Yeah, folks, let's hear it. The Spurs are old. Washed up. Duncan should retire. He won't win another championship. Hmmm...let's do a bold comparison. Years Duncan (and others )won a championship and age - 1999 (23), 2003 (27), 2005 (29), 2007 (31). Manu Ginobili is also old cuz he's 30 - 2003 (25), 2005 (27), 2007 (29). Tony Parker isn't old but surrounded by old men 2003 (21), 2005 (23), 2007 (25). Then there's Michael Jordan 1991 (28), 1992 (29), 1993 (30), 1996 (33), 1997 (34), 1998 (35). Hmmmm...did any of you remember hearing that Jordan was old? Washed up?
Why are the media so quick to include the Big 3 of the Spurs in the "old men" category. Let's look at the real old men on this team. Robert Horry (37), Michael Finley (35), Brent Barry (36), Bruce Bowen (36). There are a couple others 33 or older, but these are the guys that play a lot. So the Spurs again won't repeat. There are some who will say they won't win again for a long time because of their age. I say that the Spurs are prime for cutting away quite a few players and replace them with some more, gasp, 28-30 year olds from the rest of the league.
Big Shot Rob/Bob is done. He gave it his all, and really wasn't that explosive force in the Playoffs. Even in the even years with the Spurs he was better. Sorry, Robert, that last ring for a finger (technically a thumb is not a finger), won't come as a player. Michael Finley. You showed some flashes of brilliance this past year, but I fear next year will be an Horry-like year. Barry, the same. Bruce Bowen....dude, how do you do it? You have one more good year defending and shooting 3s from the corners max, but I wouldn't fault you for retiring.
I don't know how many years are on any of these guys' contracts, but I say cut 3 of the 4 at least. Grab two guys in the above age range (28-30) in the off season and draft the rest. The "Big 3" still have at least 2 more championships in them as a unit if they stick to the every other year pattern. Ginobili 3 more. Hell, Parker could end up with 5 more if the Spurs stick with the same pattern. That's eight rings, yo. This team was built for championships. Just not in any consecutive years. Grrrr... Of course for Ginobili and Parker, there needs to be others coming along in the next few years.
I say the Spurs tank the 2009-2010 season and pick up Duncan's replacement like what happened when they picked up Robinson's replacement (Duncan). The problem is that the rest of the league finally caught up with the Spurs in realizing that there is some major talent outside the U.S. Mainland. 8-10 years ago, the international make-up of the Spurs was "The Story." How could a "rag-tag" group of international players being winning so much? Stories about how many different languages were being spoken at practices. Pop's inspirational quote translated into every player's native language (just Google the 101st hit on a rock quote). Now, many teams sport players from other countries like never before.
So Pop needs to come up with another trick. Maybe they only draft guys from the Mainland. Maybe he keeps all the old dudes and gets more 30+ guys. Then only let them play 20 minutes a game including the playoffs. Maybe only sign under 21 and get rid of everyone except for the Big 3. Maybe he hires Avery Johnson as an Assistant Coach. Bring the Little General back to S.A. and groom him to be the Head Coach in 5 years. All the while winning a couple more rings.
Who knows? I'm a fan of the game, but not an expert. I couldn't draw up a pick-n-roll to save my life. What I do know as a Spurs faithful is that their Championship days aren't over yet. For the rest of Parker's career with the Spurs, I see at least 2 more rings guaranteed. And one of those may be after Duncan retires. I'm being ultra-conservative about that. The crazy theory is that Parker could get another 6-7 if the Spurs build a couple 3-peat teams. Far-fetched? How? Jordan was 28, that's right, 28 when he won his FIRST ring. Tony has 3 right now and he's 26. He starts a 3-peat next year when he's 27 with a three year break? Yeah, and pigs may fly.
T.P. is the future of this franchise. Duncan is the David Robinson of the late 90s. Not quite done, but only about 4 more good years left. Ginobili is in the middle of both of them. That's all you need to build on. Most teams only had 2 main guys. The Spurs have 3.
However, the supporting cast is a bit of a burden. The Spurs could have won the Western Conference Finals. Game 1 was theirs. In the bag. They let it slip away. Kobe took over, and the Spurs forgot how to make baskets. Game 2. A throwaway. Game 3. Welcome back Manu. 4. Ginobili disappears and Brent Barry is the hero (huh?). Yeah there was the non-call at the end, but the same thing happened on the previous possession. And the Spurs played like crap anyway. 5. Similar to Game 1. Only Game 3 was a smackdown. The rest were a slugfest until the end.
I'm bummed that I when I finally make it back to San Antonio, the Spurs won't be there in the Finals. Every year they go, I get more homesick. But, at least the don't have to worry about screwing up their undefeated record in the Finals. Did I mention that Boston is scary? Yeah, I forgot about that part. Boston may have been struggling on the road, but they seem to be on a mission more than any other team. I don't see Kobe getting that ring without Shaq just yet. And add the Spurs to that list too if they had made it.
