Looking for the worst: Don't be so judgmental

Mila Kunis/Celebuzz.com

Is it wrong to wonder why we lost all respect for each other? I'm not really saying you and me...although I guess theoretically I could be.

No, my question is more along the lines of why everyone is so angry and quick to criticize and more importantly, so damn quick to judge?

I was thinking about this after watching the Oscar's last night with TLB (The Lovely Bride) in part because of something she brought up. Here we were, sitting on the couch, watching the Pre-Game show (Red Carpet show) before eating dinner and I asked a question. "Why is this all about the fashion?". Her answer "It's the only thing that really counts".

My question is why? Is it that important to line up people to criticize and harangue these multi-millionaire actors and actresses for how they dress for an event? Or for that matter, who are we to judge them for it? And yet we do. I mean, heck, look it the long list of "Experts" who chime in and grade the actresses for what they are wearing. Is that what we've become?

((In the photo--Apparently the dress on Mila Kunis here, was judged a "B-Minus"---what the hell does that mean?))

There are tons of other examples of this. Heck, I experience it at work almost every day. Yeah, sure, I'm a journalist and writer and I get paid to write. But I don't claim to be perfect. I may strive to be perfect, but I'm not.

Writing Class/Courtesy: this.org

And yet the criticism is not only fast, it's nasty. You'd be amazed at the comments we get on my stations website ((www.wcpo.com)). "Who the hell taught you how to write?" "Are you on crack, hell I can do better than you""Are you all 3rd graders with no English skills" "You can't even write a clear freaking sentence".

Hell, when did the people who take the time to comment on websites become the grammar police? And if they are so great at it? Why aren't they professional writers?

But you can't say anything to them. You want to, but you can't. And quite honestly, it's the tone more than anything else that pisses me off. It's okay to point out a mistake, I have no problem with that. Just don't be so damn nasty about it and act like you've never made one. It's the same with the clothing critics...if you know so damn much then why aren't you the greatest designer that ever lived? Until you are..."Shut the fuck up!".

Sorry about the language.

I don't know. Heck, I have no problem admitting that I'm a cynic. But I don't judge everyone else either.

Here's another example. I'm reading a story about the NFL Scouting combine. Oh my GOD! Mark Ingram ran a 4.65 40-yard dash. According to the writers there (and there are way to freakin' many of them), he just killed his draft stock in the NFL.

Mark Ingram at combine/Courtesy: nba.msg.com

Really? How do you figure? One, the kid hasn't played a game yet. Two, how often in a football game is he going to be running 40-yards in a straight line in track shoes and dry-fit clothes on?

Let the kid play football. We'll see.

If you read all the story's from the Todd McShay's and Scout.com's and NFL Network guys, you'd think the only way to judge a football player is by measuring every part of his body, asking him a bunch of bizarre questions to see how he'll respond (the Wonderlic test) and then have him run the 40.

Come on guys, you can't measure heart. You can't put a metric on how bad someone wants to be successful. If you go by the Combine results as the all-mighty, then every 1st Round Draft pick would be the greatest to ever play the game. That folks, ain't happening.

I'm asking a question here, and really, I know it's rhetorical. But when did we become so damn mean? When did we become a nation of back seat quarterbacks? When did those of us who've never done anything, proclaim ourselves "Experts" who can rip and destroy someone who's attempting to do something? I'm all for the "1st Amendment" and "Freedom of Speech", I mean I'm a frickin' Journalist, I live by it.

Sure, when I write a story on the OnlineSportsGuys.com blog, I express my opinion about things. But its just my opinion. And I always put facts or an explainer in there as to why I am saying it, I've worked in and around Sports for well over 20-years, I'm qualified to offer that opinion. If you can give me a good, rational, logical explanation as to why you are judging someone, insulting someone or criticizing someone, you have every right to do it. Just don't hide behind your frickin' computer, be a douchebag and not be willing to back up anything that you say.

There...I feel better now.

If it will make you feel any better, I found this old Santana song from the early 80's...enjoy it:

Beerfest: A sellout crowd and great diversion

Cincinnati Beerfest/Courtesy: Me

Sometimes the right thing comes up at the right time to take your mind off the other things you are dealing with at the current time. I really needed it this past weekend.

Last weekend, the second weekend in February, was one of those weekends. The Lovely Bride and I didn't do a ton, but we went to one event we'd been looking forward to. Beerfest.

