Return to the Randomness

I just saw an ad on the Big 10 Network that said "Where the Big Moments live". The clip they showed was a 50 yard game winning touchdown run that a Purdue player made with only a minute left in the game. The opponent was Central Michigan. Really Big 10 Network?

http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/rank?versionId=2&listId=92
How does Billy Donovan make this list and Izzo doesn't??? If we convinced the Flintstones to return for another year (plus snuck Mateen in somehow), they would have won the National Championship in 01 as well.

Speaking of Izzo, I may be committing blasphemy, but I think I might like Mark Dantonio more than him right now. That's not a knock on Izzo, but praise for Dantonio. He seems fully committed to the program (unlike Saban) and is very respectable (unlike John L) and brings great discipline to the team (unlike Bobby Williams). Wait, Izzo is all of those things and won us a championship. So it may be going overboard to like him more than Izzo, but I really respect his leadership and dedication. He has a Belichik solemnity to him minus the arrogance.
during the U-M game, my sister (who is a U-M convert due to her husband) texted me to gloat after U-M went up 21-14, my response text was "Pride comes before the fall". I'm sure she didn't know what that meant, but I love when he said that during last year's postgame press conference. I fully admit I thought it was a very questionable move to bring a guy that went slightly over .500 at Cincinnati to MSU, but he has proved me wrong. Seeing the contrast between him and the very slimey Rich Rodriguez makes me appreciate his devotion to tradition and respect. Ok, enough of my mancrush.

I think AOL has had the biggest demise of any person, thing, business, or country in the past 10 years. It's almost completely useless and yet it's still popular - it's the Paris Hilton of the internet. I don't know too many people who still Instant Message and there are many ISPs that are cheaper. I'm annoyed with it because I have tried many times to delete my aol e-mail account, but they make it impossible.

Me: "Whenever I would say something was "so weird" my old roommates would respond "how weird is it?" like you were setting up a joke. Then if you don't tell a joke, they always respond "I don't get it".
My Co-worker: "Wow... that's annoying. How long did you live with them again?"
Me: "Two years"
I miss many things about living with you guys, but that is not one of them.

Girl wearing a jersey at a game - cute
Girl wearing a jersey at the bar - acceptable
Girl wearing a football jersey around the mall - kinda trashy
Girl wearing a Bengals jersey around the mall - super trashy

Facebook is going to be very awkward once our generation starts to die. It's going to be like virtual memorials. How would someone else delete your account?

The Thanksgiving Day game has the potential to feature the undefeated Titans against the completely defeated Lions, although it will not come down to that. The Lions will defeat the Tampa Bay Bucs on the 23rd. It is more likely that the Titans will be undefeated, although I'm not confident they get past the Jags on the 16th. What concerns me more is that we may be 2-3 years away from losing the Thanksgiving game. The "why does Detroit own Thanksgiving" argument keeps creeping up earlier and earlier. It used to start that week, but now it is coming up on sports radio at the beginning of November. If we continue to lose, we will lose Thanksgiving. We're to the point now that home games are blacked out because we can't sell enough tickets. And the NFL isn't that devoted to tradition. After all, the Cleveland Browns are in Baltimore because the Colts are in Indianapolis. Notice that NOBODY questions why America's team is owed the other game. It's because when Dallas is bad, it is only for a season or two. By the way, I predict the Lions finish 2-14 with wins over the Bucs and Vikings.

OH - WELL

This is what I heard all day.


This is how I felt after the game.


Then I remembered this BS.


And I remembered why I love that Mark Dantonio is our coach.


We won't need this to beat U-M next week.

Big Business

I love books on business and business philosophy. After I read the autobiography of one of the top businessmen in the past few decades, Jack Welch (GE), I was excited to read a negative take on business. I picked up "Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole" by Benjamin Barber.

Before I give my thoughts, you can understand the book much more by watching his appearance on the Colbert Report.


His writing is very dense and he comes across as elitist and arrogant, but he does make a few good points. His arguments trail off on many tangents; I think he wanted to show off how many philosophers he could reference. It was hard for me to keep focused, so I rushed through skimming the rest of the book. Which is ironic since the first passage I came to argued that we want things to be "easy" with instant gratification rather than taking the time to appreciate things.

For example, when bashing fast food, he argues:

"But dining is about sociability, eating as ritual and food as symbol, with the dining table as a kind of secular altar to the family home and hearth. Today, the TV or the computer screen have taken over the ritual function of the household altar, and eating is solitary and passive."

