Monthly Archives: March 2015
Happy Monday!
Ladies and gentleman, I’ve been saying for the past few years that Mix Diskerud is a burgeoning superstar and recently that he’s the USMNT’s genuine #10. He’s the central piece in the middle that will help guide the bright future of the young national team. It’s also been mentioned on this blog that it was a mistake for the Columbus Crew not to pursue Mix a second time late last year. Trading Josh Williams also wasn’t the wisest decision. The Crew lost 1-nil at Houston in their season opener Saturday night and yesterday the expansion club NYCFC (with Mix) tied fellow expansion club Orlando City 1-1.
Guess who opened up the scoring in the 76th minute?
And this is just the first game of the MLS season for the skillfully perceptive 24-year old American. He’s also an equally impressive distributor of the ball.
Mix It Up This Week!
P.S. Who is the majority owner of NYCFC? The same group that owns Manchester City. Mix will likely be wearing sky blue jerseys for many seasons, except the city where he resides may change down the road…
The Sky Full of Buckeyes
January 12, 2015: A gr8t night for Buckeye Nation.
It was a result 12 years in the making that was an absolute dream for the fans, players and coaches for The Ohio State Buckeyes football team. The last national title win was back in January 2003 against the explosively fast, electric and seemingly unbeatable Miami Hurricanes. Interestingly, both of Ohio State’s last two national championships were not-so-subtly underscored by notions by the “experts” that we don’t belong, aren’t fast or talented enough. The Oregon Ducks (and Alabama Crimson Tide) were each a Goliath in their own right in 2014.
And yet, the video below is The reality:
42-20.
The journey to becoming the best damn team in the land for the 8th time was historically improbable, as the Buckeyes were not guided by their Heisman-caliber QB in Braxton Miller, but first by their backup J.T. Barrett and then by their 3rd string quarterback Cardale Jones. They were, by all accounts, a year early in their return as the kings of college football. But before the 2015 season starts, this past season will not soon be forgotten.
OH-IO!!!
Happy Fake Baby, Happy Life, Maybe?
Spoiler Alert: This blog post contains details from the March 4, 2015 episode of The Goldbergs
(The Goldbergs Twitter)
Cabbage Patch Kids were the Tickle Me Elmo’s of the 1980s. The craze was real and it impacted the lives of boys and girls, as well as mothers and fathers all across the country. Thanks to clever teachers, kids in middle school were treated to some of the best birth control by welcoming/forcing a Cabbage Patch Kid into their daily routines of riding their bikes carefree, mowing lawns and playing games at the arcade in the mall. For Adam and Dana, little Merna Leia DeLorean Goldberg would change their lives…forever.
Meanwhile, the JTP was smashing some good produce by the local WaWa. Nothing would stop this unrivaled fun, except the girl. Actually, in this case, it was two girls: Lainey and Erica. When Lainey chose boyfriend Barry over Erica with a prized ticket to see Heart in concert, Erica decided the best revenge was to take her oldest brother’s crown and rule the JTP with an unintended romantic touch. The plan was brilliant. Admittedly, sibling battles are unusually detailed and shrewdly executed for exacting retaliation. This one was no different.
When a young man gets married and has a pretend child that doesn’t blink, life gets complicated. Not really with any of his new responsibilities, but because there are now two women in the picture: his wife/crush and his Smother. When Beverly feels threatened by Dana’s rise to importance in her baby boy’s life, she panics in hilarious fashion. Let’s just say her overreaction involved dismissing Dana’s input, strolling around a toy baby in the park, losing said toy and buying a replacement in a sketchy black market exchange from the trunk of a car by the always entertaining guest star Nick Swardson.
I also have the strongest heroin(e) in the world.
What!?
She-Ra: Princess of Power.
Not even She-Ra could have saved Beverly this time, especially after bringing home a really, really bad Cabbage Patch Kids knock-off. As in not even close. And this was because the only person who could make Adam happy at this point was his wife/girlfriend. So, Adam stood up to his mom in defense of his girlfriend. It was a difficult lesson to learn for Beverly, but when friends and family are pushed to the edge, that’s usually when they finally realize the importance of truly special relationships.
