Real Simple Magazine

In the spirit of the site's name, I write about another completely random subject. While urinating at home today, my glance settled upon the stack of magazines that sit atop my toilet. Place squarely on the top was the latest issue of Real Simple magazine. The layout so crisp, clean, and organized was striking in it's contrast to the myriad of magazines that shout obnoxiously to the onlookers, "pick me up!". The plain white paper stock is a bit thicker than expected, and surprisingly has a matte finish. The font is plain, and the titles more than adequately spaced, while the featured graphics are few and unobstructed. No more aptly had a cover ever conveyed the tone of the material within. Collectively, the effect had an impact on me, and left me asking myself what seemed like an interesting question; "I wonder what percentage of their subscriber-base reads this magazine because they are attempting to achieve the ideal that is represented, and what percentage are drawn to the magazine because they find the idea of such a pursuit quaint?". There is surely a significant divide between these two types of people, and I find this to be an interesting, if unlikely, coalition. If the publishers are out there, I wish they would pull that statistic for me.

Why Has Sean Taylor's Death Resonated So Strongly With Redskins Fans?

On the Taylor thing, here it is. Sean Taylor is the single can't miss player we've ever had. Even back in the glory days, the Skins never had a guy like him. We always had these guys who strung a season together on a few lucky deep bombs to Gary Clark, or Ricky Sanders. On defense, we had some names, but they weren't phenoms, guys who were freaks (a college graduate who can't read but can sniff half of Columbia through his nose doesn't count). Sean Taylor was that for us and more. He was an icon that said, "perhaps we too deserv to have a freak on our team, a guy who shouldn't be able to do what he does". For the first time, we had a guy who inspired awe in men who had been the focus of that same kind of sports-fan awe their entire lives. Now, that is impressive. With Sean there was the hope that no matter how bad things got, we at least had a guy in our defensive backfield who would make a quarterback double-clutch, a receiver double-take, and an opposing crowd wince just before the crash cart was rolled out. I guess Sean Taylor was our ounce of respect in the age of Danny.
Clearly Sean was no angel, but the guy by all accounts was cleaning up his act, and was no dummy. This year he finally really lived up to his potential. He was leading the league in picks, wasn't making any rookie mistakes, and seemed to be the glue that hung the defense together. He went down with a knee injury, but we all knew that was only a temporary bump in the road for our young phenom. But then we all heard the news. He wasn't out at a club, or chasing someone with machete (okay, maybe he was). He was at home, doing his thing, and someone broke in his house and shot him. I think my buddy Justin put it best when he left me a message that day saying, "Someone killed are baby John. They broke in his house and killed our baby." Sean Taylor was our baby. He was our baby in that he represented the hopes and dreams of the franchise. He was all the things we couldn't be, or have during our years as skins fans. Maybe we should listen to all the Christian conservative nut-jobs and get back to our biblical roots. Its been a while since I've seen such a justification for a public stoning. The Danny could even sell it on pay per view. What do you think?


Technorati Tags: Sean Taylor, Professional Athletes, Murder, Redskins, Miami

MLB Steroid Probe Comes to Conclusion

I'd like to point out that the current "steroid probe" is an excellent metaphor for what plagues our society; a chasm that exists between what we say and what we do. What do I mean? I mean the speed limit on most streets hasn't been recognized outside of a blizzard since there were horsedrawn carriages, the bathroom cabinets of nearly every house in suburbia contain marijuana, and the people who landscaped my backyard weren't Mexican...they were Guatemalan. What I'm saying is that things have gotten out of hand here. Print me 10,000 t-shirts with bright red text shouting "Athletes on Steroids Are Better". Don't worry, this business won't be a flash in the pan. I'll follow it up with "Hank Aaron was on speed - Asterisk".


Technorati Tags: MLB, Steroid, Baseball, Probe, Black Market

Sonny Lubick is Fired

I was asked the question, "How did Sonny Lubick get fired" from friends who live outside of Colorado. My response:
You know sports fans. They eat their young. Seriously. I realized it in it's sheer brutality when playing soccer this summer on an adjacent field to a football practice. We're talking about 10 year old kids, all jacked up on deer's blood smackin' the tears out of each other while their fathers shout expletives at them. Now, apply that lizard-brain behavior to Colorado State's coaching situation. You think the thought, "Before Lubick I didn't even know CSU had a football team...maybe we still have a good thing here," ever crossed the great divide between their shrunken lobes? I think not. And so now they'll embrace coach Fairchild, as an alumn with NFL pedigree, who they forget is known for inventing the "I run the draw on every 3'rd and long play" strategy. The water will quickly chill for Lubick's replacement who is simply a vehicle for creating the nostalgia and legend of the eminent coach. 'Tis the way of the world my friend.


Technorati Tags: Sonny Lubick, Fired, Steve Fairchild, Colorado State, Football