Pro Wrestling

Yes, amongst all my other dispositions towards 80's quirks, I was a huge pro wrestling fan throughout much of the 80's.  My liking consisted of the WWF in the beginning of the decade (1980-82) and the end (87-89).  During that first part of the decade, I even concocted my own "dream card" that I would have held were it entirely up to me.  Included in the matches I envisioned were:

Killer Khan vs. Pat Patterson

Ken Patera vs. Ivan Putski

The Strongbows vs. The Samoans

Rick Martel vs. Sgt. Slaughter

Bob Backlund vs. I think Adrian Adonis in a steel cage match

Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan in a brass knuckle street fight (this was when Hogan was still the heel wrestler and Andre the face).

Oh, and as one friend of mine (in his 20's at the time, and a Harvard graduate) put it: "What's not to like about pro wrestling?  It's live cartoons!"

Shabbat Shalom, everyone.

Houston

Well y'all, just arrived here to Houston yesterday (first time), and I have to say the heat's not as bad as I expected it to be.  Of course, having steady access to AC certainly helps.

The first time I remember ever speaking to somebody from here was growing up.  My father, as a mechanical engineer with a specialty in designing AC units for large buildings, got recruited by a company here.  A woman named Doris Kilgor called our house asking to speak to him.  Now, this was the 70's, before cell phones and what have you.  I just thought at the time, as I took the message, it was incredibly cool to be speaking to this woman with a different accent from halfway across the country, and the fact that she was calling long distance from an area code (713) that at the time I had never heard of!

Eyes

Well, according to the optometrist, my eyesight hasn't changed any since last year.  I suppose that's good news.

More than halfway through Elul now, with Rosh Hashanah right up on our doorstep.

Think I am going to do just a simple pancake dinner tonight.

Football preseason is already in full swing, but I don't consider it officially football season until about the 3rd or 4th week of the actual regular season.  By then, we're actually into the fall season - and for me, football's just not a summer sport.  Will never forget the year they actually played the first game of the regular season on August 31st...

"Thrill Kill" of the Australian Student

The three teens who killed the Australian student this week "for the fun of it" and because "they were bored", in my opinion, should all get the needle.  As one person commented on my Facebook page today -- "Funny, I haven't heard Sharpton or Jackson say anything about this".

Another person said "Any one of them could have been me -- Obama".

Is all of this really a sign we're getting closer and closer to the time of mashiach?  I would sure like to hope and think so.

I remember my father's big pile of draftman's books in our cellar growing up.  I just remember a whole bludgeon of weird mathematical formulas and engineers' drawings.  Did not take any liking to it even then.

The Peterkin Papers

I was just thinking about a couple of my favorite short stories from back in grade school.  In about 3rd-4th grade, we read The Peterkin Papers short stories by Lucretia Peabody Hale.  Considering she was from Boston and her father was Nathan Hale, no big surprise her then nearly 100 year old stories were still a big hit in the Massachusetts educational system.

I actually only remember reading two of the stories.  The first one involved Mrs. Peterkin and her cup of coffee.  In the end, the lady from Philadelphia "saved the day" by advising her to throw out whatever it was she had concocted and make a fresh cup.  The second involved the family's quest to write a story, and their hunt to find a quill, ink, and paper.  Of course, the story ends with Solomon John sitting down, ready to begin writing and declaring "But I haven't got anything to say!"  How many times have I felt like that?

High drama at Fenway last night with A-Rod, Ryan Dempster, and Joe Girardi.  I guess this time, he got the better of us.

Professor Umbridge

One of my favorite characters in the Harry Potter series would have to be that of Professor Umbridge.  The back flap of Order of the Phoenix describes her as "having a personality like poisoned honey".  Pretty apt, I would have to say.

The truth is, I think I've known some people like or pretty close to her in personality.  Maybe not all the way, but definitely having those characteristics.  And those people, it seems, know just how to manipulate those high up in power in order to get exactly what it is they want.  The worst part of it is once they achieve that position, it's very, very hard to bring them down - because they have the backing of those in charge.  Sometimes the people in charge are as corrupt as they are, and are just using them to do their dirty work.  And other times, the people in charge realize only too late the monster that they've created.  Again, I've definitely seen this play out in the corporate world.