It's K.G.'s year. As much as I hate the Lakers, I tend to hate the Celtics more. And in any other year I'd be rooting for the Celtics to lose (take note of how that was worded). But I want K.G. to win a ring. No one else on that team. Just K.G. He deserves it. So Boston needs to take care of business with Detroit and then whup up on the Lakers.
2009? Spurs-Orlando. Spurs in 6, at home. Huh? No home court for them? Yeah, I said it. The Magic get a better record than the Spurs, but they lose to the Spurs. In San Antonio. While I'm at the AT&T Center. Mark it on your calendar.
Yo.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Indiana Jones 4
Hello all. Just got home from watching the new Indiana Jones movie. First off, there WILL BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW! So be warned now. I will try to delay them as much as possible.
I think the attitude of the Producer and Director is really evident with the opening scene. The previous 3 movies do a nice job of incorporating the Paramount mountain. A nice statement, especially when a "real" mountain is used. But a gopher hill? Not exactly a bold statement. More like, "we couldn't think of anything else and hey, we only did this cuz we're tired of the fans bugging us for 20 years to make another one."
The movie isn't all bad. I mean it's no Howard the Duck. Well, maybe. I dunno. I kind of like Howard the Duck actually. I think only one other person in the universe likes it besides me. The first half of the movie is pretty good. Some nice references to the other movies. Some subtle, others not so subtle. I'm sure I didn't catch all of them, but I did watch all 3 this week. The last 2 last night.
At least the action takes place 20 years after "Temple of Doom" since Harrison Ford is 20 years older. So gone are the Nazis to be replaced with the Soviets. McCarthyism is in full effect. A nice nod to what some may feel is a similar attitude today. While Indy seemed to show his age at the beginning, and there are some nice one-liners about that, we quickly see Indy kicking some major ass.
And really up until about half way into the movie I'm playing along. It's not as cool as the others. No evil Nazis, but the story behind the Crystal Skull is a little weak. So, I'm a bit on the fence at that point. Then things begin to fall apart for me.
I really think that the overall story needed to go in a different direction. Huge potential in the ideas, just not executed how I and 70% of the audience in my theater wanted.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<< WARNING! HERE BE SPOILERS!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
OK, if you haven't seen the movie yet, stop here. No. Seriously. Stop. Unless you have no plans on seeing it or don't care if I reveal the "punch line."
Here's my two word review of the movie. Seriously? Aliens? Yeah, that about sums it up. I didn't come to the theater at midnight to watch a sci-fi movie. No it's not Star Wars meets Indiana Jones (though there is a nice quote associated with the movie). But, it takes on a sci-fi feel. Yes, it's from the beginning of the movie, but my impression was that it was just a backstory that really wasn't going to be the main story.
Once we understand that this skull is the skull of ET (OK, not literally, though I was expecting a glowing finger), I was already half-way down the slippery slope. This franchise is about adventure. Old school adventure. A rugged archaeologist that saves the girl and gets the prize - kind of. This isn't sci-fi adventure. We aren't on a far off planet trudging through the jungle brandishing laser blasters looking for treasure. Save that for the Saturday night Sci-Fi Channel movie.
I'm looking for what Lucas originally intended. The cool guy fighting the bad guys on Earth in a jungle looking for treasure that my parents' generation watched on Saturday afternoon matinees in the movie theater. Errol Flynn style. Not a combination of Indy, ET, Close Encounters, X-Files, and Star Wars just to be funny. The History Channel was airing a program hyping the series. One of the quotes was something about how Indy inspired many people to get into archaeology. This movie won't do that.
Again. Seriously? Aliens?
I went with a friend and also ran into a co-worker. Two different screens between the three of us. About the same reaction from both audiences. Lots of comments that weren't too positive. And only about 30% of the audience in both theaters applauded. You can guess that we were part of the 70%. All three of us used the word "bad" to describe the movie.
That's all I really have right now. It's late, and I'm tired. Worked in the morning and stayed up straight through until the movie.
L8r,
Marz
Seriously? Aliens?
I think the attitude of the Producer and Director is really evident with the opening scene. The previous 3 movies do a nice job of incorporating the Paramount mountain. A nice statement, especially when a "real" mountain is used. But a gopher hill? Not exactly a bold statement. More like, "we couldn't think of anything else and hey, we only did this cuz we're tired of the fans bugging us for 20 years to make another one."
The movie isn't all bad. I mean it's no Howard the Duck. Well, maybe. I dunno. I kind of like Howard the Duck actually. I think only one other person in the universe likes it besides me. The first half of the movie is pretty good. Some nice references to the other movies. Some subtle, others not so subtle. I'm sure I didn't catch all of them, but I did watch all 3 this week. The last 2 last night.
At least the action takes place 20 years after "Temple of Doom" since Harrison Ford is 20 years older. So gone are the Nazis to be replaced with the Soviets. McCarthyism is in full effect. A nice nod to what some may feel is a similar attitude today. While Indy seemed to show his age at the beginning, and there are some nice one-liners about that, we quickly see Indy kicking some major ass.
