Your Daily Moment of Zen for October 16th, 2011

“List of Demands”

To: Jerry Jones

From: One concerned Dallas Cowboys fan

Subject: List of Demands

Dear Mr. Jones,

    I am writing you to discuss the present and future of your organization, the Dallas Cowboys. What was once a storied franchise and the dominant sports organization in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area is now a shell of it’s former self and, at best, the 3rd, maybe even 4th best franchise in the metroplex - behind the Rangers, Mavericks, and, at this point, TCU or SMU football. FC Dallas is licking their chops to pass your boys as well - at least they’ve been to a League Championship within the past decade.

I’m not gonna tell you how to run your team, but I will give you some demands from the viewing public - mainly, me.

1. Dez Bryant is your future, not Tony Romo - the QB has shown signs of a very talented quarterback, but he has not shown any progression what so ever in the area that matters most when it comes to the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys - LEADERSHIP. He can’t get his offensive line in sync, or his receivers for that matter. Almost every play we’ve seen this season, Tony has either audibled out, called a time out, or had to yell at his teammates what they’re job is on said play. Brady, Brees, Rodgers, and Manning don’t have to do this. Those same names also don’t have to demand attention or respect from their teammates - they earn it. Tony hasn’t done that yet, and now I’m worried he may never.

2. Jason Garrett is not a head coach, he might not even be a worthy offensive coordinator now, either. The man has done nothing but outsmart himself since being awarded the reigns to the most storied franchise in professional football and when questioned about his tactics, he flings his Princeton ring about like a badge of honor. Guess what? No one gives a damn where you graduated from or what that ring looks like. We only care about world championship rings in Dallas and the only one we’ve seen in some time belongs to Mark Cuban and Rick Carlisle. Hopefully Ron Washington, Nolan Ryan, and John Daniels will add to that this year.

3. Your team is not worthy of our reading, viewing, or listening time - The way I see it, the Cowboys are rapidly falling behind in DFW sports supremacy, behind the Mavericks, the Rangers, local college football programs, and, if things don’t improve and improve rather quickly - the Stars and FC Dallas could pass you for reading rights in the local paper. Sure, you’ll command the front page of the sports section tomorrow, but for all the wrong reasons. Who wants to read about an absent minded head coach, a beleaguered quarterback, and a 2-3 record? Not me. 

This is just a small sample of the ire I have directed at you and your franchise, and as a lifelong Cowboys fan, my heart will always remain with the team. But my patience wears thin, my attention is short, and the accolades and success is being delivered by other local sports franchises. The time has come for you to look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself what the hell are you doing and what do you want out of all of this? Do you have the stomach for the fight anymore, Jerry? I’m starting to think you don’t anymore, and it saddens me.

Call me scum. I probably deserve it. I’ve gone a long time just “skimming by” or easing through, but at one point or many points, it’ll catch up to you.

The last near 3 months of my life have been some of the most exciting, because I met someone who never doubted me because of my faults. But in the same time, I never made an honest attempt to make up for them faults when it wasn’t that hard to do so.

Relationships have never been my forte’. See my track record. But every now and then, something good comes along, and yours truly, finds a way to screw it up, whether intentionally or unintentionally. It could be something simple as wanting to watch a football game over what she wants to watch, and it could be something as severe as being spend-happy when I should be taking care of personal responsibilities.

In the end, I usually am the one end up losing because I was too busy worrying about losing my job, that I didn’t end up doing my job.(Thanks, Mr. Douglas)

I’ll admit, I’m the furthest thing from perfect when it comes to balancing work and play, or in better terms, responsibility and pleasure.

I wish I could say that would end now with this entry, but I know that’s not that easy. I also know that the only person that can help me in this predicament is myself, and myself alone. It’s not gonna be easy, and I will more than likely take my lumps. But I made a promise to myself this year that I would right myself in all aspects of my life - financially, physically, mentally, emotionally, and anything else I’m forgetting at this point. I’m not perfect. No one is. But in order to right yourself, you have to strive for perfection - even if you don’t succeed 100%.

ONE LEG AT A TIME….

J

Good evening, boys and girls. It’s been a while, and for good reason. No, I did not go back to jail and T did not have to bail me out. Instead, everything that has happened in the past 3 and a half weeks has been nothing but positive, sans work. I hate my job. Join the club, I know.

First, what more need be said about our local sports team? I’m in agreement with a lot of other local sports writers when I say that this Championship is in a company of it’s own. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a die hard Cowboys and Rangers fan, but the Mavericks title kills any of the Cowboys or even the lone Stars win in 1999. It might be an age thing, I dunno. But the excitement and positive attitude displayed in the city over the past 8 days trumps any of those previously mentioned. We were fortunate to witness the Game 6 victory at the watch party in the AAC and go to the Victory Parade. You can view those pics on my FB page. It was a week I will never forget and hopefully be able to tell my children or grandchildren one day.