Running

Was able to get my first run in this morning since the start of Selichot.  Just 20 minutes, but it felt good to get out there again.

Thinking about something I read in Seth Godin's The Icarus Deception.  In it, he talks about not lamenting or regretting whatever it is you did or didn't do in your life that you think you should have.  According to him, everything that happened to you and was perpetuated by you (both the good and the bad) is all part of that big artist's tapestry you've created...known as your life.

Harry Potter really is a better read the second time around.  Especially it seems The Order of the Phoenix, which was probably the most heavily intricate/complicated of all the books.  I learned a while back that J.K. Rowling got rejected by eight publishers for The Sorcerer's Stone, and was on the verge of giving up.  She then got an encouragement from a little eight-year old girl who had read it and liked it.  Scholastic Books, not a very big publisher at the time, picked up and well, the rest is magical history.

Shabbat Shalom

The Godfather

Not sure why this is, but for some reason, I've had The Godfather on my mind lately.  I think the reason that it is probably the most highly acclaimed film of all time is that it (and Part II) for the first time, awakened the public to the reality that this is how much of the world works.  Take note of all the supposedly "good" things that Don Vito Corleone did for certain people.

I remember when I watched Geraldo Rivera come up with nothing in the televised showing of the opening of Al Capone's vault.  In it, a former associate (non-mob family related) recounted how Capone was "his buddy", and that "he could not have been any nicer to my Mama".

I'm sure there are lots and lots of people (both mob and non-mob related) in Boston who still revere Whitey Bulger.

Inspire Me Culturally Interview with Author of the New Rules of Marketing And PR/Leadership Strategist David Meerman Scott

A great interview I conducted last week with leading social media and marketing speaker for companies and worldwide conferences David Meerman Scott:



Inspire Me Culturally Interview with David Meerman Scott 8/9/2013:

David Meerman Scott is a marketing strategist, advisor to emerging companies, bestselling author of eight books including three international bestsellers, and a professional speaker on topics including marketing, leadership, and social media.

He is a recovering marketing VP for two U.S. publicly traded companies and was Asia marketing director for Knight-Ridder, at the time one of the world’s largest information companies. David has lived and worked in New York, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. He currently lives in the Boston area.

David serves as an advisor to emerging companies in the marketing technology category including HubSpot, GrabCAD, Libboo, VisibleGains, ExpertFile, GutCheck, and Newstex, as well as varied nonprofits that interest him including the Grateful Dead Archive at UC Santa Cruz, HeadCount, and Nashaquisset. Previously, he was on the boards of directors of NewsWatch KK (successfully sold to Yahoo Japan) and Kadient (successfully merged with Sant) and the board of advisors of Eloqua (successful IPO in mid-2012 and sale to Oracle in early 2013).

OH: Why is it so easy to “lose yourself” on the Internet and lose your focus as an online marketer?

DMS: I think it’s because there’s a lot of distraction on the Internet.  It’s easy to get sucked into so many social media channels.  An example of what I see is the Vine app/site.  All of sudden, it seems people want to jump right on to it.

OH: I’m not a Grateful Dead fan like you, but I did go to a big Deadhead school for college during the height of their mainstream popularity in the 80’s.  So I got to see at the time a little about how they broke every marketing rule in the music industry, especially the taboo then against bootlegging concerts.  Can you share a little about the concepts you wrote of in your book [Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History, with Brian Halligan]?

DMS: The Grateful Dead were essentially the only band that allowed people to tape their concerts, when pretty much every other band at that time actually had printed on the their tickets “No Taping”.  In speaking with band members, they said what they wanted to do was “the right thing for their fans”.  It’s the idea of sharing your stories and your ideas – really just being nice to people.  There are a number of lessons to be learned from this.

OH: One of the things I’ve noticed in your speaking style is you really seem to give off an aura that this is your true, authentic self.  I know you talk about being passionate about what it is you are selling.  Why is this so important in business and what can be the end result if you don’t do it?

DMS: Thank you for noticing that.  Marketers, businesspeople, salespeople…we all have bad reputations.  What I’m saying is that I can counter all of that by being truly authentic.  If I’m not passionate about what it is I’m selling, I’m going to start using the same stupid language that everyone else uses.  You have got to let your passion show through.  It’s the same for any profession, and also the same for anything not even business related.  I laugh when I hear of a job seeker who’s been sending out resumes for six months and not getting any responses.  They are just not being who they truly and authentically are.

