The Legend of Cletus Buckeye
By Chris | November 5, 2007
My friend Eric Myers put up a site dedicated to Cletus Buckeye, Brutus’s bad-ass brother.
Buckeye fans should definitely check it out for a little history on OSU’s little-known unofficial mascot.
And now for the obligatory “Go bucks!”
Topics: Art, Sports | 1 Comment »
More music theft: the library
By Chris | November 5, 2007
Some new steps for getting free new music:
- Check out CDs from your local library
- Rip CDs to your computer
- Rinse, repeat
Even the library helps you break copyright laws.
With the prices on some of these CDs, it makes it too easy to give in to temptation. Risk is greater than reward in most cases.
Radiohead and Paste have it right. Because it’s so easy to steal, people are going to pay what they’re willing to pay anyway. Publishers better go along with it.
The giants will fall, and my favorite artists will still receive my money because they have earned it. All because the status quo feels too safe for big companies.
Topics: Music | 9 Comments »
Success that lasts
By Chris | October 24, 2007
The Petri Project reviewed a book called Success Built to Last: Creating a Life that Matters. Based on interviews with people like Steve Jobs and Jimmy Carter, the book factors out 3 things you need in order to be successful.
According to the Petri People’s review, here are the 3 things you need in order to be successful:
- “Meaning,” as in, “What you do must matter deeply to you.”
- A “highly developed sense of accountability, audacity, passion and responsible optimism.”
- A knack for finding “effective ways to take action.”
This caused me to reflect on what I may be missing in my pursuit for success.
I think I do a poor job of holding myself accountable. While I do get a lot done, I never put much pressure on myself. I am more disciplined than your average Chris, but perhaps not disciplined enough.
How about you? Why not comment on what you think you could improve upon?
Topics: Success | 1 Comment »
Read one book a month: Waiting for Your Cat to Bark
By Chris | October 22, 2007
Looks like my last finished book was 7 weeks ago, so I should be reading a little more often. At least I’ve been reading at all!
I just finished Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?: Persuading Customers When They Ignore Marketing (I wrote a review).
Next is Blue Ocean Strategy. Laura bought the book for me last Christmas, and I’m just getting to it now. It’ll be good to finally end the guilt!
See more progress on: Read one book a month
Topics: Goals | 1 Comment »
Embrace design in my environment: new MacBook Pro
By Chris | October 17, 2007
I just bought a shiny new 15″ MacBook Pro. (Hoping to push some of your jealousy buttons if you’re a geek like me!) I’d argue that having a beautiful piece of technology like this is a huge step in embracing design in my environment.
Now all we need to do is wait for Leopard to come out so that it can be even more beautiful.
See more progress on: embrace design in my environment
Topics: Goals, Tech | 2 Comments »
Some of us are clueless, but…
By Chris | October 11, 2007
I stumbled upon a podcast with a segment called The Real Reason Fathers Leave. They quote an article from guy who is a counselor and minister. I really wish that they would have cited his name!
- 1 in 3 American children live in fatherless homes.
- 63% of all youth suicides, there’s no father in the house.
- 71% of pregnant teenagers, no father in the house.
- 85% of all youth imprisonments, no father in the house.
- 90% of all homeless and runaway children.
- 71% of all high school dropouts, no father in the house.
These are sobering facts of what goes on. And you’ve heard these statistics, but you never ask why. Why do these fathers leave their children? And why is society afraid to address the actual reason of why men leave?
According to popular myth, men leave because they are irresponsible and don’t care about their families. Yes, there is a very small segment of the male population who are guilty of this, but for the most part, this is not the case.
Most fathers don’t want to leave their children. They love their kids and want to be engaged in every aspect of their lives. Men hurt and feel pain when they cannot be with their kids. To suggest otherwise is not only insulting to men, but it’s a boldface lie.
Society routinely downgrades fathers. Men are typically depicted by Hollywood as inadequate and useless beings who are nothing more than comedic props.
Many women I have counseled with and have interviewed on my radio and TV shows are quick to point out everything the man is doing wrong. But it’s rare to find a woman who can honestly admit that she screwed up the kids or that she’s driving the male crazy.
It’s time that we look at the role women play in driving men out of the home and separating them from the children. That’s not to say that men don’t bare the brunt of the responsibility for their weakness. Men need to learn how to deal with women with strength and patience. This is love.
The role the women play in the home is never discussed on Oprah (and I might add Dr. Phil) or written about in any notable publications. This is because women are viewed as innocent and harmless creatures. On the other hand, feminists have long perpetuated the myth that the straight, traditional American male is a Neanderthal. Most women themselves don’t understand why they provoke or agitate their spouse to lash out or run away.
Here’s my opinion.
This shows the need for Americans to embrace the true Christian home. Men are responsible, but they are not to blame. Men do need to stand up and be leaders when the time calls for it. It’s what they’re called by God to do. If there is undue disrespect, call it out, for the love of God!
Women also need to soften up a little. I remind my girlfriend, “Nagging isn’t loving.” I’m sure many of you know how much she loves that. In all fairness to her, most of the time I’m joking when I say it.
But some men are not as lucky as me. The best thing I can say is to know what you’re getting into before you get hitched and pop out a couple of kids. It is not a fucking race! (Pun intended, ha!)
Face the statistics. As a man, the well-being of your children depends on you to be a man and demand respect from your woman!
Topics: Relationships | 2 Comments »
Rootin’ tootin’ old stale fart
By Chris | October 7, 2007
I turned 27 last week, which officially pushes me into my late 20s.
Things are a bit different this birthday. For one, I felt like I was forcing myself to stay up and party on Saturday. My friends and I stayed out until around 3:00 am, and it just about killed me. If the activity had involved anything other than bowling, I’m sure I would have nodded off. Close call on being the loser sleeping on the floor in the bowling alley!
I can’t imagine what it’ll feel like to be 80.
Also, I was able to double up on the number of birthday celebrations this year. Now I can say that I celebrated my birthday four times:
- With my family
- With my friends
- With my girlfriend
- With my church small group
Talk about a narcissistic holiday… I must be important!
All jokes aside, thanks Laura for the lovely evening and to my small group for surprising me with a cake. I’m very blessed.
Topics: Life | 3 Comments »