Sports Bars With Dance Music

If you would have asked we what the worst way to follow a baseball game was, I would have for sure said the radio. Hands down, would have guessed radio over anything. Anything. Being set on fire and watching baseball? Better than radio. Having to sit with your ex while she tells you about all the sex she's having since you broke up while watching baseball? Weirder than radio, but better. Fighting a tiger with a playstation controller while watching a manager run at the mound to make a pitching change? Harder than radio, but better.

Drove around a lot in September/October, and wanted to follow baseball. The option was listening on the radio, or driving while holding my phone on the dashboard, WHICH I HAVE SEEN MANIACS DOING ON THE HIGHWAY. LOT of criminals out there. Speeding down a highway while they have a movie playing on a small screen right behind their steering wheel. Went with option one, and listening to baseball on the radio is pretty great, actually. Screaming at someone you can't see to throw a strike? People driving around you probably think you're really going through it, but then again they're texting their kids in the back to stop kicking the seats.

I found the worst way to follow baseball. No tigers involved. Sitting in a bar, watching it on mute while Keisha or some pop song is blaring. Sitting in a place that calls itself a Sports Bar, while Justin Bieber goes through a break up to a beat as sports are a forgotten memory hanging on a wall. Any bar that has it TVs turned to sports and it's sound turned to dance music should have it's liquor license removed immediately. No questions asked. No room to debate it. Liquor commission comes in, rips the liquor license off the wall, screams 'This is what happens! YOU DID THIS!', punches a TV on the way out and grabs a wing off someone's plate.

I get it if there are a lot of games going on in a night and you pick one. You pick the one that the most people in the bar want to watch. So some people will watch their sport on mute, while the one that the most people wanted to watch will have sound. Okay. Even with that though, a lot of bars will play the game, and when there is a break, half time, whatever, and analysts come on to talk about the game that is playing IN THE BAR, the bar will turn off the sound, and play dance music. For. What. Reason? People are watching the game. Do you think they'll just HATE to continue to follow it during half time? Do you think that whenever people watch sports they want a dance party in-between breaks?

'Hey! Turn this trash off! The big men aren't holding any balls right now. It's just some idiot talking about the stupid game we're watching. Turn up the jiggle music! I want to jiggle, man!'

People who are watching a game will have NO PROBLEM listening to people TALK ABOUT THE GAME they are watching. None at all. People at home do it all the time. It's part of watching the game. Nobody cuts the TV off at home when a analysts come on. Just turn it off and jack iTunes all the way up. 

'Oh god, these people are talking again. If they sang their thoughts, I'd be in. But just talking? NOPE. Shut it off. Let's dance!'

What is the big fascination with dance music in a place where you can throw peanuts on the floor? Who in the hell is dancing here? Actually, I know who's going. People from small towns. In their town, an AppleBee's is Studio 54. No where else to go and dance except the place where you also take a lunch break. 

'Where do you want to drink tonight?'

'What do you mean 'where'? That a joke? We got one place! Captain Magillcuddy's. It's there or the woods.... Woods?'

Listening to baseball on the radio, you can hear the crowd. You feel as if you are somewhat apart of the experience. Watching the game on mute with Miley in your ear? You feel like you showed up to someone's party and begged to follow the game.

'Um, hi, I know it's your birthday and everything, but I really don't know you. I'm here because my friend wanted somewhere to hang tonight. I agreed, and here I am. Can I watch the game now?'

Why do bars do this? Why have sports on AND music? Are the sports for men? Is the music for women? Vice versa? Either way, no body is happy. Nobody wants to watch sports on mute, and even less people want sports to be on when they're trying to get in a dancing groove. Either way, I found the worst way to follow baseball. 

Twitter @nathanmacintosh

Black Storm Trooper

Someone told me the other day that there was a real man who committed suicide because he was so upset that during the first trailer for the new Star Wars movie, it showed a black Storm Trooper. Such a racist AND fan of Star Wars at the same time, that he killed himself after seeing this. Now.... over the top? Understatement. The most understated understatement of all time. Side note, it must be very hard to be racist and keep liking pop culture. GOT TO be hard. Just about every twelve seconds, you're going to have to throw away something you like. 

