Anti-Charity Part 1

Being home from college, I get to have a week now to relax and catch up on things I usually miss at school. This includes family, friends, tv, and radio, which somehow I haven't figured out a way to listen to at school. I actually do get to watch tv at school, but some channels at home are different then at school, so I get to see HBO, Starz, YES, MTV2, whatever else. Anyway, YES has Mike and the MadDog, which I realized today will probably be the best sports radio broadcast I will ever get to watch. Unfortunately, one of the sponsers for YES is the Christian's Children Network. I think it's a noble cause and all, but the commercial for it is one of the most ridiculous things Ive seen on tv. It's aggravating to watch because of all the damn assumptions the guy in charge of the network makes. Here are the parts that make me angry.
1. "I'm sure you've put donating on a nice to-do list and stored it away somewhere." - What to-do list is he talking about. I find that charity is either spontaneous, like putting change into the trays at Wawa or 7-11, or its something planned for a while, like a gala dinner. He should not be sure its on any to-do list, for the fact most to-do lists have things like take out trash, pick up laundry, pick up groceries.
2. "It's not the 80 cents a day thats making you not call, is it?" - He's trying to guilt the viewer into donating. 80 cents a day over the course of a long time comes out to a lot of money, so those who do donate do so because they can afford to do it and because they want to.
3. "It's not like you'll feel bad afterwards doing it too." - You won't feel bad about doing it at all, but you won't feel bad about making a conscious decision on what you want to do too. You won't feel bad after doing a lot of things, so you dont need to donate money just to see gratification.
4. "You're not doing anything now, so why not now?" - Yes I am. I'm eating lunch, I'm reading a book, I'm trying to sleep. How does he know that I'm not doing anything now, its a dumb remark.
5. "You know what I think? I think its just because you forgot the number." - The numbers on the screen of the bottom of the commercial the entire time! If I wanted to donate, I'd write it down once I saw it. Stop assuming!
Anyway, don't take this as me being a jerk. I like charity and freely donate, but under different conditions. The commercial would work if it showed a poor kid in Africa, said it needs your help, and gives you a number to call. Done. I dont think a fat guy with a big white beard should tell me what I think and want to do, especially if he wants my help. Thanks for reading, thats how I roll.

People in sports who ruined my childhood

My favorite sports teams are the Mets, Jets, Knicks, and Rangers. So in the nineteen years I have been alive, my teams have won a total of 2 titles. One occured when I was eight months old with the Mets, and one when I was 8 years old with the Rangers. Since then, nothing. The Mets look good every spring training, but over the course of the season they find new ways every game to fall through. The Jets are moving in the right direction, but we need one more big name player, plus New Englands always a constant threat. Stupid Bellicheck, he should be coaching the Jets for several years right now, not one afternoon! The Knicks need a few years to rebuild, then come back. Isaih just needs to take it easy with all the trades. NYC wasnt particulary demanding Malik Rose and Maurice Taylor. Rangers are undefeated :). So are every other team in hockey though, so that can't be looked at too seriously though! So without further ado, here are the people in sports who ruined my sports childhood.

1 - Reggie Miller - He must go to #1, he almost made me cry! The Knicks were up by 6 in Game 1 of the 95 Eastern Conference finals with 18 secs left. Reggie scores 8 points! If it weren't for him and the Pacers, we would have gotten into the finals the two years my next target wasnt playing.
2-Michael Jordan - He was so good for so long, and in the East. The Knicks constantly got crushed by him, he scored 63 against us with the flu! I appreciate his greatness, but he without a doubt ruined many Knicks seasons.
3 - Dan Marino - Like Ray Finkle's mom said in Ace Ventura, "Dan Marino should die of gohnnorea." He constantly beat up on the J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS. I will never forget the time he decided to do the fake kneel and scored a touchdown against the Jets. After that season we went 3-13, then 1-15! Well he never won a super bowl either, so there.
4 - George Steinbrenner - I can't get over how much he spends on the Yankees. Every free agent that comes along the Yankees make a run at because he has a wallet the size of Indonesia. Imagine watching the other team from your favorite city sign all the free agents you want. Here's hoping Beltran helps stick it to him with the Mets this year.
5 - Leo Mazzone/Bobby Cox - The Atlanta Braves have won 11 straight NL East titles. 11! What the hell, thy can't spare one. You look at their rotation from the past decade, they have had Smoltz, Glavine, Maddux, Hampton, Hudson, and Ortiz. Every year they get better, I just cant wait for the year it all comes crashing down. I will so be doing the tomahawk chop to spite them!
6 - Martin Brodeur - Just for hockeys sake. The Rangers win in 94, the Devils win in 95, 99, and a couple years after that. He represents the team as a whole, therefore he represents why the Rangers are going to take another 54 years to reach the promised land.
Thanks for reading - thats how I roll!

First One

Cool, my first blog. I will work everything out in top ten lists because I find they're the most fun to read and easiest to get through, since everyone has some sort of ADD nowadays. Lets get to it. Topics will cover sports, entertainment, and my life.
1. The Jets traded Santana Moss to the Redskins for Laverneus Coles. I think its a good trade on the basis that Coles is a true #1 reciever when we had him the first time. Moss is speedy and did a great job for us, but I think Coles was Penningtons favorite and if Chad's happy we win games.
2. It was a major treat that the Mets played their first spring training day on my birthday, but bring on the regular season already. Pitchers only play three innings, minor leaguers are in the field, and batters have one at bat before sitting out. No need to televise these games!
3. The new Burger King commercial with Hootie is one of the saddest things I have ever seen in my life. The song sounds like it was written on a cocktail napkin, and the only thought going through people's heads as they watch it is "Poor Hootie, someone should buy his albums again."
4. The Oscars made some good choices for their awards, but I was kind of mad about the best song category. First off Mick Jagger should have been nominated, secondly I'm glad the song that won was the one that Beyonce wasnt singing, thirdly I still vote for the Counting Crows, so there.
5. If the Oscars taught us anything, its that Destinys Child needs to break up. Beyonce wants to be a solo star, so let her be one. We need new music, and if it has to come with her, so be it.
6. Arrested Development was in trouble. Then it won the emmys and golden globes, and everyone supported it, and it was back on track. Now I think its cooled off, and its in trouble again. I love the show, the first season dvd was great, but I hope the show gets to last at least 3 seasons before some CEO decides to end it.
7. TLC was a terrible group. They had one good song in waterfalls, and maybe another in unpretty, but thats it. They should quit now and be quiet for the next few years until either a reunion tour with a new member or something like that. Enjoy your money, stop trying to come back!
8. The biggest band today has to be U2. You can't compare their story to any other bands today, and they still constantly put out good albums. The only band I see that might reach them is Green Day, Dave Matthews Band, or Foo Fighters.
9. I went today to a Henna tattoo place in Brick, NJ. It was like that scene in Garden State where the three of them went into the infinite abyss and met a really nice family. It was on a random street, it seemed shady, but the people were nice and it was one of the funniest siuations I have ever been in.
10. Poor Tommy Lee Jones. Man of the House was better the first time with JTT and Chevy Chase. This movie looks like it was made in a matter of minutes. When the second biggest star in your film is Cedric the Entertainer, your movie is doomed from the start.
This was fun to do, hope you all enjoyed reading it. Please send me more ideas of what you want me to write about.
Thanks for reading - thats how I roll.