Cerebrate Good Times

I used to watch football a lot when I was in high school. (This is American football I'm talking about, of course.) I enjoyed the strategy and the brute force involved. I loved the Miami Dolphins and Dan Marino, who of course never won a Superbowl. (This was in line with my Utah Jazz fandom and the Stockton/Malone finals teams that could never get past Michael Jordan.) After my mission I never managed to get back into it. I went to BYU and occasionally watched their games, but it never became rabid fandom. These day I really dislike football. I hate what it does the the players' health, I hate the culture of violence and the enmity between rival teams, and I hate that we are so focused on it rather than dealing with more important things in our country (notwithstanding the protests during the national anthem, which I wholeheartedly support) . The whole idea of putting your team's flag in your yard or whatever is just weird to me. I mean, I like pasta, but I don't put ...

I was talking to a friend this morning about a project she's working on. She purchased a new townhouse to rent for side income, and she is in the process of finishing her basement along with working her full-time job. The more we talked, the more I realized that raising kids is a lot like finishing your own basement on the side. And while she doesn't have children, we are both experiencing a lot of the same things. And both seem to stem from some level of insanity, getting into this mess. Most people probably don't know everything about construction when they begin finishing the basement (I mean, what really IS a wall, anyway?). You look up a lot of informational videos and muddle along the best you can. If all else fails, duct tape. Similarly, no matter what your experience with kids is before becoming a parent, having your own is different. Parents virtually always feel out of their depth, just taking it one day at a time. You can always give them medicine if they won...

A number of thoughts came together for me this morning, which was rather unexpected given how tired I have felt this week. Anyway, buckle up—we’re in for a bumpy ride today. First, the internet revolutionized (killed and then resurrected) the music industry. Now there need be no corporate middleman between an artist and the fans. Artists can distribute their own music however they wish, for however much or however little they wish. Also, as much as movie piracy has become a problem, people are making their own videos and actually making money from them. Now, our society as a whole moves at unbelievable speed when compared to a few decades ago. Everything has to be done now , and we cram as much into our lives as possible. So I’m wondering if this will ever carry over to the stodgy and steeped-in-tradition publishing industry. Some people have already broken out in new ways, with blogging and web comics, and some have found commercial success. I’m wondering if the medium of the shor...

There seems to be an innate desire in all of us, to some extent, to complain about things. Some people seem to complain non-stop, while others rarely say anything negative. I would like to see some hard data regarding stress levels and complaining. Does it increase our stress by making us focus on it more, or does it have a therapeutic effect on our physical and mental state? And, more importantly, can I list “whining” as a hobby when I am filling out a form that asks? That gives me an idea. Do you think I could set up a booth where, for an hourly fee, I would listen to people complain about anything they wanted to? I bet people would pay for that sort of service. I would listen and nod concernedly, and offer empathy. Think Lucy’s psychiatrist booth from Peanuts . What do you think?