Word Play and the Ending of a Dream
I'm feeling terrible right now. Ok not as worse as the weekend. Annoyed, is probably the word I'm looking for. I've actually caught a cold for the first time in years. Hence, my annoyance. Yesterday, I spent the entire day drinking water and lying in bed, getting up only for meals and the frequesnt bathroom breaks you get when you drink gallons of water, like I did. It's been raining like a mf here for the past few days. I actually never minded the rain. There's a certain aura the gloom projects to me that I like. When I see that grayish cloud, I think of spending the afternoon at home, watching a movie with someone and having a cup of tea; or hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows. Maybe a little cuddling. When it's sunny, I think of a beach as far as the eye can see, with so much people lying down, playing, talking, having fun in the warm sun. You get the idea. But, yeah I'm not one of those "ah shit it's raining" types. Unless I forget to bring something to cover my bald head and get sick from being in the rain. Hey, you can get sunburn from staying in the sun too long, too.
I was talking about looking for a word before, which is a perfect segue to my new blog title. I think I've outgrown the whole dreaming thing. So from this day forth, I shall now pronounce thee Word Playground! I got the idea from an article I was reading earlier that I'll talk about in a minute. The whole My Dreaming concept was nice but I think I'll go in another direction with the theme for this site. Besides, it was getting a little, um corny for lack of a better word.
Sad day in the world of sports, pop culture and counter culture with the passing of one of its most profound and original writers, Hunter S. Thompson. I was introduced to his writing as one of the first Page 2 writers on ESPN.com. If nothing else, the man was alone in his voice and style. At first, I thought he was just one of those writers that loved to bet on Football and weren't afraid to say it. Over the 4 years he was part of Page 2, he has written about a whole lot more. Check out the Page 2 tribute page that's available for today only, I guess. If your reading this after the fact, here's his entire collection of articles on Page 2. After Ralph Wiley's death, it's such a shame that two good writers, and men, were taken away by her so soon. Good Doctor, you will be missed.
Yesterday, while I was still reeling from the effects of my running nose and irritated throat, I had the chance to catch the NBA All Star Game and was seriously considering writing a running diary of the events. But I figured the Sports Guy was going to do the same (and much better). Besides, I wasn't in the mood to think a whole lot. Just wanted to watch some basketball played at the lowest level by supposed "All-Stars". Only in an all star game can you hear an announcer say "they ONLY commited 23 turnovers, down from last year which is a good sign." The game was hardly even over at that point. But I digress, the whole point was to put on a show and provide highlights. By far the best was Vince Carter's oop to himself of the backboard. It topped the previous two "oops of the backboard" set by Vinsanity's cousin, Tracy McGrady in 2002 and last year. Catch the highlight here if you missed it and have the bandwidth to play it. While you're there, you might want to check out T-Mac's version this year, which was sweet in itself. The East won, by the way, with The Answer Allen Iverson getting MVP honors for being one 5 players from either team that actually played hard and didn't dog it.
This year, I missed the dunk contest for the first time in awhile and didn't think much of it since the contest has never been the same since Carter won it in 2000. Ok, it's been awful after that. Aside from Jason Richardson, the two time champ, everybody else has been awful. So I didn't watch it. Come now Sunday and that's all everyone can talk about. Dammit! Josh Smith from the Hawks took home the title with three awesome dunks but Amare Stoudamire had by far the greatest dunk I have ever seen. You have to see this to believe it. Hint: it involves a skill from a different sport. When I saw the highlights, I was equal parts amazed and pissed off that I missed it. They even had a guy embarass himself by trying the same dunk over and over and over and over again until he got it and everyone was heckling him for it. Great comedy. The sad part is, he's actually a pretty good dunker. You can usually find him in the Top Ten plays on Sportscenter dunking over someone in a game. The other sad part is, he's white which doesn't help the whole "White Men Can't Jump" theory, which was previously thought to be erased when Brent Barry won it years ago. Overall, I wished I'd seen it for all the reasons mentioned above.
