At bats

When you're up to bat, a pitcher usually throws your perfect pitch only once...Take advantage of your opportunities.

Sandy

Before Hurricane Sandy hit, I was one of the many who mocked the storm. At some point I think I looked outside and said, "What are you waiting for," quoting Anna Faris' character in Scary Movie. I didn't think it would live up to the hype. But it definitely did, and unfortunately there has been casualties from this storm.

I'm curious to see what pieces of art will come out of this tragic experience. Music, paintings, design, architecture, etc. Art can't replace lives, but I'm always interested in seeing the things that people create when moments of desperation come into play.

Craft

So I'm thinking about dusting off my cleats, and joining a baseball league this fall. I've played in office softball leagues, but I haven't played hardball (baseball, for those of you that don't know) in about 3 years.

I started getting into baseball towards the end of middle school/beginning of high school. In my freshman and sophomore year, I sucked. My timing was off, I made poor throws, and my baseball IQ wasn't there. It wasn't until I started taking baseball seriously, that I started to get good; Junior year.

I'd take about 200 swings a day in my backyard, and beyond our normal Monday through Friday practices, I practiced on Saturdays, sometimes even Sundays with my coach's 55 and up team. I also listened to the commentating as I watched baseball on tv. Joe Morgan, Jon Miller, and Buster Olney were basically my after school teachers.

In my senior year, I hit my first homerun, and was later named Detroit All-City in baseball. I wasn't the best player in the world, but I was pretty good...and that was because I worked at it relentlessly.

Today I woke up thinking, what if people treated relationships like a craft. Worked at it night and day, evaluating yourself, and worked on different aspects of your "game" that might be lacking.

We work very hard for inanimate objects. We have to get better at working hard for people.

Lesson on leadership

In a preseason interview with Andrew Luck, Chris Collinsworth asked Luck what was the best advice he got from his college coach, Jim Harbaugh. Luck said, "Coach used to say, 'If you're a yeller, then yell. If you're a quiet guy, be quiet and lead by example.' He just wanted to stress that you don't have to be a certain way to be a leader. Just be yourself and people will respect you.

Passing of the torch: From Kobe to LeBron

The afro days, the Adidas endorsement, dating Brandy, wearing #8, the 3-peat with Shaq, the Finals defeat by my hometown's Pistons, the close line by Raja Bell, and the last championship that allowed him to have a ring for every finger on his hand. Since 1996 I've been a fan of Kobe Bean Bryant. Early in his career, I had countless arguments about who was better between him and Tracy McGrady. It goes without saying, but those conversations occurred less and less as the years went on. It was crystal clear who the best player in the NBA was.

And then came the man-child from Ohio, LeBron James. I knew I would have to get ready to argue again soon. But because of his explosiveness and athletic ability, people crowned King James as the best player in the game way too soon. I still thought Kobe was a better shooter, better post-up player, had better handles, and had an overall higher basketball IQ. Even after LeBron's 2nd league MVP, I thought Kobe was the best player in the NBA.

After watching the 2012-2013 NBA season, the NBA Finals, and the London Games, I will officially say that LeBron James is the best player in the NBA. I'm super stubborn, but after witnessing (no pun intended) his dominance in basketball, I have to admit that. Not only can he score, but his defensive abilities give offenses around the league problems, and he makes every player around him better.

This isn't as dramatic as the David Beckham boat ride during the Olympics' Opening Ceremony, but the torch has definitely been passed to LeBron Raymone James. However, I wonder when LBJ will be forced to pass it to the lanky, near 7-foot, scoring machine in Oklahoma City. We shall see.

ESPN the Magazine Fantasy Football Edition

This is a nice cover and looks like a cool photo shoot. I might have to pick up Arian Foster in my Fantasy League this year.

Super inspired...Yep, at 3:42am.

Listening to your heart

I've been reading The Alchemist on and off for the last week. It has a lot to do with personal journey, goals, destiny, etc. I wanted to share an excerpt of this one page in particular though:

"Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him," his heart said. "We, people's hearts, seldom say much about those treasures, because people no longer want to go in search of them. We speak of them only to children. Later, we simply let life proceed, in its own direction, toward its own fate. But, unfortunately, very few follow the path laid out for them–the path to their Personal Legends, and to happiness. Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed to be a threatening place.

"So, we, the hearts, speak more and more softly. We never stop speaking out, but we begin to hope that our words won't be heard: we don't want people to suffer because they don't follow their hearts."

"Why don't people's hearts tell them to continue to follow their dreams?" the boy asked the alchemist.

"Because that's what makes a heart suffer most, and hearts don't like to suffer."

From then on, the boy understood his heart. He asked it, please, never to stop speaking to him. He asked that when he wandered far from his dreams, his heart press him and sound the alarm. The boy swore that every time he heard the alarm, he would heed its message.

Pete Zaza

I went to this cool pizza spot in Brooklyn this past weekend. They have all types of special "pies." If you're in the neighborhood, check it out.