Honestly, the event wasn't the all-out party that you'd think it was. It was the 4th Annual Cincinnati Beerfest, a celebration of the Craft Beer movement.

Most of you reading this are friends of mine and you all know how much of a fan we've become. Look at it like being a wine connoisseur.

I might add at this point, the picture isn't deceiving, the place was absolutely packed. The crowd was estimated at around 6,000. I can't argue with that. And yeah, there was a percentage of them that were there to just get drunk. But, at $30 a head, most were there to try new and exciting flavors of beer.

The Lovely Bride Enjoys/Courtesy: Me

And there were plenty of them. The popular favorites, Dogfish Head, Stone, Rogue, Left Hand, Sierra Nevada and a whole lot more. There also were some smaller breweries that had some pretty good stuff too. I've already found a couple of good local Microbrewers here, Rivertown and Mt.Carmel, this night I found a new one, Elevator Brewing from Columbus, Ohio.

We didn't spend an inordinate amount of time at the event, a couple of hours. And yes, before you ask, I stopped sampling after the 1st hour and nursed a bottle of water the rest of the night. But we had a great time.

Me at Beerfest/Courtesy: TLB

We spent a good 20 minutes just waiting to get in. The reason. The line. General admission ticket holders couldn't get in until 7:30 or an hour after those who paid $60. We were armed though. Armed with a 4 oz. tasting glass and 25 drink tickets, we were good to go.

We started out at the first booth we saw, Dogfish Head. We thought they had a Palo Santo Marrano, but they didn't so we ended up with an India Brown IPA.

We worked the room, Elevator's Porter, a Bell's Stout, Founder's version of an Ale, Left Hand's Milk Stout...all great beers. (If you are wondering, I love me some Stout beer...and some Porters) The other kind of funny thing, each table had, along with their beers, a container of water to wash out your tasting glass with before the pour.

I wonder sometimes if we've just picked up an odd habit or we are onto something. Proof, really is in the pudding. Over the past year, sales of Budweiser and Miller Products are down some 12-percent, while craft beers continue to gain market share. Yeah, I've had my fair share of their products, and didn't think anything about it at the time.

Maybe it's just age. Maybe it's just selectivity, I don't know. I don't really drink to get drunk anymore, I don't need to. I drink beers because I enjoy them. Because I've discovered there are an incredible amount of creatively crafted versions of beer. No, I don't like them all, but there are so many of them, it will take a long, long time before I repeat myself.

Next time you find yourself in a restaurant or bar, go ahead, try something different. Try something that's not the same thing you've tried over and over again, you might come to realize what we have....there's a whole new world out there.

This is what passed for fancy beer when I was a kid...or at least a clip. Enjoy some Bob and Doug McKenzie : (yes, they pre-date "spuds")

How do you say thanks?

Young Daisy/Courtesy: Me

This is something I never really contemplated writing about, but if I don't do it now, I don't know if I will. It's more a rhetorical question than anything else, but one of those things that when you get to the point where you are thinking about it, you want to know how to do it?

It's not something I've had to do on the level that I am about to. I've had relatives pass away, we've had to put down family dogs before and TLB and I had to say goodbye to her 1st cat, Simon on New Years Eve day a couple of years ago. Heck, when I was 16, my father had to go put down a German Shepard pup (Sam) that we had because she had mental issues when I wasn't around. 

That being said, Daisy is different. Daisy the Wonder Dog came into my life as a pup. My sister had adopted her from a pet rescue and tried raising her along with my niece, Jordan. It was too much for her.

When I moved to Atlanta in 1999, Daisy and I spent time together and bonded. At that point, she had ended up with my parents, who lived there at the time. They already had a Golden Retriever, Hallie.

Fast forward to March of 2000 and I'm getting ready to buy a Townhouse when I asked. "If you'd like, I'd be glad to take Daisy in". "She'll have some room in the Townhouse". They said yes.

Sure, she was still pretty destructive when I got her. She ate a pair of my sneakers, a baseball glove and a part of the window sill along with any piece of wood or leather she could find. But she grew out of it. And we bonded. She was brought up right, Crate Training, healthy eating and exercise.

We were inseparable. Sure, I had to leave her with my parents to dog sit when I was traveling for work, which I frequently did in those days. Daze would sit at the window of their house and cry when I left. And come tackle me at a full sprint when I came to pick her up. Always.