'You see this new movie? I loved it.'

'Oh yeah? You changing? It's director by a black guy.'

'Are you KIDDING ME?! Why in the hell did NetFliKKK recommend this to me?! Cancelling THAT subscription!'

Personally, do not care if a Storm Trooper is black or white. My issue? Is why is a Storm Trooper a human at all. Why? What was the point of that? I always assumed the Storm Troopers were mindless bodies just locked into helping the dark side no matter what. Like a zombie. They didn't really choose this, they just have to do it. Now we have to think of a Storm Troopers feelings? We have to think about their thought process in the morning while putting on the white plastic suit?

'You're just gonna go into work today, huh? It's your sons birthday and you're just gonna go into work.'

'Just go into work'. You here yourself? I work for an EMPEROR. You think a emperor who hates all things good is gonna give a Jar Jar's ass about our sons birthday?'

'Well couldn't you switch shifts with someone? Can't you ask Donnie to cover fo...?'

'Donnie was choked from across the room last week for taking an extra five minutes on his lunch break! Donnie is dead! DONNIE IS DEAD!'

'... Look, I know you're under a lot of stress, but please stop yelling.'

'Stressed? Stressed!? Janice... I can't even... Pass me my helmet.'

Why make them real people. More casting options? More roles to toss people into? 

'Hey, I want to put this guy in the movie.'

'All the roles are filled, man. No room.'

'Come ON! Make him one of the faceless drones out there.'

'... Sure, you're friends a faceless drone.'

'And have a scene where he takes his damn helmet off! I owe this friend a HUGE favour.'

Are we supposed to care about Storm Troopers now? When we see a Storm Trooper take a laser beam to the chest and fall into a bottomless pit, are we supposed to feel something?

'No! You can't slash that Storm Trooper in half! He's got a family! It's his sons birthday! I know he's wearing a mask that makes him look like a emotionless killer, but he's a PERSON! The Dark Side doesn't even have a good life insurance plan. There BETTER be a scene in this movie where other Storm Troopers go to his wife's house and telling her about their falling friend and her dead husband.'

Honestly, there are many other characters to care about who have stories that we follow. There is NO reason to make Storm Troopers people. Why not go back and show us that No Heart from the Care Bears was a loving Grand Father who was just trying to make a bear less world for his grand children who are horrified of them? Oh, it turns out that Scar actually donated to a lot of charities for the preservation of rare African birds. Mufasa told him once that was a stupid idea because the money doesn't ACTUALLY get to the birds. So now we're all conflicted. 

At the end of this WHOLE thing, HUGE chance that the man in the Storm Trooper suit in the trailer is NOT a Storm Trooper, but wearing one to break out of some sort of Dark Side Palace. It's a movie anyway. We're just talking.

Twitter @nathanmacintosh

YOU Can OWN A DRUG.

Martin Shkreli seems to be an evil man with a lack of compassion for human beings. I would assume that EVERY thing on earth is dollars and cents to him. Does this make money? Then don't do it. What is the time between helping people versus the money I could make by not helping them? 

'Hey, Martin. Can you pick me up from the airport?'

'Well, technically, yes. Let's see, I live about fifteen miles from the airport, which is thirty to and from, I'll burn about six dollars worth of gas, so I'll charge you seven dollars for the gas and a pick up fee of three dollars. Ten dollars, and I'll leave right now.'

'Martin, I'm your Mother.'

'Yes, and I can't let that get in the way of business. I'm soft on you, next thing I know I'm signing a deal where I'll only make forty million dollars!'

'.... Martin.... I've never been more proud of you! I'm giving you twenty dollars.'

Is the only thing that makes a person this way capitalism? Is that it? Does it have anything to do with parenting? If parenting plays apart, I'm assuming the criminals that made this Martin piece of equipment must have conceived this animal in a bank vault.  Scrooge McDuck style. 

'Oh, Mortimus, I believe my vagina is deferring in anticipation of your NasDaq rising within the confines of my savings account.'

'God, Mafalda, you know I love it when you talk dirty in banking terms.'

'You want to get REALLY dirty, let's talk about me re-mortgaging your portfolio's in my mouth.'