And really up until about half way into the movie I'm playing along. It's not as cool as the others. No evil Nazis, but the story behind the Crystal Skull is a little weak. So, I'm a bit on the fence at that point. Then things begin to fall apart for me.
I really think that the overall story needed to go in a different direction. Huge potential in the ideas, just not executed how I and 70% of the audience in my theater wanted.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<< WARNING! HERE BE SPOILERS!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
OK, if you haven't seen the movie yet, stop here. No. Seriously. Stop. Unless you have no plans on seeing it or don't care if I reveal the "punch line."
Here's my two word review of the movie. Seriously? Aliens? Yeah, that about sums it up. I didn't come to the theater at midnight to watch a sci-fi movie. No it's not Star Wars meets Indiana Jones (though there is a nice quote associated with the movie). But, it takes on a sci-fi feel. Yes, it's from the beginning of the movie, but my impression was that it was just a backstory that really wasn't going to be the main story.
Once we understand that this skull is the skull of ET (OK, not literally, though I was expecting a glowing finger), I was already half-way down the slippery slope. This franchise is about adventure. Old school adventure. A rugged archaeologist that saves the girl and gets the prize - kind of. This isn't sci-fi adventure. We aren't on a far off planet trudging through the jungle brandishing laser blasters looking for treasure. Save that for the Saturday night Sci-Fi Channel movie.
I'm looking for what Lucas originally intended. The cool guy fighting the bad guys on Earth in a jungle looking for treasure that my parents' generation watched on Saturday afternoon matinees in the movie theater. Errol Flynn style. Not a combination of Indy, ET, Close Encounters, X-Files, and Star Wars just to be funny. The History Channel was airing a program hyping the series. One of the quotes was something about how Indy inspired many people to get into archaeology. This movie won't do that.
Again. Seriously? Aliens?
I went with a friend and also ran into a co-worker. Two different screens between the three of us. About the same reaction from both audiences. Lots of comments that weren't too positive. And only about 30% of the audience in both theaters applauded. You can guess that we were part of the 70%. All three of us used the word "bad" to describe the movie.
That's all I really have right now. It's late, and I'm tired. Worked in the morning and stayed up straight through until the movie.
L8r,
Marz
Seriously? Aliens?
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Where I Stand in the Political Landscape
For a very long time people's political orientation has been placed on a linear spectrum. Are you a liberal? Are you a conservative? Are you Ultra either way? Are you a moderate? How you answer that question determines where on the political spectrum you fall.
However, over the past few decades political experts have created a two axis chart to try to place people in a more accurate category. I've included a simple representation here:
I used this image as it doesn't try to place politicians and other people on a chart. Depending on the organization using something like this, they try to place their favorite person/people in the most flattering place (i.e. as centrist as they can get away with) and people they hate as far to the extremes as they can. So where do I fall on here? Somewhere in the upper right quadrant. Not really sure exactly where, but I can tell you not at the extremes.
Back in college where many people "find themselves" I found that I am neither liberal nor conservative in the stereotypical sense. I especially found this from a class I took one summer about the Constitution.
When I tell people I am fiscally conservative and socially liberal, they really can't understand this. Many think by me saying "socially liberal" that I want the government to "take care of me." That's not really the case. It's more of a situation where I feel people should have the freedom to persue their interests as long as it doesn't harm society. And by me saying "fiscally conservative" that I am a Republican. No. While I tend to share many of the economic philosophies of Republicans, I am not a true Republican.
I am closer to Libertarianism than anything else. Some people think that is a cop out. Others feel that is a refuge of crackpots and confused people. I can remember living in Austin and Houston going to various festivals and seeing these crazies called Libertarians asking people to take their political spectrum test. At the time I found it funny how the test seemed to consistently place people in that Libertarian part of the chart. This was also the first time I had seen a chart versus a linear spectrum. However, I pretty much agreed with where I feel on the chart. However, Constitutionalist is also another tag to describe me. While I may not adhere 100% to that philosophy either, I do agree with most of what Constitutionalists agree.
So what is it I stand for? I'll give a brief and broad description. Free Speech. Privacy. Limited Government. Individual rights. Elimination of personal income taxes in favor of sales taxes. Strong defense. Free Trade with all nations (unless we decide on sanctions for a particular nation). Not allowing ourselves to become subject to another nation's sovereignty (i.e. the UN or NATO cannot act like our Congress). Free markets.
Without getting into more specific issues, the above covers most. I plan on covering more specific topics at a later date.
So basically this means that the candidates left over really don't represent the vast majority of my views. So I'll end up voting Republican again. When a Democrat shares enough of my views I'll vote for them, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. I had a previous post a couple weeks back that kind of touched on this issue of not having a good candidate to vote for, but I did deleted it. I felt it was too much of a rant that I had typed while out at 1AM at a bar. I've included most of it below since it was still in my iPhone's memory:
So I'm at the bar watching Obama trying to spin his loss in Pennsylvania by speaking in Indiana. He talks about helping the common man while having 3 frat boys stand behind him with their A&F t-shirts (Abercrombie & Fitch). 'Nuff said about that.