It was the greeting when I came home that I'll always remember. It didn't matter if I was gone an hour...or 8 of them, she went crazy when I came home. She was there, smiling, with not 1, but 2 tennis balls in her mouth. And she would proceed to run laps around the couch before pouncing on me.

And then there was the "Moment of Zen". Truth be told, my best friend came up with that. Since Jon and  I talk most everyday, most of our conversations were while I was on my way home. And quite often, it would be as I got home to Daze. You had to hear the Zen to understand it. It really sounds like she's saying "Hello" if you listen. It's just really funny to hear it from a dog.

It's the little things you remember the most. When I would stretch out on the couch, she was right there at my feet. If I went in the office to do work, she had to be underneath the desk. Even at night, she had a bed next to mine, she was there when I went to sleep, she was there when I woke up. When she was young, it would involve her paws and face on the bed trying to wake me up, as she got older, it was just sitting there waiting to be pet.

We had some adventures. I took her with me to Panama City on a Scuba Trip in 2004. She was great in the hotel...except when she saw a squirrel near the tree on the other side of the parking lot. She treed it. Couldn't have been prouder. Much later, she would go with us to visit my parents after they moved to Wilmington, North Carolina. We had a crazy trip to Michelle's hometown Lafayette, Lousiana in 2007. Just me and the dog, driving 9 hours in a non-stop rain that ended as severe thunderstorms. But she was always there. And as long as I was there too, she was happy. She even came with me to the 1st ever WGCL Fantasy Football draft in the old Channel 46 shack on Briarcliffe Road. She just hung out, visited and got spoiled, by everyone there.

There is a saying that "The world is their playpen". That's the Wonder Dog in a nutshell. She had a "Stupid Pet Trick", and it made everyone who saw it, laugh.



I think the toughest adjustment that she's had to make, much like Michelle and I, was moving up north. The house we rented when we moved up here was a challenge for her, never mind us. But, it had a backyard, something she had never had. However, the first time I tried to let her out the back door onto the back deck leading to the yard, she just stopped. Stopped and stared "What? You're not coming with me?". I did. But the house was rough on her. Cold. Un-insulated, the winter was rough.

It got worse. She developed allergy issues. Bad allergy issues. We got a cat. Being the friendly dog that she was, she accepted him. And she just rolled with it, like she always does.

It's been really tough this winter. Even more so than last. Last year it snowed. A good amount. And she enjoyed it. She always liked the snow, the once or twice that it snowed in Atlanta, she'd run around like it was a new toy. But this winter has been too much. It's snowed. It's iced. A lot. Even more than the precip, is the cold. It's been horribly cold this winter. It's been tough on me, I can't imagine how hard it's been for her. But she's tried.

It started getting bad a couple of months ago. She was chewing the top part of her legs raw. She was shedding in clumps. But she never complained. Never wavered. We found out in September that she had Thyroid issues. I was giving her pills twice a day and rubbing solution on her legs to keep her from chewing. About...I guess a month ago, she started slowing down. I'm not sure if it was even noticeable then. She didn't greet me at the door with the two-tennis balls in her mouth, she didn't give me...or Michelle the "Moment of Zen". She just kind of wagged her tail, smiled and laid down.

It's been worse the past few weeks. She was spending most of her time in her orthopedic bed, next to where I sleep. She'd get up to eat, but that was about it. Last week, we realized where we were. I took her out to go to the bathroom on a cold, snowy morning. She went, but then laid down in the grass and just stayed there. I picked her up and carried her back to the apartment and we went to the doctor.

He gave her some pills and we did an x-ray and saw something not right. Her heart isn't right. By heart I mean the organ that pumps the blood. Her heart, that was and has always been right.

I struggle with this part, not because I'm sad, but because I want to do what's right. More than anything I don't want her to suffer and I don't want her to be miserable. I owe her that. I don't look back and I'm not going to be upset.

How do you thank a dog for doing what all good dogs do? How do you thank an animal for being your best friend for all these years? How do you thank her for listening to all your problems and always just being happy that you are there and sharing? I don't know if even something like this can do it justice. But I refuse to think anything else.

((Note--We are going to see the Oncologist today 2/9/11 at 4:30pm. My regular vet today said Daisy doesn't have much time left. Michelle and I know this. We are okay with this. We just want to know for sure.))