Next, and maybe even more exciting, I, Joshua Blake McMurray, met a wonderful, beautiful, outgoing, exciting woman. We met, out of all places, at the HP Byron Nelson tournament and never looked back. It has been an action-packed 3 and a half weeks for us and I can only hope it gets better in the weeks and hopefully months to come. She makes me happy and I hope I’m doing the same. I am Josh’s elation.

I’m sure I could write for hours, but I do have work tonight, and the Rangers are on. There will definitely be more Zens to come, so keep reading, and me and T will keep writing.

Deuces.

rangersfanradio:

Rangers Fan Radio returns tonight! Sam Dowell and Joshua McMurray will go on the air at 7 PM CT to talk about the return of Hamilton and Cruz, the recent series win against the White Sox from the South side of Chicago, the series loss to the Phillies of Cliff Lee :( , what the…

(Oh honey, you made my Friday ten times better than before!)

Welcome, little ones, to your daily moment of Zen for Friday, May 20th, the day before Rapture, which is not just a trendy Blondie song.(White chicks rapping. Nuff said.) Today we attack Best Buy and Target, make a funny joke, and find anything else we can use to piss off the readers. Let’s all go inside!(Love ya, Kev.)

Am I high maintenance? Hell no! I just want the industry standard!

I ventured out today to my local Best Buy to purchase a specific pair of ear buds for my ipod. My current ones, Sony, have decided to go all Freddy Krueger on my ears as of late and I really don’t like coming home from work with my ears bleeding, especially when it’s not due to the music I listen to. The associate at BB informed me that the only Apple brand ear buds they now carry are the $40 ones that have a remote and microphone attached. Target’s selection was the same. Is there something wrong with NOT OWNING A FUCKING IPHONE? There’s just as many ipod owners as there are iphone owners and stores should recognize this, especially with their accessories. I bet a lot more people would rather spend $20 than $40 for a pair of ear buds. Call me jewish.

I went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries for dinner tonight. Five Guys - official sponsor of the Kennedale Teachers Association. Think about it.

I slept ten hours today, all in thanks to Melatonin and the rain. Oh, and Elisha Cuthbert, who decided to be my girlfriend for 10 hours. Thank you Elisha. Thank you very much.

Finally, “Rapture” is tomorrow. According to these religious folk, the end of the world will come down at 6:00pm tomorrow. That kind of sucks, cause I really wanted to watch Game 3 and then go to the Colonial with the lovely Ash on Sunday. Let’s “pray” it doesn’t happen. Fucking idiots. Something tells me this guy is a member….

Welp, I gotta get ready for work. You folks have a nice weekend. Go Mavs! Go Rangers! STFU, Rapture folk! And call me, Elisha. 

sirmitchell:

OHHHHH YEAAAAHHHH

Too Tsunami?

rangersfanradio:

Rangers Fan Radio returns tonight in an experimental new format! Or Moyal, Sam Dowell and a mysterious new co-host will join you as soon as the Rangers’ Tuesday night matchup with the Chicago WhiteSox reaches its conclusion.

We’ll talk about the game, general topics…

Sometimes, you just know it’s gonna be an epic day…..

Welcome, one and all to your Daily Moment of Zen, and folks, we’ve got ourselves a feel good, awesome DMOZ for you today - filled with nothing but good news!!!!!

1. It’s time to get me some famous

A few weeks ago, I auditioned for an internet podcast/radio show. I found out last night I got the job. I’ll be co-hosting with two fellow Rangers fans about the teams, the games, and the farm system, on a weekly basis. The show is called Rangers Fan Radio, and you can listen here. It doesn’t cost ya anything and if you love the Rangers like I do, then it’s worth the listen. The show will also be available on itunes as well so you can listen later. This is an exciting opportunity for me and I hope it leads to better future endeavors in the radio/tv/sports business. Wish me luck!

2. Fuck you, cancer!

Got a nice wake up from my mother this afternoon with some good news. She is currently in a battle with her myloma and is using both oral and iv chemo to battle it. She got her first test results back regarding her protein levels in her bone marrow. She went from a 1.5(bad) to a .4(bad ass) from about 3 weeks worth of chemo. This is a great step forward in the long battle with this disease. It’s also nice to see my mother with a smile on her face. It let’s me know she can handle this battle with the help of myself, her friends, and her family. 

3. Money(That’s What I Want)

The 3rd good news is really just material type shit, but I got my rebate in the mail today from Sprint for my phone I purchased about two months ago. $100 is still $100 and that will go to either my new laptop fund or my new car fund. I like money, and money likes me.

Now, you may be asking yourself, “Josh, what did you do to celebrate all this goodness on a Monday evening?”. The answer to that, my fellow readers of the DMOZ, is quite simple:

BREAKFAST FOR DINNER, BITCHES!!!!!!