He decides to bash John McCain and George Bush. Now while they are not saints he then says that all the previous administrations have screwed us. A direct attack against Bill Clinton and then Hillary via guilt by association. So he is going to fix that? I haven't heard any of the 3 remaining candidates give me concrete plans.
This will be yet another election of the lesser of two evils. And I will again vote Republican, though I think The Party has lost its way right now.
I long for the day that a Dem is moderate enough to get my vote. Actually I long for the day that a candidate from either party shares enough of my beliefs to really warrant my support. Right now it's McCain.
While typing this a couple guys from a Central European country come in and bash Obama. The one person who supports him speaks up. Good for her. Except that she quickly resorts to name-calling as in calling those guys "gutter snipes." Hey, Liberals, if you want some respect in debates, then don't resort to name calling towards those you are trying to debate. That makes you look stupid. Funny thing, she left instead of trying to defend Obama other than saying, "I used to know him." OK, I like cheese. BTW I was trying to point out the hypocrisy of what I mentioned above and she ignored it.
Hillary is not going to win the nomination. And America is not ready for either a Black or woman President. We're close. 2012 or 2016 it can happen. The divide in the Democratic Party is too great right now. And that's the only reason the Republicans are going to win. Otherwise the American public would vote in a Dem.
However, over the past few decades political experts have created a two axis chart to try to place people in a more accurate category. I've included a simple representation here:
I used this image as it doesn't try to place politicians and other people on a chart. Depending on the organization using something like this, they try to place their favorite person/people in the most flattering place (i.e. as centrist as they can get away with) and people they hate as far to the extremes as they can. So where do I fall on here? Somewhere in the upper right quadrant. Not really sure exactly where, but I can tell you not at the extremes.
Back in college where many people "find themselves" I found that I am neither liberal nor conservative in the stereotypical sense. I especially found this from a class I took one summer about the Constitution.
When I tell people I am fiscally conservative and socially liberal, they really can't understand this. Many think by me saying "socially liberal" that I want the government to "take care of me." That's not really the case. It's more of a situation where I feel people should have the freedom to persue their interests as long as it doesn't harm society. And by me saying "fiscally conservative" that I am a Republican. No. While I tend to share many of the economic philosophies of Republicans, I am not a true Republican.
I am closer to Libertarianism than anything else. Some people think that is a cop out. Others feel that is a refuge of crackpots and confused people. I can remember living in Austin and Houston going to various festivals and seeing these crazies called Libertarians asking people to take their political spectrum test. At the time I found it funny how the test seemed to consistently place people in that Libertarian part of the chart. This was also the first time I had seen a chart versus a linear spectrum. However, I pretty much agreed with where I feel on the chart. However, Constitutionalist is also another tag to describe me. While I may not adhere 100% to that philosophy either, I do agree with most of what Constitutionalists agree.
So what is it I stand for? I'll give a brief and broad description. Free Speech. Privacy. Limited Government. Individual rights. Elimination of personal income taxes in favor of sales taxes. Strong defense. Free Trade with all nations (unless we decide on sanctions for a particular nation). Not allowing ourselves to become subject to another nation's sovereignty (i.e. the UN or NATO cannot act like our Congress). Free markets.
Without getting into more specific issues, the above covers most. I plan on covering more specific topics at a later date.
So basically this means that the candidates left over really don't represent the vast majority of my views. So I'll end up voting Republican again. When a Democrat shares enough of my views I'll vote for them, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. I had a previous post a couple weeks back that kind of touched on this issue of not having a good candidate to vote for, but I did deleted it. I felt it was too much of a rant that I had typed while out at 1AM at a bar. I've included most of it below since it was still in my iPhone's memory:
So I'm at the bar watching Obama trying to spin his loss in Pennsylvania by speaking in Indiana. He talks about helping the common man while having 3 frat boys stand behind him with their A&F t-shirts (Abercrombie & Fitch). 'Nuff said about that.
He decides to bash John McCain and George Bush. Now while they are not saints he then says that all the previous administrations have screwed us. A direct attack against Bill Clinton and then Hillary via guilt by association. So he is going to fix that? I haven't heard any of the 3 remaining candidates give me concrete plans.
This will be yet another election of the lesser of two evils. And I will again vote Republican, though I think The Party has lost its way right now.
I long for the day that a Dem is moderate enough to get my vote. Actually I long for the day that a candidate from either party shares enough of my beliefs to really warrant my support. Right now it's McCain.
While typing this a couple guys from a Central European country come in and bash Obama. The one person who supports him speaks up. Good for her. Except that she quickly resorts to name-calling as in calling those guys "gutter snipes." Hey, Liberals, if you want some respect in debates, then don't resort to name calling towards those you are trying to debate. That makes you look stupid. Funny thing, she left instead of trying to defend Obama other than saying, "I used to know him." OK, I like cheese. BTW I was trying to point out the hypocrisy of what I mentioned above and she ignored it.