Ok, I was talking about the new title for the blog a minute ago. It basically means a place for me (and you) to come in and play with words and use them for our wants and needs. Whatever we want it to mean. Words are the tools, or toys if you will, we use to play, have fun and maybe even learn a little. It's also an expression of coming together of words, like kids in a park. I got the idea after reading this great interview with noted comic writer Alan Moore. This guy has 25 years of writing experience and has created a whole host of legendary comics, from Watchmen to his run with Swamp Thing and, for all you mainstream "Spider Man-Batman" types, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. For all those aspiring writers out there, this is a great read for us; I know I certainly picked up stuff here. And for those that don't think much of comic writers, artists or the whole medium in general, this one is for you.
I was talking about looking for a word before, which is a perfect segue to my new blog title. I think I've outgrown the whole dreaming thing. So from this day forth, I shall now pronounce thee Word Playground! I got the idea from an article I was reading earlier that I'll talk about in a minute. The whole My Dreaming concept was nice but I think I'll go in another direction with the theme for this site. Besides, it was getting a little, um corny for lack of a better word.
Sad day in the world of sports, pop culture and counter culture with the passing of one of its most profound and original writers, Hunter S. Thompson. I was introduced to his writing as one of the first Page 2 writers on ESPN.com. If nothing else, the man was alone in his voice and style. At first, I thought he was just one of those writers that loved to bet on Football and weren't afraid to say it. Over the 4 years he was part of Page 2, he has written about a whole lot more. Check out the Page 2 tribute page that's available for today only, I guess. If your reading this after the fact, here's his entire collection of articles on Page 2. After Ralph Wiley's death, it's such a shame that two good writers, and men, were taken away by her so soon. Good Doctor, you will be missed.
Yesterday, while I was still reeling from the effects of my running nose and irritated throat, I had the chance to catch the NBA All Star Game and was seriously considering writing a running diary of the events. But I figured the Sports Guy was going to do the same (and much better). Besides, I wasn't in the mood to think a whole lot. Just wanted to watch some basketball played at the lowest level by supposed "All-Stars". Only in an all star game can you hear an announcer say "they ONLY commited 23 turnovers, down from last year which is a good sign." The game was hardly even over at that point. But I digress, the whole point was to put on a show and provide highlights. By far the best was Vince Carter's oop to himself of the backboard. It topped the previous two "oops of the backboard" set by Vinsanity's cousin, Tracy McGrady in 2002 and last year. Catch the highlight here if you missed it and have the bandwidth to play it. While you're there, you might want to check out T-Mac's version this year, which was sweet in itself. The East won, by the way, with The Answer Allen Iverson getting MVP honors for being one 5 players from either team that actually played hard and didn't dog it.
This year, I missed the dunk contest for the first time in awhile and didn't think much of it since the contest has never been the same since Carter won it in 2000. Ok, it's been awful after that. Aside from Jason Richardson, the two time champ, everybody else has been awful. So I didn't watch it. Come now Sunday and that's all everyone can talk about. Dammit! Josh Smith from the Hawks took home the title with three awesome dunks but Amare Stoudamire had by far the greatest dunk I have ever seen. You have to see this to believe it. Hint: it involves a skill from a different sport. When I saw the highlights, I was equal parts amazed and pissed off that I missed it. They even had a guy embarass himself by trying the same dunk over and over and over and over again until he got it and everyone was heckling him for it. Great comedy. The sad part is, he's actually a pretty good dunker. You can usually find him in the Top Ten plays on Sportscenter dunking over someone in a game. The other sad part is, he's white which doesn't help the whole "White Men Can't Jump" theory, which was previously thought to be erased when Brent Barry won it years ago. Overall, I wished I'd seen it for all the reasons mentioned above.
Ok, I was talking about the new title for the blog a minute ago. It basically means a place for me (and you) to come in and play with words and use them for our wants and needs. Whatever we want it to mean. Words are the tools, or toys if you will, we use to play, have fun and maybe even learn a little. It's also an expression of coming together of words, like kids in a park. I got the idea after reading this great interview with noted comic writer Alan Moore. This guy has 25 years of writing experience and has created a whole host of legendary comics, from Watchmen to his run with Swamp Thing and, for all you mainstream "Spider Man-Batman" types, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. For all those aspiring writers out there, this is a great read for us; I know I certainly picked up stuff here. And for those that don't think much of comic writers, artists or the whole medium in general, this one is for you.
posted by Ryan at 7:45 PM
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