idiots don't remember 10% of the crap that happened in those shows anyway. I love when someone says to me Star Trek the Next Generation was the best of all the Star Treks but never saw any of the others. While that statement is pretty much true. TNG was pretty much awesome in every way shape and form but it wouldn't exist if the original trek didn't; so you have to show some respect for the people who laid the groundwork.

The reason people do these re imaginings is because they loved those shows too! They think it would be cool to reintroduce the new generation to the types of stories that they grew up loving. They just have to up the anti because today's audiences are used to a whole different type of spectacle when it comes to film and tv. So sometimes massive blunders like Superman Returns happen. Shit at least he tried something different instead of giving us a verbatim superman story. If Bryan Singer had succeeded the new Superman could have been as good as the new batmans have been. Another monumental failure lately was Knight Rider. What a flop. Would it have worked without the Hoff? I doubt it, but it was at least worth a shot no? It could have been cool right? Maybe not. The Hoff. He was a God amongst men at one point huh?

The latest big reboot I have heard about is Predator. Robert Rodriguez is heading that one up and I think he can do a good job. I like the Predator series alot so I hope it works out. What other reboots have you heard about? Leave a comment...

Everything Has A Reason

Why are you blogging you ask? Well there are 4 reasons...

1. Blogging has always appealed to me in a special kind of way. I read many blogs spanning many different industries and topics. Its half of my source for all the crap I know. TV being the other source.
   
2. I know ALOT of random crap and people always say to me: How did you know that? or I didn't know that they have that! So now I can say; Just read my blog and you can hear about all the random crap I find out about all the time. Thats pretty cool I think. Maybe I will put it on my business card too?!
3. Laurie (my girlfriend) has asked me to continue an old blog which I used to write but stopped a year or so ago.
4. My friend Josh is blogging and I can't let him think he's cooler than me now can I? He will be all like, Hey man I'm blogging now and I will be like; Yeah so...Me too! See his blog here: http://sinagainstthesilence.blogspot.com/

All of that said what can one expect to read and see here in this soon to be bastion of awesomely random crap? Well I like gadgets, sports, cars, marketing and food. Expect to see my opinion on all sorts of blunders and upcoming innovations. I will also point out things I want just to give me a reason to talk about something.

My hope is that for everyone I know that they can come here and read my posts and get a better understanding of who I am and what I care about and how my crazy little mind works. So enjoy and feel free to drop me a line. I will be connecting my Facebook and Twitter ASAP.