Hillary is not going to win the nomination. And America is not ready for either a Black or woman President. We're close. 2012 or 2016 it can happen. The divide in the Democratic Party is too great right now. And that's the only reason the Republicans are going to win. Otherwise the American public would vote in a Dem.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Saturday, May 03, 2008
My Derby trifecta/superfecta picks
My official picks. The OTB I was gonna go to was waaaay too crowded.
Big brown - 20
Pyro - 9
Bob black jack - 13
Eight belles - 5
Sent from my iPhone
I Like Cheese
Huh? First of all, two posts in one day. WTH? Yeah. This is a short and sweet one. TheFemGeek. Hope you're not disappointed. So what's up with this phrase. It's one I've recently picked up on from my staff at work. It's effectively a non-sequitur statement. Something you use to reply to someone that says something that you would normally give them a strange look, or a WTF moment.
It's root is from an old Warner Bros. cartoon with Porky Pig and Sylvester called Kitty Kornered. At one point in the cartoon Sylvester and the other cats that live with Porky are outside the house. They got kicked out for the night and they are plotting to get back in. While they are plotting Sylvester says "Are we men or are we mice?", the kitten yells, "I like cheese." Here is a link to the cartoon:
Kitty Kornered
The "punch line" happens around the 4:50 point.
So if I tell you "I like cheese" at some point, you'll get the point.
L8r,
Marz
It's root is from an old Warner Bros. cartoon with Porky Pig and Sylvester called Kitty Kornered. At one point in the cartoon Sylvester and the other cats that live with Porky are outside the house. They got kicked out for the night and they are plotting to get back in. While they are plotting Sylvester says "Are we men or are we mice?", the kitten yells, "I like cheese." Here is a link to the cartoon:
Kitty Kornered
The "punch line" happens around the 4:50 point.
So if I tell you "I like cheese" at some point, you'll get the point.
L8r,
Marz
Texas
The State of Texas. When you hear that state's name, what do you think about? Oil, Tumbleweeds, No Country for Old Men, George Bush (both), Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Hot weather, desert, Republicans, Dallas Cowboys, cowboys, "beers, steers, and queers", mexican food, immigration, etc.?
I'm sure I could add to the list of what people think of. Well, all of the above are true to one extent or another. I recently got an e-mail with the subject line: Things I Learned Living In Texas. Here is the body of that e-mail:
Things I learned living in Texas
1. A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road.
2. There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 of them live in Texas .
3. There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 of them live in Texas .
4. If it grows, it'll stick ya. If it crawls, it'll bite cha.
5. "Onced" and "Twiced" are words.
6. It is not a shopping cart, it's a buggy.
7. "Jaw-P?" means, "Did y'all go to the bathroom?
8. People actually grow and eat okra.
9. "Fixinto" is one word.
10. There is no such thing as "lunch." There is only dinner and then there is supper.
11. Iced tea is appropriate for all meals, and you start drinking it when you're two. We do like a little tea with our sugar.
12. Backwards and forwards means, "I know everything about you."
13. The word "jeet" is actually a phrase meaning, "Did you eat?"
14. You don't have to wear a watch, because it doesn't matter what time it is. You work until you're done or it's too dark to see.
15. You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH EM.
16. "No. Jew?" is a common response to the question, "Did you bring any beer?"
17. You measure distance in minutes.
18. You switch from heat to A/C in the same day.
19. All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect or animal.
20. You know what a "DAWG" is.
21. You carry jumper cables in your car --- for your OWN car.
22. You only own five spices: salt, pepper, Texas Pete , Tabasco and Ketchup.
23. The local papers cover national and international news on one page, but require 6 pages for local gossip and high school football.
24. You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday.
25. You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit "a bit warm."
26. You know all four seasons: Almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas.
27. Going to Wal-Mart is a favorite past time known as "goin' Wal-Martin" or "off to Wally World."
28. You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good stew weather.
29. Fried catfish is the other white meat.
30. We don't need no dang driver's ed. If our mama says we can drive, we can drive, dag-nabbit.
31. You understand these jokes and forward them to your Texas friends and those who just wish they were from Texas .
Pass to a Yankee!
----------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the funny part. Just about all of these things are something I have experienced during the 25 years of living there. Some these I'm not exactly sure are just a Texas thing, but they are funny. A bit of coincidence I got this e-mail around the time I though of doing this posting.
So let's get to the point of this post. Thing I've learned since leaving Texas. It's one of the only states that truly has a "State Pride." This has been facilitated with some ad campaigns over the past few decades. Texas tourism has used for years, "Texas, it's like a whole 'nother country." Or the DPS (Department of Public Safety - DMV equivalent in other states) slogan, "Don't Mess With Texas" for their anti-littering campaign.
While some people are proud of their town or city, or their country, it's rare that an entire state is proud of their state. I've lived in 3 different states besides Texas - New Jersey, Ohio, and Illinois. People in New Jersey have a pride of sorts in that they are the butt of many jokes - especially from New Yorkers. I've visited over 20 other states and never got the same feeling from those residents about their state.
