One thing I'm quite passionate about these days is politics. If you're unable to tolerate a liberal woman with strong political opinions it's probably time to go do something else because this won't be a good time for you.
Now I'm not going to act like I know SO MUCH about politics, I don't know as much as I wish I did so I'm constantly reading everything I can get my hands on but my problem is my AADD kicks in and I cannot finish 'cos I find most things written about politics incredibly boring. I want to be able to understand most of what is written but sometimes I think these people who write about politics sit there with their thesaurus next to them and take a normal word, look it up and add one that nobody knows what it is just to look intelligent. Whatever. So ok, back to politics. I'm a registered Democrat, I'm Liberal and I've got a vagina so....most republican's think I should die a painful death. Or at least I should be quiet, constantly pregnant, obedient and without opinion, but that's not how I was raised.
Now if you've read any of my other blogs, like the one directly under this one, you'll understand that my Grandpa was my hero and main influence in how I see the world, right down to me believing that I'm ALWAYS right. Just like him. Except I am always right, no matter what my mother and son say. ;o) My Grandpa was a Democrat and there were times he'd rail on and on about republican's and their insane notions on things but really, he didn't live long enough to be witness to true insanity. The insanity that is the republican party of the 21st century and the tea party are...well lets just say that my Grandpa probably wouldn't have a voice in which to use by now 'cos of the screaming he'd have been doing since '08. And he would have voted, no doubt, first for Hillary and then for President Obama. He liked Hillary, he always said she was one smart cookie, much smarter than her husband. Cannot argue with that. I think my Grandpa has been spinning in his grave ever since we put President Obama in the White house, from the cartoons of watermelon's on the front lawn of the White House to the cartoon of our President with a bone through his nose, my Grandpa is definitely disappointed in this country.
My Grandpa was a war hero, he was in WW2 and they captured the U505, which he dragged us to see at the Museum of Science and Industry here in Chicago every single year of our lives growing up, telling us tales about capturing the sub. We never believed him...poor man. But don't get cross with me and my brother, our Grandpa was a consumate storyteller, you never were sure if what he was telling you actually happened or if he was pulling your leg. Most of the time he was pulling our leg, like with the story of him beating up a Great White Shark when I know for a fact he would have become like Jesus and ran on water to get away from a shark. He was on a ship that was hit and sank and he did see fellow sailors eaten by sharks and I imagine he did dream about beating one of those sharks up, but alas, he was yankin' our chain about that one. He was also a union man, he worked at International Harvester until he took early retirement in his late 50z, I remember to this day going with my grandma to pick him up after work and I was really little, my brother wasn't even born yet so I was 3 and under, but I remember. Earlier this year when the govenor of Wisconsin took away Union's rights? I swear to god I heard my Grandpa and his entire generation of Union men and women yell! All I see republican's these days doing is taking away our rights that generations before us were proud of, that they fought for, and they tell us it's for our own good. If my Grandpa knew how close my mother is to losing her social security, or having it lessened, he'd seriously go postal. It's frustrating for my generation knowing that when we get old enough to retire we won't be able to because our money will have been spent on this generation retiring now. I mean WHO didn't plan ahead? WHO thought it was ok to spend other people's money all willy-nilly and not replace it, figuring the generation coming behind will put forth the money needed? Really? Was that someone's brilliant idea? I'm counting on my son being the next George Lucas so he can bathe me in grandeur 'cos there's simply no way I want to work until the day I drop dead!
My 12 year old son (soon to be 13 in October) is incredibly politically savvy, he's daily telling me about things he reads online that I didn't know about 'cos he's just way smarter than I am. I've raised him right, my Grandpa would really think I'm a brilliant mother 'cos I'm raising a White Sox fan AND a Democrat! What else could he have asked for in a great-grandson? One thing I noticed about his generation (besides their abysmal taste in music) is that they watch the news, they're online and they ARE informed. In 2008 his class (at a very mixed race school) was about 99% supporting President Obama's bid for the White House. I asked him why he liked the then Senator so much and he shrugged and said; "I think he really wants to do good for this country, I believe he's a good man with a good heart and I think he's incredibly intelligent and I trust him in my gut to run this country well.". I guess there's no arguing with that. Neither him nor I ever figured on the utter hatred of this man that would swarm Washington DC like a plague and we have tried to sit down and figure out WHY they hate him so much and honest, all we came up with is because he's got African in him and a Muslim name. Never in the history of this country has a President who's already been sworn in had detractors so vehemently demanded he show his birth certificate because they refused to believe he was an American, they didn't believe he was a Christian although he's only ever attended a Christian Church. I admired the strength of this President, this man who did not lower himself a level and engage in anything that could be viewed as snarky. Not that he doesn't have a great sense of humour, he sure does and he's cracked a few good jokes at republican's expense, but they earned it. I have also never heard of a political party proudly proclaim that they will vote NO to every single thing the sitting President tries to get done during his time in the White House. Are they 12? Oh wait, my son is 12 and he doesn't act like that...are they 2? They act like spoiled toddlers who stamp their widdle feet, hold their breath and pound their widdle fists against the walls until they get what they want and then there's our President, our ADULT President, always with his hand out, asking for teamwork, for some compromise. Every single time he's been told no, they will not compromise, they want what they want and they'll hold this entire country hostage until they get it. That whole debt ceiling thing was shameful, it was humiliating and it was utterly ridiculous. Again the republican's acted as small children, demanding their way, when their president, the man they hold up to God for comparison, Ronald Reagan raised the debt ceiling what...17 times? And Bush raised it like 7 or 9 times. But that's ok. They were republican's and oh yeah, white. They had Christian names. THAT'S where the difference is. There are still people out there, like the ever smarmy Donald "it's not a wig" Trump, who still don't believe he's an American citizen, like Mr. McCain wouldn't have exploited that for all it's worth. Like if there was even the smallest chance he wasn't born in the USA Hillary wouldn't have said "Uh, he can't run, he's not American." so she could have won it all. Like these things aren't fucking checked out thoroughly BEFORE someone runs for the Presidency of the United States of America! COME ON PEOPLE! THINK! Just for a little time! TRY to see beyond the colour of his skin, beyond his Muslim name! Just for a moment! Yeesh.
