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It seems like only yesterday that I was heart broken when the Celtics beat the Lakers in the NBA finals, and it seemed like it would be forever and a day before a new NBA season would be upon us. A few months, and a gold medal later, Kobe Bryant and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers begin this seasons road to the NBA finals, and I know at least one Laker fan who couldn’t be more excited. The Lakers start the season tonight at home against the up and coming Portland Trailblazers, and yours truly will be there in the PR seats cheering them on. (Thanks Greg) I have been a Laker fan for longer than I can remember, and not since Phil Jackson’s arrival in Los Angeles have I been this excited for the start of the NBA season. With last seasons acquisition of Pau Gasol, and this seasons return of Andrew Bynum, the Lakers seem primed to avenge their loss in the NBA finals, and once again bring a championship back to Los Angeles. The road to the NBA finals begins tonight, and if this Laker fan has anything to say about it, it ends with a parade through downtown Los Angeles.
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If you get the chance to go see Kings of Leon during their current tour, or any tour for that matter, I suggest you go see them. I saw them recently at the Nokia Theatre and I was blown away. Over the years I have grown to love Kings of Leon, but definitely was not as in to them as my friends Greg and Josh were. While I have seen them before and enjoyed their shows, it wasn’t until I got into their newest album, “Only by the Night” that I realized just how incredible a band they really are. The album is amazing, and in a year with MGMT, Vampire Weekend, new Bloc Party, new Radiohead, and countless other albums, it goes down as my album of the year. If you haven’t heard their new album, get it, and if you haven’t had a chance to go to one of their concerts, find a way to go, because Kings of Leon is one of the greatest bands around, and it would be a shame if you weren’t able to experience them for yourself.
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When Heroes first aired a few years ago, I was blown away. Ordinary people with extraordinary abilities. I thought it was such an original idea, and episode after episode I was more and more hooked. Who hasn’t daydreamed about the idea of finding out that they were invincible, or could read minds, or could travel through time. And the way in which each character came to terms with their abilities seemed so genuine, and so real, that I couldn’t help but want more and more after each episode. I couldn’t wait to go into work Tuesday and talk to my co-workers about the events that had unfolded and the craziness that was ensuing.
And then season two came around, and it seemed like all of the Heroes fans disappeared. Everybody complained about how slow the story was going, and about how nothing was being answered, and all of these new meaningless characters were being introduced. While it wasn’t easy, I stuck through season two, and I couldn’t be happier that I did, because the show that was being chastised last season has come back in a big way. Heroes season three has brought back that excitement and energy that made season one so great to watch. Good guys are becoming bad buys, bad guys are becoming good guys, and people’s powers are being taken from them. I once again find myself on the edge of my seat the entire episode and always seem to have more questions then answers when the show is over. So if you are one of those people who got off the Heroes band wagon during or after season two, I am here to tell you that it is not too late to get back on because the Heroes that we fell in love with in Season one is back, and only getting better.
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Everything I ever needed to know about life I learned in Mr. Bailey’s 6th grade social studies class. He was the first teacher I ever had who actually told it like it was. In his class, he made the rules, and it didn’t matter whether or not they were fair, because after all, “life isn’t fair.” People lie, people cheat, and people steal. Bad things happen to good people, and nice guys finish last. And if you don’t like it, too bad. Life doesn’t happen the way we want it to. Life just happens. Sometimes it works out the way we want, and sometimes it doesn’t. And if we can get rid of our expectations of what life should be, and get over our ideas that life owes us something, then we can handle anything life throws at us, good or bad. So while it may have taken me 18 some odd years to figure out, I whole heartedly believe that everything I need to know about life I learned in the 6th grade. The rest is just details.