Here's the biggest example. Quick, what does your state flag look like? Probably can't picture it exactly unless there is a distinctive feature to it. A lot of them are just a blue background with an emblem of some sort. Some even need to put the state's name on it to let you know its their flag. there are a few that have distinctive features to them. However, in what state have you been where residents all over frequently display their state flag? Businesses have a huge state flag flying along with the U.S. flag? The state flag is everywhere you look in advertisements or logos for businesses? Yeah, not so much. The closest I've seen to this is living in Chicago. Chicago has a very distinctive flag, and it flies everywhere. I've never seen a city flag used to this extent. Hell, I couldn't tell you what the flag for any other city I've lived in looks like, much less tell you it even exists.
Another part of this pride is also from Texans traveling outside the state. When you say you are from Texas there is this sort of twinkle in people's eyes when they hear that. They are fascinated with that fact. Most of them think of deserts, oil, cowboys, and steers. They are amazed to find out that Texas isn't one big desert and that we all don't wear cowboy hats, ride horses, and have an oil well in our back yard. There are mountains (though none really for skiing), forests, lakes, rivers, beaches, places that do get snow, etc. So this only serves to elevate a Texan's pride of their state.
And of course when those foreigners come to Texas (Texans love to show off their state). Anyone outside of Texas is a foreigner. You could be from Louisiana. You're a neighbor, but you're still a foreigner. Or feriner as they say there. And this comes from the fact that Texas is the only state the was it's own country before being admitted to the Union. While other states were a territory of another country, they were never their own country. Texas is also one of the few that could support itself as a country again.
Growing up in Texas you are taught that it is the only state that is able to secede from the Union. "It's in the State Constitution" they say. Sadly, that is a myth that even I have only realized in the past couple years. But that's the state pride again. Texans are friendly. The original word is Tejas, which means friend. So they really are the Friendly State unlike other states that have this motto. With that said, Texans also have an attitude of independence.
Now that I've been out of Texas for going on 11 years, I've grown to appreciate it more than when I lived there. Almost all of my adolescence I refused to be a Texan. I was born in New Jersey and I'm a Yankee, dammit! I still hold to some of that. I still tell people that I grew up in Texas if they ask if I'm from there. However there is a pride of having lived there. The reason I didn't want to be a Texan is that as a child I still wanted to be from Jersey. The whole Italian culture thing and my view that being that and a Yankee was cooler. Not much Italian culture in Texas. Plenty in Jersey. Maybe almost too much. And yes, I do get asked occasionally if I'm "connected." And no, I'm not. Though I might say that with a wry smile sometimes. Just to keep you guessing.
I do miss living there....now I do. When I left, I was really fed up with living in Houston. Having just a rough time. I needed a change, and moving to Ohio (or Hell as I like to call it - no offense, Brandice!) was that change. It was good for a while, but soon afterwards, I realized that maybe I should have just stayed in Houston, or moved to San Antonio, or elsewhere. But now being away for so long really has made me realized just what was great about it.
Yeah, that could be a bit of romancing. Like someone said about my excitement of going to the midnight show for Indiana Jones in a few weeks. The idea of thinking that series is still cool because it was as a kid. Like the two Star Wars trilogies. For many my age the original was better than the new one. But how much of that is the fact that we got older and learn to appreciate more sophisticated movies instead of movies designed to be appealing to the 10 year old. Lucas himself said that all those movies were meant to be like the Saturday Matinees when he was a kid. So the fact that I spent my childhood and early 20s there and remembering the good things might be masking things I'd rather not experience again.
However, winters in Chicago aren't much fun. It's not the snow (I still find it fun as I've mentioned before). It's not the cold. It's the fact that it's cold 6 months out of the year. I mean, c'mon, why do I need to wear a jacket in May? April is bad enough, but May? F that.
So what else is cool about Texas? Here's the cop out answer - everything. OK, not so much the country music. I could live without that. But the entire landscape is amazing. I've been to almost every part of the state except for far west Texas (Big Bend and El Paso). The vast diversity of the state is amazing.
Sports. I miss being able to see UT and Spurs games no matter what. I miss going to Astros games on a Wednesday afternoon. Especially since they have a new ball park since I've lived there. And even more so since I've become a bigger baseball fan. Though that is totally because I live in Chicago now. A great baseball town.
Food. My God, Mexican food outside of that state just sucks. Real BBQ. Real chili. Not so much with pizza, but I'd take NY pizza over Chicago pizza any day too. Though Italian food here in Chicago is amazing.
Old friends and my family. I've got some great friends in Chicago and Cincy. And some I consider best friends. But I've got some great friends in Texas and my parents (whom I see all to infrequently) are there. Side note, I always have to restrain myself from playing the sympathy card on any family related holiday where someone I work with says they need off to spend time with their family. Yeah, try spending EVERY EFFEN HOLIDAY 1500 MILES AWAY FROM YOUR FAMILY FOR THE PAST 11 YEARS. Yeah, I work those holidays so others can be off. Kinda getting tired of that. So much so that last December I told my work that I was taking Christmas off this year. That's how much advance I felt I needed to request that holiday off since that is one of our busiest times.