This whole thing about religion is pissing me off too. Michelle Bachmann, god what a brain trust she is, brings religion, Jesus, God and Christianity into everything she says. You know what? One of the reasons our Forefathers/mothers came to this country to begin with was for the freedom to worship whatever God they wanted to worship and then they wanted to separate Church and State...they wanted religion OUT of politics and for a good reason. I'm glad for Bachmann that she thinks she's such a "good Christian woman", and I respect her right to be one, but please do not push your religion or beliefs onto me, I have a brain, I know how to use it and I have done really damned well for 44 years now. Thanks though. One thing I find hilarious is how American Christians forget that Jesus wasn't Christian, he wasn't white, he surely wasn't a gun-toting Southerner (and I don't think every Southerner is gun-toting, I like Southerners) and he surely didn't believe a man was less of a human being because he was different from himself. Jesus was Jewish. He had the dark skin and hair of the Middle Eastern peoples. He didn't have a gun because one of his messages was for peace. He respected everyone, even those who were different from him and who had their own beliefs. I mean doesn't it even say in the bible, the thing these right wing zealots thump for meaning, JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED? I dunno, sometimes I'm slow, but I think that means God's saying you better not get all judgy because you're not me, you don't have the right because nobody is any better than anybody else. He made us all, if you subscribe to the Christian belief, in his image, right? Don't these overly religions republican's realise that not everyone in the world is white? There are people all over this entire planet that are Christian, who believe in the same bible, that adhere to the laws and principals of that bible, soooo...dark skin and that makes them unworthy? Isn't that a bit, oh I don't know, JUDGY? Maybe I'm too judgy, I do point my pointy finger some, but the right wing nutters get my special finger most of the time, the one I save for just them! ;o)
I have conversations about politics with my son and we've come to only a few conclusions. There have to be decent republican's out there but that they're so truly embarrassed by what is out there, loud and proud even when they shouldn't be, so they stay quiet. I refuse to think ALL republican's are racist, that they all hate our President though I'm sure they don't like him much, but that it has nothing to do with his skin or name. We've also come to the conclusion that there is NOBODY in the republican party right now who could even hope to give President Obama a run for his money next year. Now I say that tongue-in-cheek 'cos a lot of the Dems are upset with what is going on right now. What I say to them and to the republican's who demand that President Obama should have fixed everything by now is this. Seriously? It took Bush 8 years to drag us do the depths of a recession and you expect President Obama to fix it all in 2.5 years? Really? Even if he does have a magic wand that will fix everything I'm thinking it'll take longer than that to fix what Bush broke. He broke everything too, just everything. I'm so glad he's gone, nearly as glad as I am that the devil Cheney is gone. HA his book that's just come out, even republican's are scoffing at it. Except for the ever intelligent, never lying (cough,cough) Fox News Channel, they think it's Nobel Prize winning stuff. lol
Ah Fox News....I am a massive football/soccer fan and I have a hard time watching Fox Soccer Channel because they're affiliated with Faux News. I've actually canceled my FSC because I refuse to pump any of my hard earned, liberal loving money into their hate machine. I can and will watch my Arsenal online, and I will be proud of myself for not giving FNC anymore of my money! It seems that no matter how many times they're proven to have lied, how many times they've been called and proven racist, that they just keep on keepin' on. It's amazing in a way that makes my bowels contract in that way that makes you rush to the loo. Hannity and Limbaugh and formerly Glenn Beck and god don't forget the she-man Ann Coulter...4 of the most loathesome beings on this earth and all of them call FNC home. Well Beck did until they kicked him out 'cos nobody was watching him anymore. FNC doesn't seem to mind it when Limbaugh (who my son calls, funnily enough, Limbog) spouts his racist rhetoric, when he calls our President racist things. It's all ok, it's fine. Then they have the nerve to demand our Vice President Joe Biden apologise because he called them a bunch of terrorists for what they did with the debt ceiling debacle. Really people? Watermelon's, bones in the President's nose, using the "N" word on air...that's ok but god don't call a bunch of people who held this country hostage terrorists? Okey doke, gotcha. ::winkwink::
I gotta say I'm glad my Grandpa isn't around to see what is going on in the country he risked his life for, he'd be so disgusted he'd probably move us all up to Canada or something, or maybe back to the mother-land of Poland, although there's Russian in me, Slovack and so many other things it sounds rather painful to separate and spread myself among all of my peeps out there! Ok getting off track there....anyway...
I really hope every single person who will be voting next year takes a real good, long, hard look at who they're planning on voting for before they actually vote. I hope everyone does their homework and votes with intelligence because there is so much at stake. For us women, do we really want to lose our right to do with our bodies as we see fit? Pro-life, Pro-Choice, anti this and anti that...IMO NOBODY has the right to tell another human being what they can or cannot do with their own bodies. Especially men, until the day they are able to get pregnant, carry, give birth to and care for a baby, do NOT have as much of a voice in what a woman CHOOSES and they never should. The debate over when life begins will never be agreed on by everyone, but every woman should have the basic human right to not go through with something she does not want to nor should she be forced to listen to a heartbeat so it makes that already difficult decision just that much harder. Now honestly, I'm vehemently PRO CHOICE, I strongly believe every woman is due the right to do as she needs to do for herself, her health and her life, but personally I could never and would never have an abortion but I would drive any woman who wanted to have one to the clinic, I'd support her and I'd do what needed to be done because I do NOT have a right to push my beliefs off on her. I'm not the one who would be raising that child. There are republican's out there who refuse to allow a child who was raped by a man an abortion, as if her little, immature body, can easily give birth, as if it was all somehow her fault she got raped by an adult and got pregnant. There are republican's out there who would refuse a woman an abortion to save her own life, even when she's got other children who are already here and living and needing her. That's just fucking insane. I'm not saying there aren't women out there who use abortion as a means of birth control, but I am not responsible for her choice or her soul. Those women will have to answer to whatever power for their decisions one day, or not, depending on beliefs I suppose. Why so many are so concerned with what a woman chooses is beyond me, and I don't for one second believe that they give a toss for the unborn, if they did they'd not be so against any and all programs that would help support those unborn children when they're actually here in the world!