Again, the irony is that I ate McDonalds for lunch and I am discussing this on a computer instead of over a phone call or in person. I agree with his romantic outlook on socializing; we should only use fast food in moderation not only for the health benefits, but because it makes us lazy and takes away from the important socializing that occurs at a family dinner table. But I blame the family that is not taking the time to communicate, cook regular dinners, or exercise - not the corporation.

The next part I stopped on was extremely relevant for the current economic crisis. He argues that the "infantilist ethos" conditions Americans to spend more and more and the banking system takes advantage of that.

"Even the savings banks from whom we might expect to receive encouraging messages about the public benefits of saving have grown schizophrenic, peddling credit and debit cards rather than savings accounts, joining in the chorus of infantilizing voices instructing people to spend - spend beyond what they have... And so...producers pursue their rational individual interests as sellers, consumers pursue their interests as buyers, and presto, consumer capitalism flourishes right up till the moment the national economy fails, and with it, capitalism itself."

He offers many statistics about how credit card companies and loan officers take advantage of people with poor credit by offering them high interest loans and credit cards despite their risk. People, like Sarah Palin during the VP debate, have placed blame on what they call "predatory lending". But I think people need to exercise more personal responsibility. I am very careful about my money and I don't spend more than I can afford. The blame should go to the individuals (and to some extent the banks for making bad investments) but not the marketers for trying to create desire for their products.

In the interview he bashes bottled water, a "manufactured need" for Americans, when people in 3rd world countries period. I agree that some people confuse needs with wants and don't appreciate what they have and companies play a part in that because their goal is to create need for their products. But what about the philanthropic programs that some bottled water companies fund, with part of their profits, to help provide those 3rd world countries with water? Evian, for example, has the "Evian Water Protection Institute" to "foster knowledge on the sustainable management of water resources and help the world's populations preserve their wetlands." (www.evian.com)

One chapter is devoted to brand identities.

"Branded lifestyles are not merely superficial veneers on deeper identities but have to some degree become subsitute identities - forms of acquired character that have the potential to go all the way down to the core. They displace traditional ethnic and cultural traits and overwhelm the voluntary aspects of identity we choose for ourselves."

Some people definitely let brand identity replace their own identity - they are called superficial teenagers and yuppies. He quotes someone who despises these consumers who "sip double-tall, nonfat lattes, chat on cell phones, and listen to NPR while driving their immaculate SUVs to Pottery Barn to shop for $48 titanium spatulas." I know people like this; they are superficial and materialistic. But those people would be that way regardless because that is their personality. More power to the marketers of those companies for doing their job and making those people buy overpriced spatulas!

For normal people, though, brand identities do play a small role. Starbucks is one of my favorite comfort foods - I get a mocha (fake coffee for people who don't like real coffee) whenever I'm having a really bad day at work or when I take a sick day, like today. There's something specific about the whole experience, not just the mocha itself, that is enjoyable. There's relaxing classical or jazz music playing, the cushioned chairs are deep and comfortable, the cup has a sophisticated appearance that makes it seem more like a special treat. That's all branding and it definitely affects the product - and I like it. That doesn't supercede my own identity, though. I am a caring, liberal, catholic, intelligent, forgetful, hard working person. Not a "Starbucks drinker".

My overall thought on the book is this: I agree with him that markets have created manufactured needs, developed poor spending habits in people, and implanted certain brand identities in our society. I place the blame, however, on the people with the poor spending habits or superficial attitudes because they allowed themselves to be "consumed". Now, not all businesses are honest and virtuous. But don't blame the marketers because they are just doing their job: differentiating their product, creating a brand, and establishing a need for their company in the market place.

Allow me to reintroduce myself

"I can't wait until September is over" - Me, on the middle of August

"Wake me up when September ends." - that Green Day song

I was the happier going into work today than any other morning for the past month. Work is starting to settle down a little, so I have the energy to finish every post I've started for the past 3 weeks. And here they are - as random as I can be!

