Aquaman Film Review

TL;DL — the movie isn't good.

Who Gets Divorced? (Quality Under Pressure Podcast)

Really proud of this episode because it captures what I hope The Quality Under Pressure Podcast becomes — it's conversational, funny, engaged, but we also touch on a topic that is considered taboo by some. I hope we help normalize topics with lots of social stigma attached by talking about them. An intentional, engaged, and meaningful conversation is a very powerful tool. It's why I love meeting up with people for 1-on-1 chats over coffee and it's why I formatted the show after that sentiment. Plus, I get to see 2 of my best friends & co-hosts more often because of this project.

A big thanks to Leah for joining us and being an open book. Not everyone would be that open about their divorce and I am grateful for your generosity & courage. I'm glad we got your perspective on divorce and that we all laughed while you shared your insight. Also, thank you for the solid logo! It almost looks like we know what we're doing because of it.
It's crazy to me that one could judge another for being divorced. Marriage is an antiquated practice and if divorce brings happiness to the people involved we should be supporting them. At the same time, if marriage brings you joy then you should be allowed to practice it, but that doesn't mean it's right for everyone. The issue is that society tells you to get married and to stay married even if it means sacrificing happiness and health. Hopefully our conversation helps shine a little light to bring a little more balance to the topic.

I get stoked every time we record episodes. I really hope future episodes end up like this one and our episode on religion with McKenna & Leo — they're funny & light, but we dig into some important topics. If you're going to check the podcast out, I would start with 1 of those episodes. You can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, YouTube, and many other platforms.

The Quality Under Pressure Podcast

I started a new podcast and it's been great fun.
Please check it out if you have time.

On Our Way, Troubled One...

It's always the troubled that take a second to look around, isn't it?

Maybe it's because it's all we have — our troubles. 

Story of the Year - "The Black Swan"

In my opinion, Story of the Year's 2008 release, "The Black Swan," is the best album they put out. "Page Avenue" might have had more commercial success, but I do not think it stacks up against "The Black Swan." It's an album that looks at human existence while touching political and social topics. The album also has an interlude that includes an excerpt from Carl Sagan so that already scores many points in my book.
The album was released towards the end of the W. Bush era and it captures the tumultuous times in 13 beautiful tracks. The album begins with Bush speaking and the first word we get from frontman Dan Marsala is "liar." The album continues by urging listeners to wake up, think, organize, unite, and take action.
I still come back to this album 10 years later and it's still great. In fact, the album seems to have taken on new meaning considering the actions our current president is taking.

To The Old Man Above

So you’re probably thinking — “why air out our beef on social media?” — but you’re probably not actually thinking that because you’re not a millennial with all history (false or correct) at your THUMB (none of this FINGERTIPS crap! The thumb is underappreciated sometimes — separate post to come — maybe).

But dude, can I listen to this jazz music at a volume I can appreciate? Admit it, you actually kind of enjoy that I like smooth jazz just like you once used to. In fact, come on down, there’s no reason we can’t enjoy the sounds of Miles Davis together.

But are you actually typing on your smart phone with your fingertips? No, you’re not — you’re probably wondering how quickly you can thumb through this pretentious post with your thumb right now! You’re likely only using fingertips if you’re using the tip of your ring finger because your other fingertips are too busy with food and baby poop — and you can’t get Doritos dust on your phone! Your pinky is just there to act as a counter weight — because, well, you know — physics, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and blah blah blah.

The old man above isn’t a god. The old man above isn’t even a grumpy old man that lives 20 feet above me. The old man is me.

The Super Bowl: A Cacophony for the Deaf

That is an image of Mercedes-Benz’s marketing campaign involving Che Guevara. That is not from a The Onion article — it was a real thing which you can read more about HERE. More on this later.

I have been a fan of sports since the fourth grade. I was first introduced to the National Basketball Association (N.B.A) by someone at church which acted as my gateway to baseball which lead me to football. I love playing and following sports, but the Super Bowl is easily the most exaggerated event on the planet. It’s less about football and more about spectacle. I’ve seriously been to “football parties,” although I try to avoid these now, where the people attending do everything but watch the football game. There are moments at these parties when I get excited about a splash play and literally everyone else will look up from their phones and ask me, “What happened?” At a “football party.” Where people gather to watch football.

Super Bowl 52 happened to be a really entertaining game. It was a well played, relatively penalty free, back and forth game that came down to the end. However, it was still overhyped. And to make things worse, the commercials were really atrocious. Take for example, this BUDWEISER COMMERCIAL. Now, I am not knocking their effort to help people — that is a wonderful thing. What I am knocking is how they spent north of 5 million dollars to pat themselves on the back for helping people when they could have used those 5 million dollars to actually help people. The only thing valuable to emerge from this commercial is that Budweiser has finally admitted that their beer is water.

Then take this well thought out DODGE RAM COMMERCIAL. And by well thought out I mean mind numbingly stupid. Who thought using content from a Dr. Martin Luther King Junior speech to sell a horrible truck was a good idea? If it wasn’t the person involved in the Che Guevara Mercedes-Benz campaign, here’s what needs to happen — the person behind the MLK commercial and the person behind the Che Guevara idea need to sit in a cold, dark, isolated room together and slap each other in the face until something semi-intelligent materializes.

Yes, these commercials are heinous and the Super Bowl is a joke, but what bothers me most is that it works. Common folk will irresponsibly spend a silly amount of money on the Super Bowl only to serve the wealthy. If these commercials didn’t cause people to go out and buy these stupid products, these companies wouldn’t spend 5 million dollars for a 30 second spot. Plain and simple, it works. The Super Bowl is a cacophony wasted on the deaf. It is such a wasted teachable moment and that is why it stings. If the deaf could hear, they would know that what looks like a beautiful symphony is in fact a cacophony that is so loud that we are all going deaf. 

There, however, was one good commercial — check out this GROUPON COMMERCIAL and watch a rich white dude get a football kicked into his nuts.