All of this has been said over and over again, but maybe it should be. Maybe it's what it'll take for people to wake up and let people live as they see fit. Of course I don't mean lawlessness should rule, lets not get silly here. I'm just talking about people having a right to live as they see fit within the rules and laws of society. What my neigbour does in the privacy of his/her bedroom is none of my business as long as nobody gets hurt or is forced to do something they don't want to do. 2 consenting adults. Why are so many people so homophobic? What are they so afraid of? What does 2 men or 2 women together have to do with their own lives? How does equality in marriage rights that allow gay people what everyone else does every day going to ruin hetero marriage? Are they affraid more people are gonna go gay? I'm a woman, I think women are cool but I like having sex with men (now if only they liked having sex with me...hmmmm...lol), it's no big deal. If I found out my one and only child was gay? So? I'd worry that the world was going to hurt him of course and I'd probably go mental supporting his right to marriage, happiness and a life without persecution...Life is hard enough for everyone, why add to it?
So ok I'm done, I've got myself a headache now and I gotta be up @3am for work and it's now 7pm so it's time for bed. Ciao people. Live and let live, help when it's needed and treat others with respect.
Ok so I finished this post about 15 minutes ago and then went onto Facebook only to find out the latest bullshit the republican's are pulling...unbelievable that Mr. Boehner has the balls to tell the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES that he will not be meeting with him at the time or on the day that the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES has chosen!! REALLY?! Wow. Just when you think it's safe to go back into the political waters...
31 August 2011
29 August 2011
The Wide World of Sports
I was raised by a single mother for 90% of my life, for long enough that having a father in the house is an extremely dim memory. I do have a few memories of having a father in the home with us, but it's like it happened to someone else instead of me. Anyway, that's not the point of this blog so lets just have me move along shall we? My mother was a single mum for all intents and purposes here, she had the unending help of her parents, my grandparents, along the way and they were there 24/7 until the days they both passed. Bless them both 'cos God knows I miss them more than I need to breathe. So my male role model was my Grandpa, and let me say he not only filled that role with panache, he has always been and will always be my hero. From day one (seriously I was not even a week old) only my Grandpa could make me happiest, make me stop crying, make my world turn. He hung the moon. When I was a newborn I was incredibly collicky and wouldn't sleep for anything. My mother couldn't get me to sleep, my dad sure couldn't and even my grandma could only calm me for maybe 15 minutes, but the moment they put me in my Grandpa's arms I fell asleep for hours. So long that he had to sit down 'cos both his arms fell asleep but he wouldn't put me down, he wanted his girl to get her sleep. From that moment on we had a bond that was stronger than even my bond with my mum, and I adore my mum. Reading through this post so far I've noticed that I only have capitolised Grandpa, not mum, mother, father, dad or even grandma, just Grandpa...that was completely unconcious on my part. Honest.
So anyway, my Grandpa had a huge role in my life and that of my younger brother. Our mum relied heavily on her parents to help out with us kids, from financal help (going back to work back then after being a stay-at-home-mum wasn't easy) to babysitting us, they were there. My Grandpa saw no reason for a few things, that just 'cos I was a girl that I shouldn't learn all about sports, especially baseball, his passion. He was a true sportsman though, he loved all sports, he even watched "soccer" back in the day when only a very few American's had even really realised it was a real sport. I do have memories of watching Pele' play on TV 'cos I watched him with Grandpa. But he was a baseball man through and through and a Chicago White Sox fan to the very core. He raised me right, I'm White Sox to the core as is my 13 year old son, so I know Grandpa is very happy about that at least! I was a tiny 3 year old when Grandpa put that bat in my hand and that ball and bought me a mitt and taught me all I needed to know about the world of baseball. I wish I would have realised when I was in say high school that I was really a great softball player, that I could have made something of that passion, that maybe there could have been talk of Olympics in our household. But alas that was just not in the cards for me. But trust me, I was that good. I played ball every single day of my life that I could, that means when there wasn't snow on the ground over 3 inches I was outside playing baseball/softball. I was practising throwing, catching and hitting every single day of my life. I wanted to play baseball for the White Sox. That is what pushed me when I was a kid, not realising I couldn't 'cos I wasn't born with a penis. Really so not fair if you ask me.
So the one thing that goes with being a jock and supporting a team is loyalty. You're loyal to your team. You choose the team you can relate to or, like me with the White Sox, you're just born to it. Like with the Yankees 'cos I am a massive fan it was me relating to them 'cos Bucky Dent was traded from the White Sox to the Yankees back in the day and then I realised how much fun it was to see a team with a world series or twelve! lol It's not always all about winning of course, but sometimes it helps doesn't it!? I mean 2005 was such a magnificent season for my White Sox, finally my boys won the WS. Ironically enough, my Grandpa lived his entire life (1920-1996) without seeing them win a WS and then 2005 comes along and his great grandson sees them win one when he's but 7 years old. Just turned 7 years old at that (Oct 23rd being his birthday). Funny but he's seen the Yankees win it a couple times now but hey, that one time is what matters most to both of us.
So you have loyalty, but what does that encompass when it comes to sports? Well for me it means you support and love that team in good times and bad, that you vocalise your support be it positive or negative but put a loving spin on it when it is negative and you always, always just always are proud to tell people you support that team even when they're dead last and haven't a chance of anything better. That's my sort of loyalty, everyone is different, so when I say I'm a loyal supporter of a team, you get the picture.