OH: What’s the best way to tailor an online international marketing strategy today?  Is it any different than the same online strategy used to garner domestic or local business?

DMS: Your first consideration should always be the local language.  Although English is widely spoken around the world, it’s not the one used for every product or category.  You need to give it some thought.  Also, be wary of cultural differences.  For example, don’t automatically wish everybody a Merry Christmas.  I’ve had the opportunity to travel to 90 countries and present in 37 of them.  If you’re being yourself and you show your audience respect, it’s then the same for every one of them.

OH: Talk a little about your World Wide Rave concept.

DMS: World Wide Rave is about getting people to share their ideas.  By the way, my book on it is totally free for download on my website [http://www.davidmeermanscott.com/books/], at Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, or Kobo.  What are the triggers that encourage people to share an idea?  And what happens when they do?  What I’ve found in my own experience is as a result of giving out my ideas with no strings attached, many more people now know about my ideas.  The more giving you do, the more you will get back.  What’s not giving is a marketer who is willing to let you have their white paper – provided you give them your email address.  That’s not giving; that’s trading.  There’s a big difference.

OH: In your opinion, what’s behind the fear most people have of trying to do something that has never been done before, or that they’re not “supposed to do”?

DMS: It’s just fear – which is a natural human reaction.  The challenge is to overcome it, and that is a difficult thing to do.  It’s often why people go back to school.  Entrepreneurs on the other hand, just do it.

OH: Thank you so much for your time today, David.

DMS: Thank you.

First Dodger Game

Made it to my first Dodger game yesterday.  I explained to a friend of mine afterwards, that it had a nice and homey 70's ballpark feel to it.  I actually felt like this is what it must have been like to go to a game there in the 70's with Garvey, Lopes (he coaches 1st base now), Russell, Cey, Baker, Smith, Yeager, and Sutton, Hooton, or Hough on the field.

All I kept thinking while I was there was "California baseball, California baseball, California baseball..."

It's sad to hear that the Houston Astrodome and its surroundings are now a basically deserted stadium and parking lot.  That place (though I never visited it), actually still had a lot of awe of around it growing up as a sports fan.  But I guess the end for it is now near.

2020 Summer Olympic Bid

The winner of the 2020 Summer Olympic bid is going to be announced by the IOC in Buenos Aires next month.  The three finalists for the bid are Istanbul, Madrid, and Tokyo.

The one of the three (according to Wikipedia) that seems to be the furthest shot right now is Madrid.  There seem to have been some scandals of a sort that have lessened its chances for getting the bid.

So that leaves Istanbul and Tokyo.  Go Tokyo.  Ganbatte!!

I said it a few years ago on this same blog, but what I said then still holds: If Turkey ever decides to go the way of a country like Venezuela or Bolivia, and breaks off all its ties with Israel, then I am going to formally renounce my Turkish citizenship.  The Islamic fundamentalist crackpot running the country has been in charge now for almost 10 years.  Why has the military there been unable to overthrow him as they've done in the past with extremist leaders since the republic's founding in 1923?

PED's

While on the subject of PED's in baseball, the questions keep coming back...how does this put a handle on the subject of the top players in this era getting/not getting into the Hall of Fame?  Will Bonds, Sosa, Clemens, Rodriguez, etc. ever have a shot?

First of all, after this year's vote, the HOF to me now is irrelevant.  As one sportscaster put it:

"By keeping out those players suspected of using PED's, what about the one's you never suspected?  Take Derek Jeter as an example.  No brainer, 1st ballot Hall of Famer.  Now, what if in 30 years, it comes out that Jeter was on some sort of PED program - only he just had better doctors than A-Rod?  What do you, retroactively remove him after he'd been enshrined 25 years earlier?  Not so easy to do."

After this year's vote, someone (I think a voting writer) was asked: "At some point we're probably going to inadvertently elect someone who used PED's regularly who at the time, we just didn't suspect.  What happens then?"

The writer's response? 

"I think we may already have."

Family

I sometimes wonder how many of my family members all across the world have taken a moment to check out this blog.

Now mind you, I really do have family spread out all over the world.  And not to spill too many secrets, but not all of them traditionally were altogether there mentally.  I do not mean to talk a lot about it here in this forum.  But at the same time, I would love the opportunity to discuss this with more than a few family members.