Oh what a doozy I have for all of you little campers today with the DMOZ! I decided to take yet another route in writing for you all and am going to go in detail about the very first cd I ever purchased with my own money. But first, now hear this…………..

I, Joshua Blake McMurray, was born a STYX fan, and will die a STYX fan.

Deal with it.

Now, on to the good stuff. The very first cd I bought with my own money was actually 3 cd’s, but we’re only going to focus on one today, and that would be “Paradise Theatre” by the greatness that is STYX. First a few details about the album, then we’ll go track by track with my thoughts…..

(all factoids brought to you by the empire that is wiki, so take them with a grain of salt.)

Paradise Theater became Styx’s only US #1 album. It was the band’s fourth consecutive triple-platinum album.

“The Best of Times”, written by Dennis DeYoung, went to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Too Much Time on My Hands”, written by Tommy Shaw, went to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, Shaw’s only top 10 hit for Styx. “Rockin’ The Paradise”—written by DeYoung, Shaw and James Young—went to #1 on the Top Rock Track Chart.

The song “Snowblind” (lyrics by Young, music by Young and DeYoung) was an attack on drug addiction. The track would come under fire for supposedly having backward messages and was branded by Tipper Gore’s PMRC as “Satanistic.” James Young and DeYoung denied this on the In the Studio episode devoted to the making of Paradise Theater. Other impartial sources have also said that the claim of Satanic messages on this record is completely false.

Track 1 - “AD 1928/Rockin’ The Paradise” - The key to a 80’s rock/pop band’s album’s success is the lead track and Styx hits the nail on the head here and then some. Dennis De Young’s vocals start off soft and sweet as a sort of homage to the emcee of the old stage shows of the 20’s, hence the title of the track. But you find out very shortly that this track has a surprise or two in store for you. The drums kick in to gear and the rocking ensues. Still one of my favorite songs of all time.

Track 2 - “Too Much Time On My Hands” - A nice, upbeat song from the band and a nice follow up to the lead track. The lead guitars are on display here and do not fail to impress. What I like most about this song is how it feels like a throwback to the 70’s rock scene.(No, not like Kiss, David Bowie, or AC/DC. You’ll have to figure it out.)

Track 3 - “Nothing Ever Goes As Planned” - Time to drop some jazzy brass on yo ass! Another upbeat kind of tune basically arguing the logistics of karma, bad timing, mother nature, and fate. Or just a song that might suggest to you to get up off your ass and dance a little. Yes, it’s THAT kind of song.

Track 4 - “The Best of Times” - As always with STYX, you get a lovey dovey type song so the ladies can get that special feeling in their hearts or in between their legs. I guess it just depends on the female.

Tracks 6,7,and 8 I really don’t remember that much, so let’s just pass them for now.

Track 9 - “Half Penny, Two Penny” - This is STYX’s attempt at metal, I think. It doesn’t go over well. You don’t need to yell, guys, you’re cool enough as it is! You did “Come Sail Away” for God’s sake!

Track 10 - “AD 1958” - Basically the end track to the album. Sums up the whole theater experience with the tracks very nicely.

Track 11 - “State Street Sadie” - ah yes, the callback to the olden wooden piano days of yore. I love the sound it makes on this fade out track. Good times.

Well that’s it. Next time we’ll be discussing your favorite gag reel from movies, what ever happened to the band Pavement, and why shaving your nether regions isn’t always a good thing.

Hello fellow campers - since I woke up with some pain that has been recurring in my left shoulder, I decided to get up, have some cereal with a hydrocodon chaser, and drop some Zen for you, since it’s been almost two weeks since last post. In today’s edition:

- Katy Perry - best pop artist of all time, already?!

- Hot Sauce Committee Part Two review

- Summer Movie season preview and predictions

- Why blondes really do have more fun

Let’s do this already!!!!!

According to NME, Katy Perry is leading a poll of “The Greatest Pop Stars of All Time”. Um, to be as respectful to Katy as possible, no. And believe me, I’d respect the shit out of her.(wink) Katy has a very long way to go to be included in the company of Elvis, Michael Jackson, and Madonna - my version of the Holy Trinity. The key to being one of the elite is to sustain a career, and a successful one at that, for a minimum of two decades. Katy has only been around for half of one. I wish her all the luck, but the people who contributed to that poll need to have their heads examined. I’d be scared to see where Beiber landed on that poll. God help us.

Yesterday, the first album in over 4 years from one of my favorite groups of all time, the Beastie Boys, was released. Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 is the first of two albums to be released by the trio in a year.(We’re still waiting on a release date for Part 1) Before I display my altered opinions on this, let me explain how part 2 came out before part one. HSC Part 1 was originally titled Tadlock’s Glasses and was to be released in 2009, but due to MCA getting cancer, the recorded tracks were shelved so Adam(MCA) could get treatment. Hopefully this review finds him in full remission. So, when you listen to HSC Part 2, you’re actually listening to Part 1, and the NEW HSC part 1 will have the music associated with Part 2. Confusing, right?