Arsenal. I love Arsenal and I am LOYAL to Arsenal even though I've really only been a supporter for five years now, this being my sixth season. Soccer, or Football as it will be termed from here on out, never really caught on in America, and I just don't know why. Being a fan of the sport now I cannot honestly see any other sport that is half as exciting and exhausting to watch. I would say I guess it's hard for American's to take on a sport where, unless it's a big championship game, neither team has to win or lose, they can go home with a tie and still gain a point. Maybe it's that, the point system. You get 3 points for winning a game and 1 for a draw, and the amount of goals for and against for the entire season can make the difference between first and second place, it's a crazy ol' game isn't it? So I got interested in English Football because...well because I've been a freakin' addict of anything and everything English/British since I was a toddler, seriously. So I was reading the autobiography of Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley back in 2004/05 and all he talked about between the music stuff was Football and Arsenal. Now don't get me wrong, he did turn me onto Arsenal but if I didn't like them at the end of the day I wouldn't have chosen them to support. I did get Football fever because of Hadley though, I had to learn all there was about this sport. I needed something new. I'd reached the goal of a lifetime and saw my White Sox win the Series so I needed a new challenge sports-wise. So I ran head-long into Football. So Arsenal yeah, Hadley rambled on and on about that club so it piqued my interest sure, but I had to give all 20 of the teams in the EPL (English Premier League) a chance, didn't I? Even the mighty Manchester United and Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle United but really? Sure those teams had the stars, they had the power, they had the pizzaz but they didn't have what Arsenal had. Heart. Passion. A belief that they could be the best in the world. The players were more passionate about the sport and their club than any other player on any of those other teams and they just clicked with me, with my heart and soul. So I never looked back. Thierry Henry, he was my hero and he could play that game like he had wings on his feet. He was thrilling to watch and you know what? Last year, because he now plays with the MLS team New York Red Bulls, I finally got to see him play live and it was worth waiting for, he is still just as thrilling to watch and still plays, in his mid 30's, like he was 10 years younger. I think anyway. He gets applause and adulation wherever he goes in this country, in England and in Spain and he deserves it. He is the epitome of why I love Arsenal with everything I have, to this very day he will say nothing but wonderful, praise-filled things about his old club. It's players like him who deserve to come back to Emirates and receive a hero's welcome, and he did this summer when his club came to play Arsenal. It was so good to see him on his home turf again because wherever Arsenal are he is welcome. He inspired me to love a team I have no real connection with other than a passion for sports and a new found passion for Football. Sure players have come and gone and they have talked shit about Arsenal and you know what? They didn't deserve the right to wear an Arsenal shirt and they didn't deserve the applause of Gooners. There are only a few like that though so piss off to them.
So yeah, loyalty. The past five/six seasons I've followed the Arsenal have been great seasons, full of excitement and battles for first place, Champions League final's and an FA Cup win, but this season is different. This season is only 3 games in yes, but you can tell what sort of season a club is possibly headed for this early in, and to be honest? 17th place for Arsenal is not a good place. For anyone. But it's times like this that test the loyalty of a supporter. Will you stick with them during this low time? Will you support the boss, Arsene Wenger, through the thin part of through thick and thin? Will you scramble to call for his head because he may not be doing things you want him to do or do you trust him to know more about running a club than you do? I don't know the answer to that last one because I do think his time could be at an end, but not for him to leave Arsenal completely, I'd love to see him move on up to upper management, I cannot see an Arsenal without an Arsene. I mean look at his name for chrissake, Arsene...Arsenal...it's poetic isn't it? He's surely meant for this club, he's sweat blood and tears for this club, he's brought them from the depths up to the top and he's brought through some of the best players to have ever played the sport, so doesn't he deserve our support now, when things are falling apart? That depends I suppose. I mean honestly, if a manager isn't getting the results demanded of him he should go, no matter how well loved he is, because it's all about winning. The past couple of years there's been a lot of disappointment because when we should have won things we didn't and for that I don't blame Arsene 100% because I never blame the manager 100% for the failure of a team to perform. The players have at least 50% of the responsibility surely, right? I mean even Sir Alex couldn't have gotten better results from this club? I dunno about that. See this is why I'm so conflicted because you look at Manchester United last year, for most of the season they were without a loss, but they played crap. Now a lot of supporters of teams not Man U will say it's because a lot of the refs seem to always be giving them 5 minutes of stoppage time when they're losing or the game is tied and when they're winning there's 1 minute...and that does seem to hold true, but lets face it, when push came to shove last season? Man U got it done. The players had the passion to win the league and Sir Alex had the know how to lead them to the league title. Arsenal had the manager who wanted to win the Champions League, that seems to be his goal because it's the one thing Arsenal have never done, it's the diamond Arsene reaches for. Was that a bad choice for him to have made though? We had a rough run last season, the last time we got to the final, Henry still wore an Arsenal shirt, we have a hard time with some European teams like Barcelona (so does the rest of the world though). So does Arsene put his mind to winning things he shouldn't? What should be most important? The league or the CL? Arsenal had a chance at 4 trophies last season and came away with none. It's unanimous that when they lost the Carling Cup to Birmingham that it took the faith from the players souls. Now I can understand disappointment and maybe losing a game or two because of that, but we're still seeing a team that hasn't found it's footing since that loss and it's a new season and we just lost BIG TIME to Manchester United this past Sunday (8-2, I thought it was a fucking Rugby score at first). So a Gooner's loyalty is being tested big time right now, most are passing the test but I'm sure a lot are not and really, who cares. If you're only following a team because you want to see trophies go fucking follow the shallow Man U. Seriously. All I know is I'm in it for the long haul. I will be buried with my Arsenal scarf. I don't care if they get relegated I will follow them until the day I die and if I can follow them after death then I will. That is so not bullshit either. I love them in the same way I love my White Sox and more than I love my Yankees. Am I disappointed in how they're playing? Fuck yeah, who wouldn't be? And fans of other teams can laugh and point and joke at our expense because it just doesn't fucking matter, my club are still better than yours. So nyah, nyah. THAT, to me, is loyalty. That is what being a true-blue supporter is all about and that's me. True Red and White Gooner, through and through! Maybe I wasn't born in North London but my heart and soul live there in Emirates Stadium! I did get to visit the place, my church, even though the team were not there and I didn't get to see a game it was still a religious experience to walk where they walk, to sit where the great Arsene Wenger sits, to see where the players come together before and after home games. It was an experience I shall never forget and I vow to get back there to see a match before I die, shit hopefully in a few years or so and I will have my son, also a massive fan, with me! Until then it's love all the way from Chicago, support all the way from the Windy City, that one English Premier League team gets. And I think they deserve it, win or lose.