My TV Show Power Rankings
1. The Office - I am glad that they are willing to have Jim and Pam get engaged instead of stretching it out... for now
2. I Love Money - Best guilty pleasure since the Hills started, my money is on Hoopz
3. Lost - It's not even on until February and it's STILL good enough to make this list
4. Heroes - it's starting off ok, but there are too many characters
5. How I Met Your Mother - An episode about searching for a burger? Come on and DO SOMETHING
6. Jon & Kate Plus 8 - Stacey's favorite, it's growing on me
7. Biggest Loser - There was a couple named Stacey and Adam! And they got kicked off the first week
8. The Hills - I haven't watched too much, but the argument with Spencer and Heidi's mom was great - the show is completely scripted, though
9. Amazing Race - eh, same old same old
379. Dancing with the Stars - There is NOTHING that would make me watch that show



Interesting Numbers
2004: 47, 72
2005: 69, 71
2006: 83, 95
2007: 95, 88
2008: 138, 74

Take a second and think about what those numbers mean. You may have guessed it already, but the first number is the salary, in millions, of the Detroit Tigers. The second is the number of wins that season. Do you think the Tigers are gonna cut some payroll next year?? Finding this from the Detroit Free press made me think. Game plan for the Tigers' off-season

I agree, let's talk about how the Tigers can turn things around. Obviously, the biggest need begins with a P and rhymes with bitching. Here are my suggestions:

- Top priority: Closer Second priority: Starting pitcher
- Don't pick up the club option on Edgar Renteria (they accomplished this yesterday -I swear I wrote that sentence two weeks ago)
- Don't resign Kyle Farnsworth (we get it, you don't want to play in Detroit. Did you have to go from a 3.65 ERA to a 4.48 to prove it?)
- Resign Fernando Rodney, but keep him as a late relief pitcher, not a closer.
- Resign Marcus Thames, Bobby Seay, Joel Zumaya, Zach Miner, Ryan Rayburn, Brent Clevlen, Armando Galarraga, Matt Joyce, and Clete Thomas (we don't need to completely overhaul the team)
- Sign Orlando Cabrera to Short (I know it won't happen, but I like his defense)
- Just sign anyone at Catcher - we don't need a good hitter

The opening day roster should look something like this:
C: Anyone
1B: Miguel Cabrera
2B: Polanco
SS: Orlando Cabrera
3B: Inge
LF: Matt Joyce
CF: Granderson
RF: Ordonez
DH: Sheffield
SP: Verlander, Free agent, Bonderman (in May), Galarraga, Robertson



Getting Political
Let me preface the following with this: I will be voting for Barack Obama... because I can't vote for Hillary Clinton. And because the thought of Sarah Palin being that close to the presidency scares me. But in my opinion, I've heard much better quotes in favor of the Republicans lately. Here are a few quotes that are very telling about the current situation.

George Stephanopolous: "You were asked 'Is he (Barack Obama) ready?', you said 'I think he can be ready, but right now I don't believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on the job training.'"
Joe Biden: "I think I stand by this statement"

"I would be honored to run with or against John McCain. I think the country would be better off." - Joe Biden

"I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House and Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002." - Hillary Clinton

"Now, our opponents tell us not to worry about their tax increases. They tell you they're not going to tax your family. No, they're just going to tax 'businesses.' So, unless you buy something from a business, like groceries or clothes or gasoline - or unless you get a paycheck from a business, a big business or a small business, don't worry, it's not going to affect you!" - Fred Thompson


Back to Baseball
How did we do with our predictions?

AL East
Pre-season: Red Sox
Mid-season: Red Sox
Mike: Yankees
AL Central
Pre-season: Indians
Mid-season: Tigers (my quote: "yes, I gave up on them a month ago and now I'm drinking the kool-aid again")
Mike: Indians
AL West
Pre-season: LA Angels
Mid-season: LA Angels
Mike: Mariners
AL Wild Card
Pre-season: Tigers
Mid-season: Rays
Mike: Red Sox
NL East
Pre-season: NY Mets
Mid-season: Phillies
Mike: Mets
NL Central
Pre-season: Brewers
Mid-season: Brewers
Mike: Cardinals
NL West
Pre-season: Diamondbacks
Mid-season: Diamondbacks
Mike: Padres
NL Wild Card
Pre-season: Cubs
Mid-season: Cubs
Mike: Dodgers

If you give 1 point for getting it correct, and a half point for mixing up a division winner and wild card, the final tally is:

ME: 2.5
MIKE: 2
KEVIN: 0


I will leave you with our ominous comments...

Mike: Before the Royals even swept the Tigers these last three games, did anyone else have a gut feeling that this year won't be that special? There's something deep down that is keeping me from being that excited about this Tiger's team.
Kevin: I don't know why, but I was more excited about last year's team than I am about this year's team.
Mike: Yes! I have that same exact feeling...Something is amiss...