Dumbass Bode still doesn’t get it

Bode: Media made him ‘most hated Olympic athlete’ SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. — Bode Miller arrived at the 2006 Winter Olympics as the superstar American skier who carried an abundance of talent and an outsized personality to match. Then came his disappointing performance at the Torino games, where he failed to earn a single medal and [...]

Sam joins IABC Branding blog

I’m always looking for new ways of overextending myself, and have recently found another one. I’m now writing for the IABC’s branding blog (that’s International Association of Business Communicators). I’ve occasionally hit on business issues in my past blogging activities, but this is a little different audience. They don’t know it yet, but I’ll be [...]

Confessions of an overeducated cultural illiterate

There are things we “should do” in life. That list has a general component – things that everybody ought to do – and depending on our vocation and some other factors, there’s an additional specialized list. If you’re a baseball freak, you really aren’t complete without a trip to Cooperstown. There are movies we should [...]

Pro video gamer league

I guess I’m just behind the curve. fikshun e-mails me with this: This is pretty sad. I’ve been seeing ‘professional’ gamers getting money for a few years now, but this is the first serious contract I’ve seen. The xbox 360 allows for an unprecedented level of spectator gaming (you can just sit and watch others [...]

Question of the day

Your fairy godmother shows up, whips out the magic wand, and instantly transports you back to your 16th birthday, telling you that you get to live your youth all over again. But before she hits the execute button, she asks you a question: Quick – do you want to know everything you know now, or [...]

Bad decisions vs wrong decisions: lessons from Lilliput

I read a column last year by an organizational consultant that dealt with the difference between bad decisions and wrong decisions. I can’t find the link at the moment, so let me summarize the point, as best I can remember it. (I’ll apologize in advance if this take is more about my interpretation than the [...]

News Flash: Emperor Sammy the First launches Monster Happy at Pyongtang

Anybody besides me notice that the warhead Kim Jong Il is threatening to launch is powered by “No Dong” missiles? If I were a tin-horn despot I could come up with something better than that. (Story.)

4-nil: The reign of Spain is mainly a pain in Ukraine

It had to be said.

England wins scoreless draw

Some thoughts on England’s victory over Paraguay: 1: England is lucky. Paraguay didn’t mount much of a challenge, but neither did Sven’s boys. 2: England looked less like a team than it did 11 individual superstars. There was no connection at all, despite the fact that they have all kinds of real creators on the [...]

Copa!

Well, the World Cup begins today. Been waiting on this for a long time. A few stray thoughts: 1: The US is healthy and talented, although nowhere near as good as their FIFA world ranking suggests they are. I don’t think. They’re going to need to be that good, though, because they’re in the same [...]