Monthly Archives: November 2004

Life, Reloaded

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Sitting on my ass in the snow is theraputic. I can feel the snow hitting the back of my jacket, and as I peer over the rims of my goggles I see the mountain dive into the village below, surrendering to gravity, pressure and time.

I hear the wind, metal and fiberglass on ice, creaks of the lift and trees groaning as they grip the earth with their wooden hands. I see children with their parents, lovers, married couples, grandpas and grandmas, all dressed up — puffy versions of who they really are.

And in my frozen state the rest of the world is actually melting away in its own light. I stand up, twist, and shoot down the mountain.

Problems slowly condense in my mind and slide out. With each cut in the snow my knees weaken but my heart beats faster, my face pulses harder, and I find a little bit of myself with each pass. I look up the hill, I see Kelly, Kai, Kimo, Mom, and I pretend for a little while like this is everyday. This is every time.

It felt like home, for a little while.

Friday Night Fights at the Palace

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Ron Artest will be the first one to tell you that nothing was his fault. Ben Wallace overreacted, he’ll say. Big Ben didn’t like that he was down by 15 with 45 seconds left and took it the wrong way.

The fans, then, right? They shouldn’t be punching the 6’8″ black man trying to attack a fan. They shouldn’t throw food or drinks in disgust of the visiting team’s tirade into the stands. Or maybe that one white guy shouldn’t be throwing a beer onto Artest as he acts like a smartass by sprawling out on the scorer’s table during a scuffle he was basically responsible for starting.

After watching what is probably the biggest brawl in NBA history, I think to myself – who caused it? Having watched the whole thing, I think it’s very simple.

When you’re up by 15, and a guy gets an open dunk, there is no reason to intentionally foul him from behind. Ben Wallace knows this. Ron Artest knows this. The fans knew this. That was bullshit, and everyone knows it. The ensuing fight was quelled, everyone was calm, all is well, right?

Wrong. I do not know what prompted Artest to lay down on the scorer’s table. In a way it’s him flicking off the fans, Detroit, the officials, etc. He basically started it. It’s like the kid hiding in the bushes as he laughs and watches the house he lit on fire burn down. Hell yeah he deserves to get his ass whooped.

What is tragic here is the embodiment of an eye-for-an-eye on national TV. Beer thrown + Fan = Right to assault someone. Is that fair? In the heat of the moment that is how they all justified themselves. It is just wrong.

And I have to listen to assholes like Tim Legler saying it was the fan’s fault. Yea – maybe the fans were out of line – but you have to remember Artest, man. This guy left his team to go make a rap album, he led the league in flagrant fouls last year and will probably lead it this year. The guy is a dirty player and on top of that he doesn’t care about his own team.

Ben Wallace? He has big hair. And that’s not even a bad thing. The guy is a nice guy, real humble, youngest kid in his household of 8, raised by his mama and had no father. Does he get upset when someone like Ron Artest comes into his house and fouls him on purpose with a 15 point lead and 45 seconds left? I sure as hell would.

In the end, the league will survive, life will go on, people will forget. I hope people don’t get all terror-crazed at NBA arenas because of an isolated incedent. Soon we’ll see barbed wire between players and fans.

Artest will probably get a slap on the wrist, but he should really be banned from the league.

Monday Night Hypocrisy

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Janet Jackson could tell you that the majority of the TV-viewing public is a little sensitive. Give them an excuse to cry about something and it’ll cost you a good 500 large.

The FCC and other Christian coalitions across the globe have been saving America’s youth for some time now. We owe them everything. Thanks to them, tonight’s viewing audience will see no nudity and only hear censored language.

Meanwhile, vanity, fear, greed, dishonesty, violence, hatred, racism, sexism, any other -ism — it is all out in the open on MTV and the WB. Teen pregnancy, sex in high school, hate crimes, terrorist threats, eating disorders. All available in vivid HDTV and Surround Sound.

In the spotlight, our youth are slowly being poisoned by many things heavier than language or sexuality. They are weighed down by negligent or – even worse – oppressive parents. They are told what to watch, hear, think, believe.

Are we raising a generation of free thinkers? Does hiding the breast of an african american woman really have any effect? No. It really doesn’t.

TO’s skit on Monday Night Football doesn’t really amount to much either. How about stop focusing so much on sports and TV bullshit and start paying more attention to bigger things?

Like, say – the presidency would be a good place to start. How about the overabundance of bigotry, ignorance and apathy that courses through the veins of the red states? How about civil rights, economic well-being, diplomacy, peace or justice?

Some of the good thoughts are really the bad ones, and the bad ones? Well – they are just bleeped out.