Guest Posts, HTBASF, Sportz, The GBROAT

How To Be A Sports Fan: Lesson 3

Alas! I have made my return to the GBOAT. I am making my contribution to the “How To Be a Sports Fan” series based on years of experience and observation. Also, as a shameless plug, I am undertaking a once-a-week, year long blogging endeavor over at my blog, The Ramblings of a Wayward Son. – Chandler

I have been around sports for years. I’m 28 now, and I remember waaaaaaay back when as a little kid playing T-Ball. I don’t know when that was, but it was a long time ago. I was never good at sports, but I have played, and probably more importantly, watched them for years. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all of these years, it’s this:

In order to be a sports fan, you must overreact to everything.

This manifests itself in many different ways. Fans do it, announcers do it, and talking heads do it. And then after you overreact to everything, you have to get mad at ESPN for creating a culture in which we overreact to everything, essentially absolving yourself of any and all blame.

Make sense? No? Good. Let’s look at it more specifically. Continue reading “How To Be A Sports Fan: Lesson 3”

Guest Posts, Real Talk, The GBROAT

Waiting on a Hurricane

Waiting on a hurricane is a weird thing.

There’s this big, slow moving, dark cloud hanging over you. The wind is blowing, the air feels…well…for lack of a better word, weird, and your pets are going nuts. They can sense something isn’t quite right.

You keep hearing stories farther south of wind, rain, and the storm surge.

You check the weather, then the list of school closings, then the weather again, then school closings again, then…well, you get the idea. And the whole time you’re hoping the news will have been updated in the last 30 seconds.

It’s like a nightmare you just can’t wake up from. All you can do is wait. Continue reading “Waiting on a Hurricane”

Guest Posts, Muzak

Musical Guilty Pleasures – Guest Post by Jason Bruce

Today’s post comes from my close friend Jason Bruce. Jason makes music for a living, and is now only the third “real life” friend I’ve had who has written something for me. Amongst the things Jason enjoys: Cracked.com, Dr. Pepper with NO ice in it, and passing out on my couch every Sunday afternoon.

Enjoy Jason’s words on guilty pleasures, then be sure to check out his Musical Facebook page here and also follow Jason Bruce Music on Twitter.

We’ve all got things we enjoy that we’re absolutely positive that no one else even remotely cares for. In the privacy and comfort of our own home, we engage these things, whether they be music, TV shows, films, books, food, hobbies, weird habits. We feel the rush of dopamine to our brain. We sit and revel in the sheer, child-like pleasure and gratification that we receive, which is quickly followed with the sobering thought of, “Yeah, I’m not gonna tell anyone about this.”

I’m just gonna throw this out there. I love Rihanna (67 out of 100 average career score, according to Metacritic). I have all of her albums. Katy Perry (49)? Love her. Flo Rida(59)? I play his stuff all the time when I DJ parties. “Domino” by Jessie J (51) is an incredible pop song, with it’s disco beat and Earth, Wind, and Fire chord changes. My favorite new group: Karmin. Google them. I’ll wait….
…I know, right? The other day, I had the sugary-sweet pop song “Call Me Maybe” by Justin Beiber (62) protege Carly Rae Jepsen (ironically, a 4 out of 5 rating on iTunes)stuck in my head, and instead of attempting to wash it out with some Andrew Bird or Editors, I proceeded to quietly sing it to myself ALL DAY.

Continue reading “Musical Guilty Pleasures – Guest Post by Jason Bruce”

The GBROAT

Cinco de Mayo – Not Your Holiday

Today is May the fourth, National Star Wars Day. I would like to extend the traditional National Star Wars Day greeting to everyone reading this: May the Fourth be with you!

Sadly, though, National Star Wars Day is not the biggest holiday people ’round these parts celebrate. The day after National Star Wars Day is May 5th. May 5th, better known to our Spanish speaking friends as Cinco de Mayo.

Maybe you’re reading this in Canada. Maybe you’re reading this somewhere up north of the Mason-Dixon Line, or maybe you’re reading this a little closer to me, in the Dirty Dirty. But you are undoubtedly preparing for Cinco de Mayo.

But before you get too excited, before you get too into it, please remember one thing:

Cinco de Mayo is not your holiday.

Continue reading “Cinco de Mayo – Not Your Holiday”

Guest Posts

Mr. Heinlein’s Lunch – Guest Post by Randomly Chad

Today, The GBOAT is welcoming Chad Jones, of Randomly Chad. Chad is a husband, father, and occasionally admits to working in IT, so be sure to ask him all of your technology questions now. Sometimes, Chad is goofy, whereas sometimes (like this post yesterday, or this one on introversion) Chad is serious.

Be sure to visit Chad’s site, follow him on Twitter, and also thank him for popping in at The GBOAT today.

The late Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) is known as one grandmasters of the golden era of Science Fiction (he is usually mentioned alongside Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke). His contributions to the field, his soaring imagination, and his obsession with sex in his later years are undisputed (Don’t believe me? Pick up To Sail Beyond the Sunset–which begins with a gynecological exam. Better yet, don’t pick it up–you’ll thank me).

Among Heinlein’s groundbreaking works, are: Continue reading “Mr. Heinlein’s Lunch – Guest Post by Randomly Chad”

Is This Thing On?

Will You Be My Friend?

“If you can poke a friend on Facebook, you can poke a friend in real life.”

That’s my motto.

This idea stems from a universal rule, which simply states that if it can be done in the realm of Facebook, Twitter, and the Blogosphere, it should be done in real life as well. Instead of wasting all that valuable time trying to distinguish the lines between social media and real life, I’ve come up with a much simpler solution: completely blur whatever lines already exist.

Is there really any need to spend so much frivolous time worrying about which dimension of reality you’re in? I mean, if Google is going to turn me into a cyborg in the near future anyways, I might as well just embrace the fact that life is about to get real weird, and start easing myself into a lifestyle that resembles the next sci-fi flick starring the Governator.

Dear Google: Consider THIS as a possible prototype. You're welcome.

So as we look into the future of completely blending our internet lives with our real lives, here are some tips on how you can treat all of your friends – whether on Facebook, Twitter, or in person – exactly the same: Continue reading “Will You Be My Friend?”