'Jesus Christ! To the vault!'

Some of the greed and such has to come from parents. Right? That smirk fest of a face Martin has got to be the most punchable thing anyone has seen in years. Answers a questions, and smirks. When not answering questions, he has facial twitches of a person who's parents were too busy in a loveless marriage to even touch him.

'Honey, our son is doing that weird anti social again where he...'

'Don't you 'HONEY' me! Really? You're going to HONEY me? In this show marriage? We've been living a lie for years!'

'Four years ago you had my portfolios in your mouth, now you're telling me this is all a fake.'

'You know it is, Mortimus! YOU KNOW IT IS! I put your unkept portfolios in my mouth so that I, Mafalda, would have a portfolio of my own.'

'... Are we still talking about my balls?'

'Don't you SWEAR in this house!'

That twitch is either years and years of parents screaming at each other, never given you any credit for anything that you do. Or, you were picked on. Kept feelings inside and now they try to jump through your face. Do I know anything? No. These are just thoughts and opinions. But those expressions are SOMETHING. They are not just 'who he is'. They are from something, somewhere. Instead of looking at these things though, for Martin it was the ultimate money chase. Just get out there, get money, and THAT will solve it all. All questions can be answered with an account.

'You okay?'

'I got money.'

'You sad?'

'I got money.'

'You feel fulfilled in life?'

'My bank is fulfilled.'

Great, Martin, you have a ton of money. Good job. Every think about not having the characteristics of a fly, though? Ever think that your unholy bullshit smirk is enough in a lot of circles to get your head tossed through a window? Ever talk to someone, see that they have become really uncomfortable with how your eyes hard blink for zero reason and think, 'Huh, maybe I should work on my social skills.' There are plenty of things money can't buy, one being the ability to talk to other humans who aren't rich strang-ies. 

It's interesting that someone can buy a company and deal with people who are very much unlike them. A rich person is not selling to other rich people. They are selling to the most in need. Selling to people they wouldn't even have met at one of their power lunches. Never. They've never truly come into contact with each other, but now, one is selling to the other. 

Rappers talk about the money they have, but they ain't buying the rights to drugs. For all the rappers who say they make millions selling cocaine, NONE of them have the money to buy the rights to it. 

'Yo, I'm looking for a bump.'

'Well, you've clearly never boughten drugs before, and clearly I shouldn't be selling them, but cool. All the coke comes through Young Jeezy now, and you have to buy it AND all of his mixtapes.'

'Okay. How much?'

'Coke is free. Mixtapes are a thousand each.'

'Christ! I don't have that kind of money!'

'Well, hit the bricks, bud. We're done.'

And yes, I know you can't buy the rights to cocaine because it's illegal, but technically, you could own the rights to it. It's a little bit bloodier of a process then just being a hedge fund manager and 'earning' the money the 'legal' way, but still, rappers ain't even CLOSE to a thirty two year old hedge fund manager. He is described as a former hedge fund manager. Former! At 32, already retired from a job I'm assuming is basically sitting in a room and being paid an unbelievable amount of money. 

'How much did you make today?'

'Well, I took the day off. So, two hundred grand?'

'Yikes. Rough one, huh?'

Yes, the man has a lot of money. Some people look at money as being the only thing that counts from a person. If you have a ton of money, no matter who you are and what you do, some people will still look at you like a hero. 

'That guy sucks.'

'Well, he's a super duper ba buper billionaire da da da luper naire. He's great.' 

That means DICK. Making a ton of money doesn't make you smart, creative, interesting, talented, or a good person. You're talented at making money. You're smart at investing. Good. Does NOT mean what you put into the world is good. That it does not. 

Yes, Martin is not the only person or company on the planet robbing and destroying things. There are plenty more, but many of them we do not have a face for them. It's just a logo that we should be avoiding. This one? HAS a face. We've seen it. We've heard it defend itself with 'profits' and 'to further help patients.' Please. We've seen this face, and reacted. People get mad at many companies for many great reasons, but if each of them had a inhuman creature tweeting back at their concerns? We might have a different view of all of them. 

Twitter @nathanmacintosh