Wednesday, December 16, 2009 

Mr. President,
I saw the recent meeting you hoped to have with the banking executives and how they did not show up thanks to fog. This despite the fact that they obviously could have arrived easily by train, car or any other measures available to those with more money than god. How did that go down? Did you just swallow it?

What if you were disrespected like that on the basketball court? How would you respond? I have never played with you, but I hear your game is pretty good. I imagine you know the rule of the court: be the lion or be the sheep. Kill or be slaughtered. That is the way it goes on the court and, well, often that is the way it goes in life.

Step up Mr. President and drop a three or reverse layup in their face and let them know: it is going to happen all day and all year long. It's time.


Friday, December 11, 2009 

of course he says it way better than anyone:

Did we underestimate the effects of fame in his formative years on Tiger? Become famous at an early age and invariably you "mature" into someone who can't remember anything other than being famous. Most (if not all) of your interactions are with people who are impressed by you or want something from you. You don't have to win anyone over. You don't have to work on being a better person, or funnier, or nicer, or anything. You don't want to make new friends because you can't tell if any prospective friends want to be friends because you're who you are, so you end up gravitating toward other famous people, most of whom are just as messed up as you. You can get away with almost any indiscretion and be forgiven. Your only responsibility is to stay yourself, only you became this twisted, self-aware version of you without even knowing it. And that's when the trouble starts.

Wednesday, December 09, 2009 

Tiger I am not sure who is advising you to hide out like Dick Cheney, but man you are getting thrashed around in the press. Personally I really only see two routes for you moving forward: embracing the dark side, divorcing your wife and going whole hog bachelor villain or somehow repenting publicly, being open about your life and your failings (possibly getting treatment for sex addiction or something), publicly embracing a social cause and charity beyond your own foundation and trying to establish a new legacy for the sake of yourself, family and kids where this is only looked back upon as a mistake after which you turned your life around. Obviously you know which way I would suggest you go, but with each passing day I am worried you are trying to figure out a way back to the life you used to have. It's gone friend. I know the whole whore chasing thing behind your family's back must have been exciting but, well, denial helps no one. Embrace the monumental change in your life, future earnings and public standing cause it is done. That book is written but now you have the opportunity for a new book to start.

Wednesday, December 02, 2009 

"It's a private thing of course," he said. "But when you are the guy he is, the world's best athlete, you should think more before you do stuff."

Respectfully Jesper: whether you are an athlete or not, famous or not, one should not be cheating on your wife, kids and family. Have courage in your convictions. If you are a cocksman don't enter into the union of marriage nor have kids with your wife.

 

It was revealed over this past week that Eldrick Tiger Woods had an car accident that probably stemmed from an argument at home. The basis of that argument, which your humble blogger in fact guessed very early on, was that Tiger's dirty laundry was aired (his is a philanderer) in the Enquirer and now other publications. It seems almost assured now based on different pieces of evidence (Tiger reportedly called his friend to say Elin 'went ghetto' on him and this voicemail) that his wife understandably went on a rampage against him.

Frankly put I would too. I cannot imagine being this seemingly modest, humble woman, marrying Tiger and then bearing him two children (who are still very young) and having him publicly destroy our marriage, family and union. Where can they even go from here? For me it would immediately be over and sadly there would be a lot of collateral damage (the kids and our family unit). It would be a no brainer. For me.

Where ever they do end up I do hope the public starts to take a few things to heart:

1. Our sports stars do not deserve the praise, money and attention we pay to them. They deserve limited attention for their talents on their field of play, but let's please get a balance back to appreciating our sports stars while appreciating our community leaders (teachers, doctors, librarians, other every-day heroes) as much or more.

2. No individual is perfect and we should not demand perfection. Through his career Michael Jordan, in conjunction with Nike and many other corporations, put forward a perfect face for a profit motive end. Tiger was the natural progression of this trend but like Mike and like many others (including this writer) he had flaws. Sadly Tiger's flaws, like Mike's (and unlike mine), affected their families greatly.

Were these flaws exacerbated by the perfect face they were trying to project? I can't know the answer to that but I will just say this: I always felt superior to Tiger Woods (and recently to MJ as well) in ways such as having true, deep and ongoing social concerns that I will share despite how they may affect me financially or career-wise. Granted my impact is much less thanks to the lower rung of society I inhabit but I like to think that even if I played ball sports well I would share these feelings freely.

The point is I felt superior in this arena, but now I feel like a far superior man, husband and father.




Tuesday, December 01, 2009 

I walk around with a heavy heart today. President Obama, our last best hope, plans to escalate a war today.

I was sad, shocked and scared in the early 2000s when Bush started ginning up a war with Iraq... in his somewhat subtle threats I just knew what was coming.

Then in 2006 we got a chance to install a Democratic congress to help end the war. Nothing happened and my disillusionment increased. But ever the romantic in a small corner of my heart 2008 seemed to present another possibility. A bending arc of our time to paraphrase the big man.

And now here we stand with Gitmo still open, insurance companies and pharma companies chortling, human rights abuses continuing and an Afghan war escalating.

I choose not to tune in tonight Mr. President as I honestly could not be much more disappointed and disaffected. It continues to run in my head despite my wishes to die on American soil and preferably in California: we may need to leave it because the US is becoming very, very hard to love.

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