On the other hand, they are partly what has made me who and what I am today.  I didn't grow up really knowing a lot of them.  And frankly, I think more than a few of them were (and maybe still are) in some ways, afraid of me.

If one of you is reading this, do know that I'm not out to hurt you.  I may be out looking for answers, but I'm definitely not out to hurt you.  If you in any way try to provoke me though, that's an entirely different story.

Today for lunch, I had half a tongue sandwich, a cup of sweet and sour cabbage soup, and a cream soda.  The sandwich came with potato salad and pickles.  For dinner, I had the other half of the sandwich along with a couple of fruits.  Sorry to say -- the sandwich was not up to par at all with what I remember growing up on the East coast.

Circus Elephant

When I was growing up, I remember one time when I was about 14 or 15 staying up very late (not uncommon) and in the days before everybody had cable, watching TV.  I don't remember what time it was, but it was late enough so that the only thing that held my attention was an infomercial.  The salesman on the infomercial was hawking some sort of positive subliminal message tapes.  A good portion of the infomercial was dedicated to him explaining exactly what is subliminal messaging, and how it works.  I actually found it to be quite interesting (still do).

Anyway, he was describing at one point his experience growing up and being taken to the circus as a child.  While there, he happened to come upon one of the circus elephants being kept in the back with its trainer.  What he noticed immediately was that the only thing securing the elephant was a flimsy rope tied somewhat loosely to its foot (and perhaps not even attached to anything else).  This guy said he asked the trainer how he could be sure such a weak rope could hold such a large powerful animal, who it seemed could break free of its "bondage" and run off as it pleased.

The trainer explained that when the elephant was a baby, it had been secured at all times by a tough wire-rope, which the baby elephant at that time, could not have broken out of.  Therefore, in the adult elephant's mind, it now "accepted" that as long as there was something like that rope around its foot, it would not be able to move or escaped as it pleased.

How many of us (including myself) are still to this day tightly bound/secured to the imaginary ropes in our minds that were instilled upon us growing up?

Chabad

It's really a shame that over the course of the last several years, I've had the unfortunate opportunity to acquaint myself with some of the more arrogant extremist Moshichist forces within the Chabad community.  It's really too bad, because so many of them do such wonderful things all around the world.  Well, as they say, it takes all types.

The Sox won again today, but Tampa Bay is keeping right on their heels.  The added teams to the playoff race does make things more interesting.  However, it is now a whole lot less likely that the team which was probably best during the regular season is going to end up winning (or even making it to) the World Series.  Just like I see no reason to begin following either hockey or basketball before April, now for me baseball has some of the same characteristics.  I like to watch it in April, just because of the long drought of not having it in the off-season.  But for me now, May-July is really not worth the time or effort to follow it.  Nothing to me of interest regarding the race for the playoffs (it's really no longer a "pennant" race) really starts to happen anymore before the beginning of August.

Eye of the Tiger

Special addendum must be made to my post earlier in the week about first favorite songs.  Although I didn't become a regular music listener until later in the fall of '82, a song that summer captured me like no other ever had.  "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor served as my anthem for many years, and to this day is at or near the top of my all-time favorite tunes.

Back to a Weight Watchers meeting next week.

I feel as if I got quite a lot accomplished today.

Need to make my bed before Shabbat.

That's all for this week folks.  Russians, you still plagiarizing my work?...

Sadaharu Oh

How do I think Sadaharu Oh might have fared were he to play in the Major Leagues?  I imagine he would have probably attained about the same level of success (maybe more, actually) as Matsui.  Assuming he wasn't on any kind of performance enhancer, I could see him as probably a .300/30 homer type of guy.

We are into August, and the Red Sox are still hanging on to 1st place.  Two months to go in the season, and they're only four wins away from tying their win total for all of last season.

So funny to think that people are actually surprised to find out the NSA was tracking any/all website activity from the very get-go.  Come on people, 9/11 notwithstanding, did you really think that the powers-that-be would have released a force like the World Wide Web/Internet out into the general public back in the 90's if they did not also put in place a system to carefully monitor it?...Remember, this whole thing was developed as a tool for the U.S. military to provide it with a communications system that would still work error free in the event of a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union.