So anyway, my Grandpa had a huge role in my life and that of my younger brother. Our mum relied heavily on her parents to help out with us kids, from financal help (going back to work back then after being a stay-at-home-mum wasn't easy) to babysitting us, they were there. My Grandpa saw no reason for a few things, that just 'cos I was a girl that I shouldn't learn all about sports, especially baseball, his passion. He was a true sportsman though, he loved all sports, he even watched "soccer" back in the day when only a very few American's had even really realised it was a real sport. I do have memories of watching Pele' play on TV 'cos I watched him with Grandpa. But he was a baseball man through and through and a Chicago White Sox fan to the very core. He raised me right, I'm White Sox to the core as is my 13 year old son, so I know Grandpa is very happy about that at least! I was a tiny 3 year old when Grandpa put that bat in my hand and that ball and bought me a mitt and taught me all I needed to know about the world of baseball. I wish I would have realised when I was in say high school that I was really a great softball player, that I could have made something of that passion, that maybe there could have been talk of Olympics in our household. But alas that was just not in the cards for me. But trust me, I was that good. I played ball every single day of my life that I could, that means when there wasn't snow on the ground over 3 inches I was outside playing baseball/softball. I was practising throwing, catching and hitting every single day of my life. I wanted to play baseball for the White Sox. That is what pushed me when I was a kid, not realising I couldn't 'cos I wasn't born with a penis. Really so not fair if you ask me.
So the one thing that goes with being a jock and supporting a team is loyalty. You're loyal to your team. You choose the team you can relate to or, like me with the White Sox, you're just born to it. Like with the Yankees 'cos I am a massive fan it was me relating to them 'cos Bucky Dent was traded from the White Sox to the Yankees back in the day and then I realised how much fun it was to see a team with a world series or twelve! lol It's not always all about winning of course, but sometimes it helps doesn't it!? I mean 2005 was such a magnificent season for my White Sox, finally my boys won the WS. Ironically enough, my Grandpa lived his entire life (1920-1996) without seeing them win a WS and then 2005 comes along and his great grandson sees them win one when he's but 7 years old. Just turned 7 years old at that (Oct 23rd being his birthday). Funny but he's seen the Yankees win it a couple times now but hey, that one time is what matters most to both of us.
So you have loyalty, but what does that encompass when it comes to sports? Well for me it means you support and love that team in good times and bad, that you vocalise your support be it positive or negative but put a loving spin on it when it is negative and you always, always just always are proud to tell people you support that team even when they're dead last and haven't a chance of anything better. That's my sort of loyalty, everyone is different, so when I say I'm a loyal supporter of a team, you get the picture.
Arsenal. I love Arsenal and I am LOYAL to Arsenal even though I've really only been a supporter for five years now, this being my sixth season. Soccer, or Football as it will be termed from here on out, never really caught on in America, and I just don't know why. Being a fan of the sport now I cannot honestly see any other sport that is half as exciting and exhausting to watch. I would say I guess it's hard for American's to take on a sport where, unless it's a big championship game, neither team has to win or lose, they can go home with a tie and still gain a point. Maybe it's that, the point system. You get 3 points for winning a game and 1 for a draw, and the amount of goals for and against for the entire season can make the difference between first and second place, it's a crazy ol' game isn't it? So I got interested in English Football because...well because I've been a freakin' addict of anything and everything English/British since I was a toddler, seriously. So I was reading the autobiography of Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley back in 2004/05 and all he talked about between the music stuff was Football and Arsenal. Now don't get me wrong, he did turn me onto Arsenal but if I didn't like them at the end of the day I wouldn't have chosen them to support. I did get Football fever because of Hadley though, I had to learn all there was about this sport. I needed something new. I'd reached the goal of a lifetime and saw my White Sox win the Series so I needed a new challenge sports-wise. So I ran head-long into Football. So Arsenal yeah, Hadley rambled on and on about that club so it piqued my interest sure, but I had to give all 20 of the teams in the EPL (English Premier League) a chance, didn't I? Even the mighty Manchester United and Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle United but really? Sure those teams had the stars, they had the power, they had the pizzaz but they didn't have what Arsenal had. Heart. Passion. A belief that they could be the best in the world. The players were more passionate about the sport and their club than any other player on any of those other teams and they just clicked with me, with my heart and soul. So I never looked back. Thierry Henry, he was my hero and he could play that game like he had wings on his feet. He was thrilling to watch and you know what? Last year, because he now plays with the MLS team New York Red Bulls, I finally got to see him play live and it was worth waiting for, he is still just as thrilling to watch and still plays, in his mid 30's, like he was 10 years younger. I think anyway. He gets applause and adulation wherever he goes in this country, in England and in Spain and he deserves it. He is the epitome of why I love Arsenal with everything I have, to this very day he will say nothing but wonderful, praise-filled things about his old club. It's players like him who deserve to come back to Emirates and receive a hero's welcome, and he did this summer when his club came to play Arsenal. It was so good to see him on his home turf again because wherever Arsenal are he is welcome. He inspired me to love a team I have no real connection with other than a passion for sports and a new found passion for Football. Sure players have come and gone and they have talked shit about Arsenal and you know what? They didn't deserve the right to wear an Arsenal shirt and they didn't deserve the applause of Gooners. There are only a few like that though so piss off to them.