After seeing his posse hang with his sister, Barry understood where his girlfriends’ heart really belonged Friday night: at the concert with her BFF. Beverly, with help from the ever-so-rare, but fantastic words of wisdom from husband Murray, discovered she needed to turn the lights on for her scrumptious baby boy and his crush. The tree house never looked better, as Adam and Dana’s faces lit up as brightly as the lights that were secretly put up by Dana and a certain grandmother…
“The Goldbergs delivered its 2nd-biggest audience ever and tied the series’ 2nd-highest young adult rating” (TV by the Numbers).
Adam F. Goldberg’s masterful sitcom is attracting new viewers and impressing its loyal fans each and every week. Part of this is due to the time period it’s based: the 1980s. It reminds us that while amazing movies, classic television shows, video games, etc. ruled popular culture, the cell phone, internet and on-demand options hadn’t yet entered our lives as a minute-minute necessity. It was, as the saying goes, a simpler time.
This sitcom perfectly illustrates that relationships between friends and family matter. (A random FYI – Family Matters debuted in 1989 and was also a terrific show). Life should not be lived within a 4-inch screen and the ’80s thankfully reminds us of this. Instead of endlessly scrolling through Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, we should dust-off our old boomboxes, find that romantic tape and simply say anything to the love of our life. It’s for those moments when we accidentally touch someone’s hand or someone steps on our foot.
When we listen to our heart, we’re never alone.
Clinton’s Calculated Chicanery
“What difference, at this point, does it make?”
That was an appallingly disgraceful dodge of a question made by a top American official under congressional testimony. The inquiry was an attempt at finding some degree of the truth regarding the horrific events that occurred at the American diplomatic compound on September 11, 2012 in Benghazi, Libya. Still shocking years later, this response came from the secretary of state in what appeared to be a reprehensibly rehearsed comeback to deflect any culpability for not fulfilling her duties by not responding to multiple requests for increased security for those now deceased Americans who were stationed in a Middle East post, including Ambassador Stevens.
The people who murdered those Americans have not been brought to justice, unless you count a random guy who made a YouTube video that had nothing to do with the attacks. And Hillary Clinton has yet to take responsibility for failing to provide increased security that was directly requested for in that dangerous location. That was part of her job description and she failed miserably. It can be argued that it was a fatal mistake. Perhaps she was too busy buying a stupid red button from the dollar store that symbolized her delusional vision and inadequate judgement for world diplomacy.
Mr. Putin has clearly taken it seriously as a pivot in his actions.
As the story regarding a clear violation and security risks (and political donations?) linked to her exclusive private email use as secretary of state continue to unfold, Mrs. Clinton certainly had time to email during her 4-year tenure as the leader of American foreign affairs. Why wasn’t an ambassador a top priority emailing partner for her? Will she be held fully accountable by the national media for the recent revelations surrounding donations made by Middle Eastern countries to the Clinton Foundation while she was secretary of state? Will Hillary Clinton accept responsibility for her decisions?
Sadly, the answer is no.
Why? Mostly because of 2016.
First it was 2008 and now it’s 2016. Hillary Clinton and Co. will literally do and say anything to get elected. Any legitimate barrier in their way will be mercilessly bulldozed, regardless if it has validity or reasons for further scrutiny and transparency. In the macro, anyone willing to do and say anything to be president shouldn’t be president. When the rules don’t apply to you and when seemingly every decision you make is wrong (see her time as secretary of state), appears political and is shockingly disingenuous, that’s when it becomes crystal clear that any pursuit at top public leadership positions have little to do with the people you would be serving, but selfishly only with yourself.
It’s the difference between integrity and duplicity.
Hillary Clinton recently said to a crowd, “Don’t you want to see a woman president?”
Yes, but not you.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 