Dome Pondering

Emotion. Reaction. Connection. All of it heightened.  Blazing with immediacy, and without substance.  Without empathy. Further emboldened  by the weapons we carry Everyday. In our pockets, and in our faces. They dictate our reality For clout. For money. For that extra hit of  Dopamine. Unable to  reason, to feel Or critically think. Somehow we’ve  managed to  separate, disconnect and lose our values, ourselves, And each other.

I didn’t appreciate Melo as much as I should have during his tenure with the New York Knicks. His run was marred with heightened expectations, sometimes lofty, and often, little to no rational (or reasonable) understanding of his role. The guy? Savior? Piece to a greater puzzle? Every knick fan knows the feeling - we acquired Melo but gave up a core that, in the long run, was worth it, but at the time, meshed really well and played cohesively.  Melo instantly became the disruptor to that when winning was sparse. He better be worth it!  Once you get beyond the pipe dreams of scenarios, what the Knicks fanbase does so well, Melo was an absolute beast of a scorer during his time in orange and blue. He had those nights, and you know what I'm talking about if you watched him play. Those nights! The most memorable was the one against the (then) Charlotte Bobcats, where he put up a franchise and MSG record of 62 points. There were others where he showed off his arsenal, scoring 30,...

Year 16 in higher education, loading. The landscape is changing. Self-philosophy over everything. Remains the inspiration. Changed, is me. Not "career building", but doing, what I now do. Self-spirit over everything. Becomes the motivation. Not significantly focused, but understanding effort and priority. Protecting, my spirituality. Where it should be. Year 16. Whatever, the change. My heart is free.

A possible change is coming to Major League Baseball!  That statement alone has triggered every baseball fan into their feelings, and what possibly could Rob Manfred have cooking for the game's future? As he's done before , Manfred dropped yet another controversial nugget, this time regarding possible expansion and realignment for MLB in the future.  To begin, I don't think this is set in stone...yet. I truly believe, like the "Golden Bat" rule was mentioned, Manfred is floating this out there to gauge the reception of it from fans and how it plays in the overall fan-o-sphere of sports discourse.  Second, I believe this is also a strategy for upcoming labor discussions. Everyone is geared up for the inevitable doom that is "to salary cap" or "not to salary cap". Work stoppage is likely, but a gentle early toss on the table of possibly adding more jobs for players can't be overlooked in labor negitoations.  Expansion Let's start here, as...

201. Would you rather swim in a pool full of Nutella or a pool full of maple syrup? Ummm, this is weird. I'll go with maple syrup for nothing other than consistency. It might be easier to move in the syrup, especially if it's good, natural syrup, rather than Nutella.  Regardless, I'm taking a shower afterwards.  202. Would you rather labor under a hot sun or extreme cold? Hot Sun. This has been proven. Just ask anyone who knows me. I find the extreme cold to be so off-putting. I really dislike snow days. It hurts my soul to wake up and see my entire yard and driveway filled with snow, and the thought of an upcoming shoveling and snow-blowing session.  I'll make it work in the heat. 203. Would you rather stay in during a snow day or build a fort? Ha! Staying in and curling up in sweatpants, a hoodie, and a blanket.  204. Would you rather buy things you don’t need every time you go shopping or always forget the one thing that you need when you go to the store? Forget t...

I’m learning to get out of the way. Parenting is hard. And that statement in itself doesn’t capture the essence of the difficulty that I am referencing. I despise generational comparisons, and more so, the downplaying of anything generational. However, whenever my mom consistently admits, "I can’t imagine raising children under today's circumstances", I find understanding in that difficulty through her admission. There are new levels here!   As my oldest son, now seven years old, finds opportunities for himself - school, swim, martial arts, sports (he loves basketball, likes baseball), and his own free time and hobbies (Pokemon, Comic Books, and Pro Wrestling) - I’ve found myself balancing what I’ve become accustomed to, further doubled by the growth of his almost two-year-old brother. Because of where they are, it's easy for me to stay in one mode of "helicopter parent".  However, I remember being seven. I had independence (by circumstance) at that age that...

SummerSlam was awesome.  The first two-night event of its kind, I had the opportunity (and privilege, if you understand how difficult and expensive WWE tickets are now) of attending night two at MetLife Stadium. Having attended so many pro wrestling events this year, especially this summer, SummerSlam was a clear reminder that the WWE is really on a whole other level in regards to brand power, production, and overall impact.  The product at its core can be debated, and that is the beauty of where pro wrestling is right now - you have a choice. You won't find any tribalism here.  Nonetheless, Summerslam provided memories - in both endings on both nights, as well as for me personally, and my son. He's NEVER going to forget Summerslam 2025, nor the night Brock Lesnar returned.  We can talk matches, and work rates, and storylines, and whatever...but this event is marked by that, memorable moments.  Here are some quick thoughts on it all:  NIGHT ONE General Thou...

Beautiful,  is driving forward, sing along en route and looking in my rear view mirror at my kids. Undescribably, beautiful. 

What is it about? A woman moves back in with her parents following a shocking divorce. An unlikely affair with a younger guy revives her life and perspective on marriage. Who is in it? Melanie Lynskey - Amy Christopher Abbott - Jeremy Blythe Danner - Ruth Favorite Scene: Amy's dad, who is often much easier on her than her mom, comes to her bedside and gives her some money. She refuses, then he insists. She then asks, "whose happiness are you buying?" Favorite Quote: Where the f** is 'bottom'? Where the motherf***ing f*** is motherf***ing 'bottom'? Review: Hello, I Must Be Going was an interesting watch. I've always found Melanie Lynskey to be an intriguing actor, and her role in this was just that.  What makes this film so interesting is that, going into the film, you believed this would be a film documenting Amy's journey from recent divorcee into...well, wherever it is she goes. The beauty of this film is that Amy's journey was just a public...