Why Manu Is the Man

All right, after my 2200-word post about the Spurs, I feel a need to write more about them. This one will be about my favorite player in the NBA, Manu Ginobili.

Tim Duncan may be the player I respect most on the team (and the league), and it feels like Tony Parker is my really talented kid brother or something (even though he’s older than me), but Manu…he’s the guy I look up to the most. I want him to succeed so badly because he wants to succeed more than anything else. Everything he does on the court is driven by a pure desire to win…for his team to win. I’d even say his drive is on par with the one and only Michael Jordan.

He has the drive, but he hasn’t been blessed with the genes. He doesn’t have the 6′8″ 274(!) lb frame of Lebron. He doesn’t have the 50-foot vertical of Vince Carter.

You know what? My friends over at PtR (they’re not really my friends) wrote an awesome post about this guy a few months ago, after the Spurs were eliminated by the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. It was inspiring. It brought tears to my eyes. And I’ll quote from it right now:

Shades

Awkwardness comes in many infinite shades,
like pretty faces.
Or homely ones.
Or senses of humor.
Or laughter.

And it’s merely a matter of finding a shade
that catches your eye.
Or mind.
Or taste.
Or touch.

Your awkwardness is what drew me in,
from your hidden corner, valiantly hoping against all hope
that no one will notice your very personal shade.

For now, this is all I need to find enjoyment.
I could see what other wonderful shades you have
later.

Songs of the Day:

Matt Nathanson – “I Saw”
Stars – “My Favourite Book”

Take Off

City
lights
emulate
the night
sky, offering
up glowing
balls of
varying size arranged in systematic
constellations. Meteors with cone-shaped tails travel backwards
in long, predictable two-way paths. As the aeroplane soars higher
into the cold clouds of the night, I stare at civilization,
slowly but
surely, being
reduced to
empty
lights next
to dancing darkness.

Songs of the Day:
Teitur – “Poetry and Aeroplanes”
Elton John – “Rocket Man”

Socially Conscious Tip Jar

[ found via movement, movement ]

So I found a pretty funny picture on one of the featured blogs on the WordPress home page:

Before anyone gets all crazy, I know a bit about the complexity of the issue and have some understanding of the reasons for (and against) what was done. I just got a good chuckle out of this =)

Songs of the Day:

The Beatles – “You Never Give Me Your Money”
Radiohead – “Dollars and Cents”

A Second Person Love Story – Version A, or Part 1, or Chapter 1

R.I.P. David Foster Wallace.

“He illuminated the maze brilliantly, even if he couldn’t show us the way out.”

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Here you are, reading this copy of “A Second Person Love Story” by Michael Kim. It’s quite a lengthy piece of work, especially for a short story. Go ahead, scroll down and check out the wall of text in front of you.

Well, it’s long at least for the ones you enjoy. Short, but sweet and powerful — that’s what you want. But you’ve read some other works of his and enjoy him immensely, so you get settled in a plush, comfortable chair and proceed to get lost in the wonderful writing.

Before you go on, please, close your eyes for a moment and pretend that you have amnesia. Something has happened which you obviously don’t remember, leaving you with a huge gap in memory. Pretend you have no memory of the past two years. They never happened. And you just lost those memories today — this morning, to be exact. Purge yourself of every memory that you have ever let into your mind starting from today and ending two years ago. After you have done that, meet me at the intersection of This Sentence and Next Sentence. Okay, now keep that thought in mind.

You got up this morning in a hazy, groggy state, feeling like you’ve been sleeping for years. The most resounding headache is thumping around in your head. You crawl out of bed, wash up, get dressed and head downstairs to brew yourself some coffee. That’ll show that headache who’s boss. You tell yourself some fresh air wouldn’t hurt, so you decide to head out and do something. Maybe go to the park, or shopping, or the bookstore. The possibilities are endless. A decision will come at the bottom of another cup of coffee. Your headache is getting better.

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