Complex Simplicities
Does it really matter what other's think of what you say? In this day and age, apparently so. So let them feast on my words!
wut wut WUUUTTT?!
Looks easy enough….
30-Min Dance mix to start off the week.
I’ve been reading through some articles put out by sports writers and commentators about the results of the 2010 Masters. The underlying theme seems to be that the “good guy” defeated the “villain.” It’s funny that we see Phil and Tiger as two opposite characters. From the public perception, Phil is the perfect man (good husband, great golfer, always smiles and is well received by the crowds), while Tiger is nothing short of a criminal (cheated on his wife with multiple partners, not so friendly on and off the course, elitist and sense of entitlement). People have even gone as far as saying that Phil had to overcome more leading up to this tournament than Tiger, stating that his wife’s breast cancer was more of a burden than Tiger’s public stoning. It annoys me that people believe that this weekend was something that it was not. It was not a moral victory. Karma does not play into this. It was a GOLF TOURNAMENT. Phil won because he was able to close out while Tiger struggled all throughout Sunday’s round (minus the hole out for eagle). The forces of good and evil play no part in this. Writers and commentators just use this theme to justify a victory and pull on the emotional strings of human nature.
Phil is Perfect?
Here’s something I don’t understand: why do people assume he’s the standard of perfection? HE IS HUMAN! And like every human there are skeletons in his closet that have yet to be unveiled. The only reason that he’s stayed away from the limelight of success is because Tiger has been his shield. Under extreme scrutiny since he won the 1997 Masters, Tiger’s life is something of a museum exhibit, open for all to see. Phil just got lucky that Tiger is taking much of the media bandwidth. From inside the ropes, Phil has been described as cocky, rude, inconsiderate, FIGJAM (Fuck I’m good, just ask me). But the average golf spectator won’t hear about this.
More on Phil’s Shoulders?
Not saying that breast cancer is negligible and shouldn’t be taken seriously, but let’s be real, it’s under management. His wife is going through treatment and she seems to be doing well. But to say that her struggles out trumps the mass onslaught of public bashing that Tiger went through in the last 5 months is absurd. Here’s how it breaks down:
Family: Phil has nothing but great support from all sides. Tiger’s mom won’t even look at him
Sponsorships: Phil has gotten more press and sponsor requests since Tiger’s fall. Tiger’s being dropped left and right from his biggest sponsors
State of Mind: Phil can’t be at complete peace, but at least he has the knowledge that his wife is getting better while the rest of his life is just fine and dandy. Tiger is going through outpatient treatment, still dealing with the press and paparazzi, ignoring planes with banners of ridiculous Tiger-comments flying over Augusta, trying to keep his family intact, all while competing in the biggest golf tournament of the year after a 5 month break from a game he reinvented.
Just A Game
Society is a sucker for drama and emotion, even in one of the more dryer sports like golf. So broadcasting stations leverage this supposed battle of the good vs bad to tug at the emotional strings of viewers. But what does this really do? It just puts more praise and blame on those undeserving of either. Yes, Phil deserves the praise for winning the green jacket, but he doesn’t deserve to be put on a pedestal as the moral compass. Tiger didn’t win, but he showed some extreme mental toughness and resiliency throughout the weekend. But people won’t remember that. They’ll remember the downfall of a villain caused by “karma,” making his public perception even worse.
I don’t condone what Tiger did, but the man has come to grips with his shortcomings. He admitted to having a sense of entitlement and selfishness. Publicly and privately he has taken the licks he deserves. But the media seems to bring him down lower and lower even after a stellar performance because they assume thats what the people want. Well that’s not what I want. I want this to be about the purity of the game of golf, grace under pressure, drama on the greens. Not about the human condition and its ties to victory and defeat.
It’s a new year, which means it’s time to make resolutions that I will prob fail at by April. Nonetheless I suppose it’s only proper to at least announce them. Then maybe some people might keep me accountable, or just point and laugh at me.
1. Yelp Elite Status: Think I’ve been to enough restaurants, clubs, lounges, and venues in the city to be able to reach this holy grail of foodies and bloggers. I hear its 100 review posts to obtain Elite status. I say “BRING IT ON!”
2. Lose 10 lbs: Say this every year, get close to it, then pack it back on come winter. Something about the cold that makes me crave Crunch Bars…
3. Find a new job: Rather than spend 80% of my workday doing non-work related things (mostly because they give me work that a blind monkey with 3 fingers can do), I’d like to actually join a team that makes me feel like I’m doing something that matters. Oh and being around educated and English-speaking people is also a plus.
4. 700 on GMATs: Probably unatainable seeing as I am horrid at these kinds of exams, but one can dream.
5. Break Par: It’s been a while since I was able to shoot under-par on a consistent basis. Prob stopped the moment I left California, which brings me to my next resolution…
6. Move back to CA: I’ve been out in NYC for 6+ years now. I think I’ve seen what I needed to see, done what I needed to do. I’m ready for some consistency in my life and my liver could use a brief hiatus. (sidenote: In any given year on the east coast, temperatures can range from 0 to 100 degrees. In SoCal, you never see a fluxuation greater than 50 degrees…just saying)
7. Create an hour mix: Now that I think I’ve got the basics down of DJ’ing, I think it’s time for me to make a top40/hip hop/r&b/pop mix. Better start booking me for parties after this! (again…dreams)
8. Visit the Motherland: Never been to Korea. Sad, I know. Think it’s time for me to finally see what all the hype is about. My friends always tell me that it’s awesome out there. When I ask what they do when they visit, they say they can’t really remember because they were smashed 80% of the time there (apparently soju is cheaper than water…score).
I’m sure I ran a few more resolutions through the old hard-drive, but I can’t really recall them at this moment. Ideally I’d like to get these done by 2011. Realistically, these still might be my resolutions in 2020 when I’m fat, unhappily employed, terrible at golf, uncultured, unmotivated…you get the point.
This was taken off the Gizmodo website review of the iPad. I think they meant to put “Portability.” Then again, who knows….cheeky.
