Nice video from the Thunder web site showing the excitement of the NBA playoffs. Listen to the crowd. Game four comes on at 8:30 tonight, 24 Apr 10 on ESPN.
Monthly Archives: April 2010
Being Nice – Update
Over the last couple of months I have been pretty busy with work and trying to fix the house. I have not really been inspired to post anything on this website except when I have been upset about something. We have all heard the expression that says “If you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all”. Well I have been following that advice when I have the strength. Over the last month I have typed up ten or so posts that I never posted to the blog. The passion was there for some injustice the government has done or anger at some story I heard on the news among others. One of the posts was very long but I deleted it.
The truth is that I do not want to come across as some mean tyrant that is always mad at the world. I know is appears that way sometimes because typing on the blog is actually therapy for me when I am in a bad mood or stressed out. The funny thing is that later when I read some of the posts I usually find myself laughing at how angry I sound. Although I usually still agree with my original point, I think there are more effective ways to get my point across without sounding off on a rant.
In a slight change of course I would like to say that really things have been going very well for us. My wife got a new job that is a significant pay increase with better working conditions. I got a promotion and a great evaluation at work with things working out better than I could ask. The house repair is going slow but is actually coming together quite well. Since I am not a carpenter or construction contractor I had very little confidence in myself in the beginning. The more I do the more I feel like I can do anything. Outside the house looks almost the same but on the inside it is very different.
On another note, our city is swelling up with civic pride thanks to our NBA team going to the playoffs in only their second year in Oklahoma City.
This banner above was posted on the Oklahoma City Thunder web site the day they made it to the playoffs for sure. I had to make a screen shot to celebrate the moment.
In this photo you can see the Sandridge Energy building in Oklahoma City with the large sign on all four sides shouting out “LET’S GO THUNDER”. Most of us are not expecting a Championship but just proud of how our team has gone from a 23 win season last year to a 50 win season this year. We are proud of how our star Kevin Durant has beaten Michael Jordan’s record for the most free throws in a season. He has scored more than 30 points scores of games this year earning him the youngest player to ever win the highest scoring player in a season. We have another star in Russell Westbrook that often misses the well deserved attention because he plays with another star on the same team. Even the coach, Scott Brooks won the Coach of the Year award this year. If they did not win another game in the playoffs our city can be proud of the way our players have played and represented our city well.
Life is going very well for us despite the world going crazy. Yes I do have opinions on health care reform, our leaders (cough cough) and other big news stories but again I do not want to rant all the time. I have chosen not to get caught up in the anger in the world. Things are going too well to be ungrateful for what I have. Sometimes it is nice to talk about good things.
Avoiding The News
I have been seeing a side of myself that I have not been liking to much. I know I have a problem getting mad while watching the news on television. All you ever hear is negativity and horror stories one right after the other. There is nothing to be gained by watching the news. I use to think it was my civic duty to keep myself educated and learn as much as I could. I still believe that but have also learned over time that the broadcast media is the wrong venue to learn about current events. They have become nothing more than biased editorials cloaked in the news. They place commentators between stories and only tell half of the story.
I began to see people following me on social networking sites that were similar to my own views. Many of these people would post comments about the political games on the other side that needed to be addressed. I always accepted these friend requests with the idea that it would be less stressful to surround myself with like minded people. I thought there could be nothing wrong with removing myself from the stress of arguing with people. Unfortunately I have found this policy to be just as bad. When you sit around reading political Twitter, Facebook, and Buzz messages day after day even if they agreed with my views. If you surround yourself with people that are always mad at people all the time even if you agree with them is tempting to allow yourself to get sucked in. You can find yourself getting into the anger and before you know you are making sniping remarks at your family, friends, and coworkers.
This is what I have been doing and I have not liked what I have been seeing. I lost my temper with a coworker and snapped at a family member all within a week. This is not the first time I have seen this side of myself. Back in the 1990′s I was so bitter at Bill Clinton. I sat around listening to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Fox News because they agreed with my point of view. Over time I became a grouch and snapped at people all the time. Since I have allowed myself to get this way before, I recognize the signs when they show up. For this reason I have been watching my Twitter and Facebook messages coming into my box. If I see anyone posting political messages frequently, I have removed them from my list. Not because I am offended by them but rather just trying to stop a situation before it happens. I have also made a decision that I will not watch the national news on any channel. Simply surrounding yourself with those that agree with you does not help and in some cases makes it worse.
I have learned that too much of anything is usually not a good thing. When you dwell in the negativity of the news, you will eventually get sucked in and become that negative person. Sometimes we need to realize that the news is not just neutral reporting but rather a well orchestrated art of playing on the emotions of the viewers. These emotions are sometimes sadness, empathy but many times it is anger or indignation. Many of the stories you see on the news take the theme that something bad has happened to a person or groups of people. Then the story turns to the punishment that should be imposed on the perpetrator. Often times these stories will even have music dubbed in to add to the emotional effect. It does not take a rocket scientist to come to the conclusion that the broadcast media has become championship wrestling. You can see the wrestler screaming into the microphone in a well orchestrated attempt to paint the other wrestler as a bad person that must be punished. If it was not so tragic it would be funny. Our political leaders are masters at doing this. The broadcasters will play the game right on cue helping the politician with their emotional work.
I do think that people can learn to be critical thinkers and learn life and know when they are being played. The way I see it is that if I know I am being played and I allow myself to fall into this game then I am asking for a bad day. Most of the stories you see on the news are emotional fabrications that are designed to get the viewers upset. Why would I watch them if I know it is going to be that way before I turn it on? For this reason I say to turn the news off. If you want to keep your sanity and brains, you will be much better off by not watching the news. With the prevalence of the Internet these days there are many other ways to educate yourself without allowing yourself to get caught up in the negative game that is the news. The local news is very similar but has not reached the level of mastery that the national news has. My new motto these days is if you want to be happy turn off the news.
Posted via email from Paul L. McCord Jr.
April’s First Post
Can you believe that it has been over a week since I posted? It seems like we are always busy and never have a moment to post. Either that or the limited time there is to post, I am not inspired to write anything. Tonight we have been trying to watch my wife’s television shows and the Oklahoma City Thunder game at the same time.
After what seemed to be the longest Winter in history, we have finally warmed up for the last two weeks. We have been in the 80’s and the grass and trees have turned green. Just when we thought Spring was finally here, I walk out the door from work to be met with a howling, cold North wind. Just yesterday it was in the 80’s and by the time I got home from work it was 49 degrees. What the heck happened? I hear the cold will not last long so we can survive this.
I just wanted to post a couple of lines to let people know that we are still around and doing fine. Just very busy the last couple of weeks. Surprisingly this blog has continued to get moderate traffic even though there has been virtually no activity. Thanks for those that like to be bored and read crickets squeaking 
.