Weather. Yes, it gets hot there. But that's what A/C is for. And Houston is muggy as hell. But it's not a high of 57 degress on May 3rd there. EVER. Blue skies. Living in a state like Texas gives you an appreciation of blue skies. There are plenty of other western states that have this too. And it's amazing to see. Arizona probably beats Texas in this. Been there and was in awe of the scenery.
Jeez this is a long post. I think I covered everything I wanted. I need to read this. BRB. Back. Yeah, I think this kind of sums it up. Kind of an abrupt ending. If you've never been to Texas, go visit, maybe stay awhile. Maybe never leave. For me, unfortunately, I'll probably never live there again unless my company builds an ESPN Zone or theme park there (rumored for decades - literally). Or I decide that there is an amazing job there that's gonna pay me great money and have a M-F schedule.
Hope ya'll liked the post.
L8r,
Marz
I'm sure I could add to the list of what people think of. Well, all of the above are true to one extent or another. I recently got an e-mail with the subject line: Things I Learned Living In Texas. Here is the body of that e-mail:
Things I learned living in Texas
1. A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road.
2. There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 of them live in Texas .
3. There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 of them live in Texas .
4. If it grows, it'll stick ya. If it crawls, it'll bite cha.
5. "Onced" and "Twiced" are words.
6. It is not a shopping cart, it's a buggy.
7. "Jaw-P?" means, "Did y'all go to the bathroom?
8. People actually grow and eat okra.
9. "Fixinto" is one word.
10. There is no such thing as "lunch." There is only dinner and then there is supper.
11. Iced tea is appropriate for all meals, and you start drinking it when you're two. We do like a little tea with our sugar.
12. Backwards and forwards means, "I know everything about you."
13. The word "jeet" is actually a phrase meaning, "Did you eat?"
14. You don't have to wear a watch, because it doesn't matter what time it is. You work until you're done or it's too dark to see.
15. You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH EM.
16. "No. Jew?" is a common response to the question, "Did you bring any beer?"
17. You measure distance in minutes.
18. You switch from heat to A/C in the same day.
19. All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect or animal.
20. You know what a "DAWG" is.
21. You carry jumper cables in your car --- for your OWN car.
22. You only own five spices: salt, pepper, Texas Pete , Tabasco and Ketchup.
23. The local papers cover national and international news on one page, but require 6 pages for local gossip and high school football.
24. You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday.
25. You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit "a bit warm."
26. You know all four seasons: Almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas.
27. Going to Wal-Mart is a favorite past time known as "goin' Wal-Martin" or "off to Wally World."
28. You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good stew weather.
29. Fried catfish is the other white meat.
30. We don't need no dang driver's ed. If our mama says we can drive, we can drive, dag-nabbit.
31. You understand these jokes and forward them to your Texas friends and those who just wish they were from Texas .
Pass to a Yankee!
----------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the funny part. Just about all of these things are something I have experienced during the 25 years of living there. Some these I'm not exactly sure are just a Texas thing, but they are funny. A bit of coincidence I got this e-mail around the time I though of doing this posting.
So let's get to the point of this post. Thing I've learned since leaving Texas. It's one of the only states that truly has a "State Pride." This has been facilitated with some ad campaigns over the past few decades. Texas tourism has used for years, "Texas, it's like a whole 'nother country." Or the DPS (Department of Public Safety - DMV equivalent in other states) slogan, "Don't Mess With Texas" for their anti-littering campaign.
While some people are proud of their town or city, or their country, it's rare that an entire state is proud of their state. I've lived in 3 different states besides Texas - New Jersey, Ohio, and Illinois. People in New Jersey have a pride of sorts in that they are the butt of many jokes - especially from New Yorkers. I've visited over 20 other states and never got the same feeling from those residents about their state.
Here's the biggest example. Quick, what does your state flag look like? Probably can't picture it exactly unless there is a distinctive feature to it. A lot of them are just a blue background with an emblem of some sort. Some even need to put the state's name on it to let you know its their flag. there are a few that have distinctive features to them. However, in what state have you been where residents all over frequently display their state flag? Businesses have a huge state flag flying along with the U.S. flag? The state flag is everywhere you look in advertisements or logos for businesses? Yeah, not so much. The closest I've seen to this is living in Chicago. Chicago has a very distinctive flag, and it flies everywhere. I've never seen a city flag used to this extent. Hell, I couldn't tell you what the flag for any other city I've lived in looks like, much less tell you it even exists.
Another part of this pride is also from Texans traveling outside the state. When you say you are from Texas there is this sort of twinkle in people's eyes when they hear that. They are fascinated with that fact. Most of them think of deserts, oil, cowboys, and steers. They are amazed to find out that Texas isn't one big desert and that we all don't wear cowboy hats, ride horses, and have an oil well in our back yard. There are mountains (though none really for skiing), forests, lakes, rivers, beaches, places that do get snow, etc. So this only serves to elevate a Texan's pride of their state.
