Are you Watching The Throne?

iLive

Go to YouTube and search for any recent concert and you’ll notice two things: the awful sound quality and how the crowd looks like a heard of lighting bugs.  Cell phones light up the arena not in your typical fashion (think Woodstock), but to record everything on stage.  Last Summer I tried to do this at a 4^th of July concert in Philly.  The Roots were playing one of my favorite songs from the Things Fall Apart album and I wanted to get a video of it.  I grabbed the phone, held it up and pressed record.  After only 10 seconds, things fell apart.

Kim Kardashian... marriage counselor.

Lessons Learned

I am looking forward to becoming a parent one day.  I plan on being a good father that’s engaged in my children’s lives.  I have my father to thank for this.  The irony is, I haven’t seen my father in nearly 25 years.  His absence and mistakes taught me what not to do when I become a dad.  When Kim Kardashian divorced Kris Humphries after only 72 days, I’ll admit, I laughed along with everyone else.  Its no coincidence that this season of Kourtney and Kim take New York have record high ratings but while most want to see a sinking ship, I’m trying to get educated.  A marriage that ends faster than a season of Dexter will provide you with enough “do not’s” to fill up a notepad.

The Beginning...

Resolutions

It’s a new year and you know what that means, resolution time!  I’ve never been a fan of New Year’s Resolutions because they end up being a series of empty promises.  Add that to the fact that most resolutions are boring (eat less, exercise more, blah, blah), and they just don’t excite me.  But this year will be different.  This year my resolution will be to create a list of resolutions.  Instead of the predictable - often selfish goals - let’s look outward and see what we can do in 2012 to change someone else’s life.  If you have $100, I have some ideas:

Good-bye 2011, you were amazing #Lineup

The Lineup: December ‘11

#EpicFail: Government.  No one thing was clearer to me this year than the disgust that people have had with government.  In the Middle East, we saw several revolutions that directly led to three dictators being ousted from their thrones.  Even stateside, we saw our fair share of protesting.  Whether it was the Tea Party or Occupy [Enter City Here], Americans were simply unhappy with the people that run our country.  Despite me being an avid Obama supporter, I too am disappointed with my government.  Shame on the Republicans for holding this country hostage and prolonging the economic crisis for the sole purpose of setting the table for the 2012 election and shame on you, President Obama, for allowing their antics to be paraded around as democracy.

(Related: Kim Jong-Il died this month. Not a great year for dictators.)

Okay you've eaten, now Line up!

The Lineup: November ‘11

What I can’t live without: Nostalgia.  Earlier this month, I along with my mentee and her family, visited my Alma Mater.  My mentee is applying there and she went for a visit.  Aside from reconnecting with old friends, seeing my University through her eyes really allowed me to re-live those years.  Those four years were special and it made me fall in love with those memories all over again.  The only thing that would make things better would be for her to get an acceptance letter. J #GoWC

(Related: A great conversation that I had with some fellow alums over Thanksgiving break.)
(Related: Thanksgiving dinner... yummm!)

My car broke down!

99%

The other day I was running some errands and was on my way to get a haircut when I found myself having to parallel park on a busy street.  As I pulled up, I noticed that the light behind me had turned green and in a few short seconds cars would be flying by and a) I didn’t feel like waiting for all these cars to pass and b) I didn’t feel like having one of those cars clip me trying to pass.  So like dozens of times before, I cut the wheel fast and surgically snaked my car into that spot.  As I was getting ready to get out of the car, I noticed smoke coming from the hood and seeping through the vents.

Landon Pigg knows what he's talking about

Coffee Shops

As I write this, I’m sitting at a Cosi.  For those that’s never been there, its like a combination of Starbucks and Panera Bread where you can get everything from a latte to a flatbread pizza.  It’s definitely a destination spot with comfortable chairs, warm color schemes and of course, free WiFi.  The good folks at Cosi expect you to purchase a few things and then spend a few hours taking care of whatever business that you want.  Usually around this time, if I’m not eating, I’m watching television or playing Playstation.  Spending a few hours at Cosi is definitely not on my short list of things to do; yet I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.  Why?