So yeah, loyalty. The past five/six seasons I've followed the Arsenal have been great seasons, full of excitement and battles for first place, Champions League final's and an FA Cup win, but this season is different. This season is only 3 games in yes, but you can tell what sort of season a club is possibly headed for this early in, and to be honest? 17th place for Arsenal is not a good place. For anyone. But it's times like this that test the loyalty of a supporter. Will you stick with them during this low time? Will you support the boss, Arsene Wenger, through the thin part of through thick and thin? Will you scramble to call for his head because he may not be doing things you want him to do or do you trust him to know more about running a club than you do? I don't know the answer to that last one because I do think his time could be at an end, but not for him to leave Arsenal completely, I'd love to see him move on up to upper management, I cannot see an Arsenal without an Arsene. I mean look at his name for chrissake, Arsene...Arsenal...it's poetic isn't it? He's surely meant for this club, he's sweat blood and tears for this club, he's brought them from the depths up to the top and he's brought through some of the best players to have ever played the sport, so doesn't he deserve our support now, when things are falling apart? That depends I suppose. I mean honestly, if a manager isn't getting the results demanded of him he should go, no matter how well loved he is, because it's all about winning. The past couple of years there's been a lot of disappointment because when we should have won things we didn't and for that I don't blame Arsene 100% because I never blame the manager 100% for the failure of a team to perform. The players have at least 50% of the responsibility surely, right? I mean even Sir Alex couldn't have gotten better results from this club? I dunno about that. See this is why I'm so conflicted because you look at Manchester United last year, for most of the season they were without a loss, but they played crap. Now a lot of supporters of teams not Man U will say it's because a lot of the refs seem to always be giving them 5 minutes of stoppage time when they're losing or the game is tied and when they're winning there's 1 minute...and that does seem to hold true, but lets face it, when push came to shove last season? Man U got it done. The players had the passion to win the league and Sir Alex had the know how to lead them to the league title. Arsenal had the manager who wanted to win the Champions League, that seems to be his goal because it's the one thing Arsenal have never done, it's the diamond Arsene reaches for. Was that a bad choice for him to have made though? We had a rough run last season, the last time we got to the final, Henry still wore an Arsenal shirt, we have a hard time with some European teams like Barcelona (so does the rest of the world though). So does Arsene put his mind to winning things he shouldn't? What should be most important? The league or the CL? Arsenal had a chance at 4 trophies last season and came away with none. It's unanimous that when they lost the Carling Cup to Birmingham that it took the faith from the players souls. Now I can understand disappointment and maybe losing a game or two because of that, but we're still seeing a team that hasn't found it's footing since that loss and it's a new season and we just lost BIG TIME to Manchester United this past Sunday (8-2, I thought it was a fucking Rugby score at first). So a Gooner's loyalty is being tested big time right now, most are passing the test but I'm sure a lot are not and really, who cares. If you're only following a team because you want to see trophies go fucking follow the shallow Man U. Seriously. All I know is I'm in it for the long haul. I will be buried with my Arsenal scarf. I don't care if they get relegated I will follow them until the day I die and if I can follow them after death then I will. That is so not bullshit either. I love them in the same way I love my White Sox and more than I love my Yankees. Am I disappointed in how they're playing? Fuck yeah, who wouldn't be? And fans of other teams can laugh and point and joke at our expense because it just doesn't fucking matter, my club are still better than yours. So nyah, nyah. THAT, to me, is loyalty. That is what being a true-blue supporter is all about and that's me. True Red and White Gooner, through and through! Maybe I wasn't born in North London but my heart and soul live there in Emirates Stadium! I did get to visit the place, my church, even though the team were not there and I didn't get to see a game it was still a religious experience to walk where they walk, to sit where the great Arsene Wenger sits, to see where the players come together before and after home games. It was an experience I shall never forget and I vow to get back there to see a match before I die, shit hopefully in a few years or so and I will have my son, also a massive fan, with me! Until then it's love all the way from Chicago, support all the way from the Windy City, that one English Premier League team gets. And I think they deserve it, win or lose.
02 August 2011
Music...The Sound of my Soul
Ok so yeah it's been a long time since I posted and yes I stole the whole Sound of my Soul from Spandau Ballet but that's ok 'cos this bloggy is about music!
I think I started getting into music in a serious way in high school, at 14. Now I always liked music, I always had a radio that I carried around (waayyy before iPods were even a thought, we're talking transistor radio here), digging some of what I heard but not a lot. No I was waiting for a new sound, new bands with new ideas. Led Zepplin is cool as are The Doors and The Beatles Ect...and nobody would ever be near as cool as Bowie, but I was looking for something new, something that could be mine. I didn't have too long to wait, as this search started at the end of the 70's and the 1980's would herald a new music revolution and that revolution would change my life forever. It would save my life!
When I was sort of 14 and 15 I was bored. I was getting to that age when the things that had made me happy since I was a kid was suddenly just not fun anymore and I wanted new. New everything but mostly new music. I wanted to know who the hell was singing this song I kept hearing on my little transistor radio, this new sound, this new beat that conjured images of far away places as I lay on my bed daydreaming. I needed to know who the band was. Desperately. I was one of the few unfortunate souls who did not have cable tv yet so, whilst I was aware of MTV, I did not have access to it at home. If I had I probably would have figured out the name of this song was RIO and the band was DURAN DURAN a lot faster. As it was it was just a freakish flukey thing that I figured it out, especially as the radio stations here in Chicago were NOT in the habit of giving the band names before or after the songs at that time, actually that's not really changed much. So I saw this album (yes, vinyl, I'm old, deal with it) that had this RIO for the title and upon further research (flipping said album over to read the back), there was a song called RIO also. I mean it had to be the song, how many other songs had a line in it "Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand" in them? I figured at the very least the song was called "Her Name is Rio"...but yeah, RIO is simple enough I suppose. Anywhoo I at least convinced my mum that if I did not have this album by this band I would absolutely die on the spot and thankfully for me she bought it, with rolling eyes and all. I loved the entire album and didn't turn it off even when my mum tried to buy me off with my favourite dinner, a new bike (hey I was 14 going on 15, far from old enough to have a car so a bike was IMPORTANT), cash and a night out for a film and dinner without my brother tagging along...all to no avail 'cos that album was NOT coming off my turntable thankyouverymuch! Then to add fuel to my ever growing fire? Hungry Like The Wolf came out. At this time I wasn't listening to my radio as much 'cos I had RIO on 24/7 so I had no real idea that HLTW was out until I saw the video on Friday Night Videos on regular tv...I had never seen any Duran video up to this point and let me say, the first sight of Simon Lebon? I was done for. Honestly. From what I've been told my mother had an entire conversation with me whilst that video was on and I heard none of it. lol I said then and I say now, it's not my fault, I never told Simon Lebon to be that damned sexy! I still think he's ridiculously sexy. I always will. My god this was all what, nearly 30 years ago now...how can that be?