Now on to the review.

I got to listen to the whole album before it was released, thanks to the internet, and I’ve listened to it twice since purchasing it last night.(I got a free t-shirt with my copy, too. Take that, bitches!) I honestly believe that Capitol records decided to release these tracks as a primer to the new Part 1 when it gets released, because this album, to me, is nothing but a teaser. It’s only 44 minutes total in running time, which is way below BB standards, and it’s filled with filler tracks that are two minutes or less. The first track, “Make Some Noise” is fun to listen to, and it has gained steam, mostly in thanks to the star studded music video for the track. However, after that, the album just kind of tails off. Guest appearances by NAS and Santigold don’t even help it’s premise. I could go in to detail, track by track, about my slight dissapointment with HSCP2, but it’d be the same nauseating review you could read on Spin or Rolling Stone’s website, even though I believe both of those publications are probably kissing the boys’ asses. Puke. When HSCP1 comes out, and hopefully this year or early 2012, it better have some firepower, or the public and the true fans of the Beastie Boys might be beginning to question the staying power of the band.

I’ll give HSCP2 a pass, due to my devotion to the band, but they better come back hard and heavy with HSCP1. 6/10 beers.

Summer Movie season is upon us!!!!!

Gonna be short n sweet with some of these, because there’s too many to cover. Ready? Set? Go!

Thor(this Friday) - Has an astounding 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, which flat out surprises me. I’ve heard a lot of rumblings that this might rival Spidey 2 as the best comic book movie, period.

Bridesmaids(May 13th) - if you haven’t seen the trailer for this, go youtube it now. Think “The Hangover” for females. Looks good though.

Pirates of the Carribean:On Stranger Tides(May 20th) - Blackbeard shows up this time(courtesy of Ian McShane). Mom’s favorite franchise these days. Think I’ll wait till DVD.

The Hangover, Part 2(May 26th) - I honestly think this might be the best sequel since Terminator 2:Judgement Day. The premise is the same, but it’s now set in Thailand. Everything I’ve seen from the trailer has made me laugh. A Memorial Day weekend release doesn’t hurt it’s chances either.

X-Men: First Class(June 3) - I have high hopes for this, especially getting to see the lovely January Jones half naked the majority of the film. Heh.

Super 8(June 10) - Spielberg and JJ Abrams. Cloverfield meets Close Encounters. Do you really need me to go on here? I didn’t think so.

Green Lantern(June 17) - Oh Ryan Reynolds, how does Scarlett Johannson leave you for Sean Penn? If this movie doesn’t score big, DC might have to rethink it’s approach to movies, seeing the Batman franchise is the only one saving it’s ass right now.

Bad Teacher(June 24) - Think Bad Santa, but in a school, and the title character is a woman instead of Billy Bob Thorton. Looks promising.

Transformers: Dark of The Moon(July 1) - No Megan Fox?! Denied! End this franchise already, Mr. Bay. I want a Bad Boys 3.

Horrible Bosses(July 8) - Ensemble cast sells this movie, and the trailer isn’t even out yet. IMDB this title, and you can thank me later when you read up on it.

Harry Potter and the Deatly Hallows Part 2(July 15) - Hands down, the front runner for the Box Office crown for Summer and maybe all of 2011. It’s the final showdown between Harry and that guy from In Bruges. Ha!

Captain America: The First Avenger(July 22) - While I don’t agree with the Chris Evans casting here as Cap(John Hamm, hello?!), I’ll go see it just to get prepped for The Avengers movie.

Cowboys & Aliens(July 29) - Tombstone meets War of the Worlds. And hey, Han Solo and James Bond are in it!!!! Not to mention Olivia Wilde, mee yow!!!!

Rise of the Planet of the Apes(August 5) - At least Tim Burton isn’t doing it, right? Right?! God help us….

30 Minutes or Less(August 12) - GO SEE THE TRAILER FOR THIS NOW!!!! Can’t wait!!!!

Conan The Barbarian(August 19) - No Arnold?! Denied! To hell with you Krahm!!!!

Blondes really do have more fun. Here’s why.

They flirt better than anyone else.

They are definitely more carefree than anyone else.

They can do something on a whim, with out planning.

They like to drink.

Let’s face it, they’re sexy as hell.

They’re wild.

And they don’t mind the rough stuff every now and then.

This is my ode to all the blondes out there. Thank you for your patronage.

Well kids, that’s it for today. I’ll be dropping more Zens in succession along with T’s contributions. Have a nice hump day. Oh, and just for good measure, today (May 4th) is Intergalactic Star Wars Day. So, May the 4th be with you!!!!