|
|
| Geez...if you are on this page and you are still reading, I suggest that you might get more mental stimulation by watching Fox reality TV. I will try my best for my faithful fans....fans, really?! Saturday September 06 2009 | Practice, Practice, Practice, and More Practice Make Perfect I feel guilty about this post. I really do. As much of a scholar as I would like to be, I am an avid college football fan at heart. I enjoy college football so much that I am flying from Oregon to Michigan for 2 days just to see the Michigan-Notre Dame game. Although seemingly irrational, a very vocal minority probably view my actions as unquestionably logical. But I digress. The point is that I like football, in particular Michigan football. I was struck this past week that Michigan's head coach, Rich Rodriguez, was under scrutiny for supposedly practicing his players too hard (beyond the 20-hour limit). Technically, a college player can practice for more than 20 hours a week if it is voluntary. Of course, in reality, every college player who wants to succeed will 'volunteer' many hours beyond the technical limit. This concept of what truly is volunteer resonates strongly in all aspects of life. I don't remember ever feeling that mandated time commitments, such as the 40-hour work week, ever allow one to separate himself from the rest. But the real point of this blog entry (beyond my trivial observations) is to celebrate (while the goin' is good) a Michigan win! In the next week, I hope the Michigan players will volunteer extra time to analyze Notre Dame's aerial attack. |
Sunday March 04 2007 | When Watching Movies Becomes Unbearable
Over the years, I have become a bit of a movie snob--I admit. When I say snob, think of how pretentious professional wine sippers look to the rest of the public. In any event, I started out being a moviegoer who liked to talk considerably during movies. Eventually, I was trained not to do this by friends intolerant of such behavior. As a result, I have become very sensitive to commotion that can arise during a movie. Although sensitive, I usually do not say anything unless it is extreme.
Here are the top 10 annoying things people do at movies. The first few are sometimes natural so I usually try to ignore them.
10. rock back and forth in the chair repeatedly.
9. chew loudly on popcorn.
8. laugh loudly or laugh way too much.
7. mumble.
6. over-react to certain scenes.
5. ask neighbors about confusing plot points (save it for later and allow the people who are enjoying the movie to continue to do so).
4. ask neighbors about trivial plot points. (If you cannot focus enough on the movie to follow basic plot points, watch a children's cartoon instead!)
3. make 'funny' comments during the movie. (Geez, we all know you are a real comic genius but save your show after the current one unless you want to be interrupted repeatedly during your act.)
2. leave their cellphone ringer on or worse pick up their phone and have a casual conversation.
1. give away part of the story before it happens because you have already seen the movie. This one is a classic.
So what brought this on. Well, I experienced 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 1 at the last movie I saw. It might not normally be a bad thing except the movie was really good and required my attention to enjoy it. |
| |
|