So from Duran Duran I got into other bands. I bought other albums. I listen to other music. Well mostly I listened to Duran Duran's first 3 albums 'cos now it's 1984 and I've discovered Spandau Ballet the year prior when they released TRUE. I mean my god you had to be dead if you didn't know the song TRUE that year! It was EVERYWHERE! Shit it's STILL everywhere come to think of it, in so many films it's not even funny and still being played everywhere I go. In 1984 I discovered Depeche Mode and have been manic over them every since and then came Band Aid and Do They Know It's Christmas and my first real sighting of Gary Kemp. I mean sure I'd seen him plenty of times on the vid for TRUE and always thought he was definately the hotty of that band, but when I saw him goofing with John Taylor (it always comes back to Duran Duran)? I was really just SHAZAM'd between the eyeballs. The hottness of Gary, the clothes he was wearing and THAT SMILE just scrambled what brains I had then and really? Upon FINALLY meeting him in 2009? NOTHING has changed. But on a serious note, the music of Spandau Ballet soothed a part of my soul that was desperate for just the type of music they created. It was sort of like Duran yet completly different. It was poppy yet soulful and there wasn't another band in the entire world that sounded like them. I got very caught up in their sound and in them but it was very hard to follow them here in the States. I mean there was MTV and they did really a bang up job back then keeping us informed about bands and music (honest, they DID used to play music videos!) but the one time they were going to do a serious tour of the States one of the members hurt himself and they had to cancel. I've since forgiven him... :o) So it's no wonder, really, that it wasn't until 2009, a reunion tour and in the UK (Birmingham to be exact) that I finally got to see my Spandau Ballet live. In the flesh. In front of my face as I was lucky enough to have a very special person get me front row seats. I have to say the show was so phenominal that I'd wait that quarter of a century again. They were well worth waiting for. Meeting the band back stage was magical as well and I will forever remember that entire day.
Three bands shaped my world in the '80z. Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Depeche Mode. Depeche Mode was a very important influence on me in the last 80's, from '87 through '91. They influenced how I looked, how I dressed, the people I hung with and they provided the back-drop for the summer of '88 and the most explosive, amazing, frustrating, scary, fun, intense time of my entire life. At first I'd say I wish some of what I went through I wish I didn't but then I realise that's not true, I'd go through it all, all of it, all over again if I could because those experiences that summer shaped me in a serious way. Through the music of this band I met people I never would have met, I went places I never would have gone, I did things I never would have done (or will ever tell my son about), and I do treasure all those things. Pleasure, Little Treasure. This band's music is so strongly in my soul that when I was pregnant with my son? Well lets just say some 13 years later he's the biggest Depeche Mode fan in the entire world. lol Seriously. I listened to them when pregnant, I put headphones on my belly and let my growing child enjoy their instrumentals and when he was a newborn I rocked him to sleep to their new album ULTRA...which is his favourite to this day. He also digs in a major way Duran Duran. Duran were my first live gig and his, just over 20 years to the day later.
I often wonder if people realise how much music can and does shape our every day lives. I know there are people out there, my mother for one, who are not moved by music of any kind and I feel sorry for her and people like her because there is nothing like hearing a song and being transported some 20+ years in the past. I mean I can be out somewhere today in 2011 and if I hear RIO in a store or something? I'm 14 years old again, sitting on the floor in my bedroom, walls covered in Duran Duran posters and pictures, writing in my latest story. I can literally smell what mom made for dinner that day. Music is magical and it is neccessary in my life.
These days I can be caught listening to Duran Duran's newest album ALL YOU NEED IS NOW (waiting for 21st October gig here in Chicago!), Spandau's latest which was 2 new songs and the rest old songs redone and redone with panache only Spandau Ballet can bring, I listen to Depeche Mode's everything, Dave Gahan's solo work, Martin Gore's solo work, Gary Kemp's solo work, Tony Hadley's solo work, and new bands like EDITORS who are, in my book, right up there with my top three favourite bands of all time. They are a force to be reckoned with and they should be taking over the world with their music and would be if the world of music wasn't being ruined by teeny's who become famous 'cos they're "cute". I'm hopeful they will break through, they've got the talent. I also listen to a band called PALACE FIRES who are on iTunes so go check 'em out as well as EDITORS. Fantastic bands, bands I'm proud to see take up the mantle of English Rock and Roll. Alas there are 2 bands that contain young men who are the son's of the Kemp brothers from Spandau Ballet. Martin Kemp's son Roman is in a band called Paradise Point and they are SERIOUSLY fantastic and Gary's son Finlay is in a band called LUX, who are just as fab. Again 2 other bands a serious music fan can be proud to have on their iPod! Those 4 bands give me hope for the future of music 'cos for a while there? Seriously? Not good. There is always a place for the Justin Bieber's of the world and the Brittany Spears of the world and all that teeny poppy music, but to have it take over as it has? Just not. Anyhoo....that's my take on music. On what's important to me. I'm sure there is a lot I wanted to say that I've forgotten, so I'm sure I'll babble on about this subject many more times!
Favourite music today only:
Duran Duran: Out of my Mind
Spandau Ballet: Chant No 1
Depeche Mode: Stripped
Editors: Well Worn Hand
Gary Kemp: Little Bruises
David Garrett: Smooth Criminal
These are some of the songs I listened to whilst writing this. Tomorrow...or really half an hour from now...the choices will be different.
I think I started getting into music in a serious way in high school, at 14. Now I always liked music, I always had a radio that I carried around (waayyy before iPods were even a thought, we're talking transistor radio here), digging some of what I heard but not a lot. No I was waiting for a new sound, new bands with new ideas. Led Zepplin is cool as are The Doors and The Beatles Ect...and nobody would ever be near as cool as Bowie, but I was looking for something new, something that could be mine. I didn't have too long to wait, as this search started at the end of the 70's and the 1980's would herald a new music revolution and that revolution would change my life forever. It would save my life!
When I was sort of 14 and 15 I was bored. I was getting to that age when the things that had made me happy since I was a kid was suddenly just not fun anymore and I wanted new. New everything but mostly new music. I wanted to know who the hell was singing this song I kept hearing on my little transistor radio, this new sound, this new beat that conjured images of far away places as I lay on my bed daydreaming. I needed to know who the band was. Desperately. I was one of the few unfortunate souls who did not have cable tv yet so, whilst I was aware of MTV, I did not have access to it at home. If I had I probably would have figured out the name of this song was RIO and the band was DURAN DURAN a lot faster. As it was it was just a freakish flukey thing that I figured it out, especially as the radio stations here in Chicago were NOT in the habit of giving the band names before or after the songs at that time, actually that's not really changed much. So I saw this album (yes, vinyl, I'm old, deal with it) that had this RIO for the title and upon further research (flipping said album over to read the back), there was a song called RIO also. I mean it had to be the song, how many other songs had a line in it "Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand" in them? I figured at the very least the song was called "Her Name is Rio"...but yeah, RIO is simple enough I suppose. Anywhoo I at least convinced my mum that if I did not have this album by this band I would absolutely die on the spot and thankfully for me she bought it, with rolling eyes and all. I loved the entire album and didn't turn it off even when my mum tried to buy me off with my favourite dinner, a new bike (hey I was 14 going on 15, far from old enough to have a car so a bike was IMPORTANT), cash and a night out for a film and dinner without my brother tagging along...all to no avail 'cos that album was NOT coming off my turntable thankyouverymuch! Then to add fuel to my ever growing fire? Hungry Like The Wolf came out. At this time I wasn't listening to my radio as much 'cos I had RIO on 24/7 so I had no real idea that HLTW was out until I saw the video on Friday Night Videos on regular tv...I had never seen any Duran video up to this point and let me say, the first sight of Simon Lebon? I was done for. Honestly. From what I've been told my mother had an entire conversation with me whilst that video was on and I heard none of it. lol I said then and I say now, it's not my fault, I never told Simon Lebon to be that damned sexy! I still think he's ridiculously sexy. I always will. My god this was all what, nearly 30 years ago now...how can that be?