And of course when those foreigners come to Texas (Texans love to show off their state). Anyone outside of Texas is a foreigner. You could be from Louisiana. You're a neighbor, but you're still a foreigner. Or feriner as they say there. And this comes from the fact that Texas is the only state the was it's own country before being admitted to the Union. While other states were a territory of another country, they were never their own country. Texas is also one of the few that could support itself as a country again.
Growing up in Texas you are taught that it is the only state that is able to secede from the Union. "It's in the State Constitution" they say. Sadly, that is a myth that even I have only realized in the past couple years. But that's the state pride again. Texans are friendly. The original word is Tejas, which means friend. So they really are the Friendly State unlike other states that have this motto. With that said, Texans also have an attitude of independence.
Now that I've been out of Texas for going on 11 years, I've grown to appreciate it more than when I lived there. Almost all of my adolescence I refused to be a Texan. I was born in New Jersey and I'm a Yankee, dammit! I still hold to some of that. I still tell people that I grew up in Texas if they ask if I'm from there. However there is a pride of having lived there. The reason I didn't want to be a Texan is that as a child I still wanted to be from Jersey. The whole Italian culture thing and my view that being that and a Yankee was cooler. Not much Italian culture in Texas. Plenty in Jersey. Maybe almost too much. And yes, I do get asked occasionally if I'm "connected." And no, I'm not. Though I might say that with a wry smile sometimes. Just to keep you guessing.
I do miss living there....now I do. When I left, I was really fed up with living in Houston. Having just a rough time. I needed a change, and moving to Ohio (or Hell as I like to call it - no offense, Brandice!) was that change. It was good for a while, but soon afterwards, I realized that maybe I should have just stayed in Houston, or moved to San Antonio, or elsewhere. But now being away for so long really has made me realized just what was great about it.
Yeah, that could be a bit of romancing. Like someone said about my excitement of going to the midnight show for Indiana Jones in a few weeks. The idea of thinking that series is still cool because it was as a kid. Like the two Star Wars trilogies. For many my age the original was better than the new one. But how much of that is the fact that we got older and learn to appreciate more sophisticated movies instead of movies designed to be appealing to the 10 year old. Lucas himself said that all those movies were meant to be like the Saturday Matinees when he was a kid. So the fact that I spent my childhood and early 20s there and remembering the good things might be masking things I'd rather not experience again.
However, winters in Chicago aren't much fun. It's not the snow (I still find it fun as I've mentioned before). It's not the cold. It's the fact that it's cold 6 months out of the year. I mean, c'mon, why do I need to wear a jacket in May? April is bad enough, but May? F that.
So what else is cool about Texas? Here's the cop out answer - everything. OK, not so much the country music. I could live without that. But the entire landscape is amazing. I've been to almost every part of the state except for far west Texas (Big Bend and El Paso). The vast diversity of the state is amazing.
Sports. I miss being able to see UT and Spurs games no matter what. I miss going to Astros games on a Wednesday afternoon. Especially since they have a new ball park since I've lived there. And even more so since I've become a bigger baseball fan. Though that is totally because I live in Chicago now. A great baseball town.
Food. My God, Mexican food outside of that state just sucks. Real BBQ. Real chili. Not so much with pizza, but I'd take NY pizza over Chicago pizza any day too. Though Italian food here in Chicago is amazing.
Old friends and my family. I've got some great friends in Chicago and Cincy. And some I consider best friends. But I've got some great friends in Texas and my parents (whom I see all to infrequently) are there. Side note, I always have to restrain myself from playing the sympathy card on any family related holiday where someone I work with says they need off to spend time with their family. Yeah, try spending EVERY EFFEN HOLIDAY 1500 MILES AWAY FROM YOUR FAMILY FOR THE PAST 11 YEARS. Yeah, I work those holidays so others can be off. Kinda getting tired of that. So much so that last December I told my work that I was taking Christmas off this year. That's how much advance I felt I needed to request that holiday off since that is one of our busiest times.
Weather. Yes, it gets hot there. But that's what A/C is for. And Houston is muggy as hell. But it's not a high of 57 degress on May 3rd there. EVER. Blue skies. Living in a state like Texas gives you an appreciation of blue skies. There are plenty of other western states that have this too. And it's amazing to see. Arizona probably beats Texas in this. Been there and was in awe of the scenery.
Jeez this is a long post. I think I covered everything I wanted. I need to read this. BRB. Back. Yeah, I think this kind of sums it up. Kind of an abrupt ending. If you've never been to Texas, go visit, maybe stay awhile. Maybe never leave. For me, unfortunately, I'll probably never live there again unless my company builds an ESPN Zone or theme park there (rumored for decades - literally). Or I decide that there is an amazing job there that's gonna pay me great money and have a M-F schedule.
Hope ya'll liked the post.
L8r,
Marz
Friday, May 02, 2008
Huh?
So I'm out tonite and twitter is down. WTF? Plus I have the cabbie
from hell. Another WTF. This all sux. Especially since I'd be
twittering Nour the nite and can't. Thats it.
from hell. Another WTF. This all sux. Especially since I'd be
twittering Nour the nite and can't. Thats it.
L8r,
Marz
Sent from my iPhone
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