((2nd Update--Don't know if anyone else is reading this so far after its written, but we had to put Daisy down on Sunday. It wasn't good. She was really struggling and we couldn't bear seeing her like that. Especially since we knew it wasn't going to get better. Honestly, I couldn't really talk much about this until now. I'm still getting used to her not being there when I get up in the morning. The apartment is really quiet. Too quiet, which honestly, is the hardest thing to deal with))

Betcha' Didn't Know....Radio, radio

The college roomies at my wedding/Courtesy: ???

How many of you know that I did a stint as a radio DJ? Probably a few of you do. Ross, Big Tom, my family and a few others...but not many. Yes, believe it or not, for a few months, many years ago, I was a DJ at WVGS, the student run radio station at Georgia Southern.

There were a few reasons that I did it, despite the fact that I'm incredibly self-conscious about having way-too deep of a voice.

It was during my summer off in I guess it was 1984 or 1985 when I got interested in maybe going the radio route. I spent that summer as an unpaid intern at what was then Y-106, a top-40 radio station in Orlando. It was a lot of fun, despite starting out as the guy who filed records in order. As the summer wore on, they gave me more stuff to do and I ended up working with the promotions department. I got to drive the station custom van to events and bring the giveaway items. You know, the giant party sub, the beer, free stickers--stuff like that. Heck, I even got drafted one time to be a judge at a bikini contest at a local hotel (yes, it was fun).

They must have liked what I was doing because at the end of the summer, the Promotions Director (also a DJ), wanted me to stick around and be his Assistant. But...it didn't pay very much ($9,000-a year), so I declined.

That fall, when I returned to Georgia Southern, I decided to see if that was what I wanted to do, so I signed up to be a DJ at the college station. They accepted me and low and behold, I had a show...every Saturday from 10 a.m until 1 p.m, which left me just enough time to get to the football games, which at that time kicked off at 1:30.

Bears/Falcons 2005 (chicago, it was -2)/thanks: hager

It was pretty fun, I called the show "The Saturday Morning Hangover Shift" and learned how to operate the board and everything pretty fast. The challenge....the music. At that time, my music knowledge wasn't that great, limited pretty much to Classic Rock and the stuff I saw on MTV (back when they played videos). WVGS at the time had a pretty good library of records in back, we could pick pretty much anything we wanted out of there, but had to pull at least 70-percent of our music from a bin in the front of the studio.

I had never heard of most of the music in there; REM, Midnight Oil, Squeeze and other 80's alternative music. But I learned...and learned to like a lot of it. One of the fun things was picking artists and tracks that I wasn't familiar with and playing them on the show to see if I liked them.

I did have a few regulars that I played. I loved the Police...I played a lot of their music during the show. My signoff song--"Walking on the Moon". I played David Bowie's "Young American" a lot too. Mostly it was stuff that I had seen on MTV, they played a lot of New Wave music at the time: Devo, Simple Minds...all kinds of stuff.

The other challenge was talking on the mic. Those who knew me when I was in Middle and High School will tell you I was kinda quiet. I was. Really. If I wasn't comfortable with the people or things around me, I didn't talk much.

But I had to talk on the radio at some point. And be engergetic...or at least interesting. One show, on a home football gameday, my replacement was late. So I had to stay on the air until they showed. Each break and in between songs, it was "Hey, I'm still here, but really anxious to get to the game....so and so should be here, well, should've been here 20 minutes ago to take you through the day. If so and so is listening, please hurry.

Me and the Vanderbilt Commodore/Courtesy: Eric Hager

The other was on a day where believe it or not, it snowed in Statesboro, Georgia (45-min. West of Savannah). There was a celebration scheduled for our 1-AA Champioship team that afternoon, the EagleFest. Our program director called me during my show and said "Hey, EagleFest is cancelled, make sure you mention it whenever you can". So I did. Every break. In between songs, coming out of songs...probably 75 times in 3 hours.

Anyway, there really isn't a deep seated meaning in this post, I was just thinking about it the other day. I still have a couple of my airchecks, though they are on cassette. I laugh when I think about it. I really had a lot of fun doing it, but I'm glad I went the route that I did.

I always thought I would be either on the radio, a writer or work in TV. And hey, low and behold, that's exactly what I did. It's not everyone that can say they are REALLY living the dream, but to some extent, I really am. Damn happy about it too.

With that in mind, here's your Police--"Walking on the Moon":