So from Duran Duran I got into other bands. I bought other albums. I listen to other music. Well mostly I listened to Duran Duran's first 3 albums 'cos now it's 1984 and I've discovered Spandau Ballet the year prior when they released TRUE. I mean my god you had to be dead if you didn't know the song TRUE that year! It was EVERYWHERE! Shit it's STILL everywhere come to think of it, in so many films it's not even funny and still being played everywhere I go. In 1984 I discovered Depeche Mode and have been manic over them every since and then came Band Aid and Do They Know It's Christmas and my first real sighting of Gary Kemp. I mean sure I'd seen him plenty of times on the vid for TRUE and always thought he was definately the hotty of that band, but when I saw him goofing with John Taylor (it always comes back to Duran Duran)? I was really just SHAZAM'd between the eyeballs. The hottness of Gary, the clothes he was wearing and THAT SMILE just scrambled what brains I had then and really? Upon FINALLY meeting him in 2009? NOTHING has changed. But on a serious note, the music of Spandau Ballet soothed a part of my soul that was desperate for just the type of music they created. It was sort of like Duran yet completly different. It was poppy yet soulful and there wasn't another band in the entire world that sounded like them. I got very caught up in their sound and in them but it was very hard to follow them here in the States. I mean there was MTV and they did really a bang up job back then keeping us informed about bands and music (honest, they DID used to play music videos!) but the one time they were going to do a serious tour of the States one of the members hurt himself and they had to cancel. I've since forgiven him... :o) So it's no wonder, really, that it wasn't until 2009, a reunion tour and in the UK (Birmingham to be exact) that I finally got to see my Spandau Ballet live. In the flesh. In front of my face as I was lucky enough to have a very special person get me front row seats. I have to say the show was so phenominal that I'd wait that quarter of a century again. They were well worth waiting for. Meeting the band back stage was magical as well and I will forever remember that entire day.
Three bands shaped my world in the '80z. Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Depeche Mode. Depeche Mode was a very important influence on me in the last 80's, from '87 through '91. They influenced how I looked, how I dressed, the people I hung with and they provided the back-drop for the summer of '88 and the most explosive, amazing, frustrating, scary, fun, intense time of my entire life. At first I'd say I wish some of what I went through I wish I didn't but then I realise that's not true, I'd go through it all, all of it, all over again if I could because those experiences that summer shaped me in a serious way. Through the music of this band I met people I never would have met, I went places I never would have gone, I did things I never would have done (or will ever tell my son about), and I do treasure all those things. Pleasure, Little Treasure. This band's music is so strongly in my soul that when I was pregnant with my son? Well lets just say some 13 years later he's the biggest Depeche Mode fan in the entire world. lol Seriously. I listened to them when pregnant, I put headphones on my belly and let my growing child enjoy their instrumentals and when he was a newborn I rocked him to sleep to their new album ULTRA...which is his favourite to this day. He also digs in a major way Duran Duran. Duran were my first live gig and his, just over 20 years to the day later.
I often wonder if people realise how much music can and does shape our every day lives. I know there are people out there, my mother for one, who are not moved by music of any kind and I feel sorry for her and people like her because there is nothing like hearing a song and being transported some 20+ years in the past. I mean I can be out somewhere today in 2011 and if I hear RIO in a store or something? I'm 14 years old again, sitting on the floor in my bedroom, walls covered in Duran Duran posters and pictures, writing in my latest story. I can literally smell what mom made for dinner that day. Music is magical and it is neccessary in my life.
These days I can be caught listening to Duran Duran's newest album ALL YOU NEED IS NOW (waiting for 21st October gig here in Chicago!), Spandau's latest which was 2 new songs and the rest old songs redone and redone with panache only Spandau Ballet can bring, I listen to Depeche Mode's everything, Dave Gahan's solo work, Martin Gore's solo work, Gary Kemp's solo work, Tony Hadley's solo work, and new bands like EDITORS who are, in my book, right up there with my top three favourite bands of all time. They are a force to be reckoned with and they should be taking over the world with their music and would be if the world of music wasn't being ruined by teeny's who become famous 'cos they're "cute". I'm hopeful they will break through, they've got the talent. I also listen to a band called PALACE FIRES who are on iTunes so go check 'em out as well as EDITORS. Fantastic bands, bands I'm proud to see take up the mantle of English Rock and Roll. Alas there are 2 bands that contain young men who are the son's of the Kemp brothers from Spandau Ballet. Martin Kemp's son Roman is in a band called Paradise Point and they are SERIOUSLY fantastic and Gary's son Finlay is in a band called LUX, who are just as fab. Again 2 other bands a serious music fan can be proud to have on their iPod! Those 4 bands give me hope for the future of music 'cos for a while there? Seriously? Not good. There is always a place for the Justin Bieber's of the world and the Brittany Spears of the world and all that teeny poppy music, but to have it take over as it has? Just not. Anyhoo....that's my take on music. On what's important to me. I'm sure there is a lot I wanted to say that I've forgotten, so I'm sure I'll babble on about this subject many more times!
Favourite music today only:
Duran Duran: Out of my Mind
Spandau Ballet: Chant No 1
Depeche Mode: Stripped
Editors: Well Worn Hand
Gary Kemp: Little Bruises
David Garrett: Smooth Criminal
These are some of the songs I listened to whilst writing this. Tomorrow...or really half an hour from now...the choices will be different.
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