Pete Zaza
766 Classon & Sterling

All-Time Detroit Tigers Team: Greatest Detroit Tigers at Every Position

@MichiganUpdate tweeted this article today. Pretty interesting for the 1 Tigers fan that follows this blog.
http://t.co/8mGxFvyQ

Vocabulary, Sounds and Fonts

Since I've been making beats, I've seen the parallels between having a range sounds, having a good vocabulary, and having a collection of fonts: They're all vital to better expressing yourself.

Pinterest

I'm getting pretty addicted to Pinterest. I still keep my offline "eye candy" folder, but it's nice having an online go-to spot for inspiration. Check out my boards: pinterest.com/thejcurt

Spam mail

Spam is like Cupid. The annoying, intrusive, "stop bothering me" version of Cupid. Spam disguises itself as one of your contacts, and then shoots out its deceiving arrows at the bullseye, your inbox. You may delete the email, but there's bound to be times that you send out that "hey, I think your account is hacked" message. "Try changing your password." 9 times out of 10, the response to your email will be apologetic, at first, but quickly change to a long time, no see type of message.

Who knows how the email chain will expand from there. Nonetheless, Spam has done its job, and can now ride off into the sunset, to plot on its next victims.

Tim Duncan+

Tim Duncan might be one of the most hated players in the NBA. Not because he's a jerk on or off the court, but because "he's so boring." Even though as a kid I collected a bunch of his basketball cards, and I owned 2 of his Champion home jerseys, he isn't exciting to watch. It's mostly because he's not flashy, and he's just 7 feet of fundamentals. I'm sure Tim Duncan doesn't lose sleep over people's perspective of him, especially when he's accompanied by 4 championship rings at night.

In my beat making class, I learned about the fundamental beat structure of hip hop beats: kick, snare, kick snare, kick snare, kick kick snare. If there's only basic kicks and snares the beat is going to be pretty boring. So high hats, keys, horns, sound effects, fades, etc need to be added to make the beat interesting and enjoyable to a listener.

Get down the basics, then add the sauce. The sauce helps the taste of the dish. Just don't add too much though..

Sharing

A couple of weeks ago, the retired 'Discovery' Space Shuttle flew over the west side of New York City. I work on the west side near the Intrepid, and most of my coworkers made their way to the rooftop to partake in this experience. And by "partake" I mean getting their iPhones in position to take a picture of it. I was amongst the iPhone picture crew, but I noticed for a split second that people weren't looking at the space shuttle fly by with their own eyes, but rather through the lenses of their phones.

I think we live in a generation where we're so eager to share (tweet, instagram, Facebook) our experiences, that we're not in the moment, truly enjoying those experiences. The objective seems to be: Look how cool I am. I've been trying to get better about setting down my phone and be more attentive to the people I'm with and the things that are around me.

I know we were all taught to share when we were kids, but how many of us would actually share our fruit snacks without being able to have a few for ourselves? Enjoy what's in front of you.

Anyhow, LOOK HOW COOL I AM!

First day of beat making class

Making beats isn't as easy as they sound. I took a good amount of notes and paid close attention to all of the nuances of the programs because I want to be good at it. Hopefully I can get to a point where I can sell some beats... At the very least, it will be a cool hobby to have.

Looking forward to the rest of the course.

The use of creativity

Last week I was reading Swiss Miss' blog and came across this quote: “The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads.” – Jeff Hammerbacher, Early Facebook Employee

That quote pertains to people in the advertising business, but I'm sure it's true in other fields as well - Our creativity and thinking goes towards solving these seemingly trivial things.

It's funny thinking about it now, but over the last 3 years, I've spent countless hours figuring out how to sell more peanuts, candy, vodka, and whiskey. As delicious as those items may be, it still seems weird looking at it from afar.

I started this post prepared to knock all of the pointless things people waste their talents on, but while writing I remembered something my old pastor used to say: God knows the things that you're attracted to, so go after them.. And there you'll find what else He has for you.

While working in advertising, I started to see other interests come about: TV writing (television shows) and beat making (I start a class tomorrow). I don't know how great I'll be at either, but who would've thought peanuts, candy and alcohol could lead me here.

iphone wallpaper: phase2

phase1

Bookmarks

Bookmarks in Firefox is mandatory.

New project

I'm in the kitchen cooking up a new project for y'all... Stay tuned.

iphone wallpaper: phase1

I keep an "eye candy" folder on my computer desktop, and a few of those images make their way to my iphone's locked screen wallpaper. This is phase1. I'll post a round of 5 screenshots or so every now and then.

M.I.A. - Bad Girls (music video)

M.I.A. has some of the best videos. The song isn't the greatest, but director Romain Gavras blessed her again with another visually pleasing flick.

Doors

This is an obvious statement, but I think it's worth saying: doors have the ability to open and close. Sometimes when a door closes, it slams in your face and then it's bolt locked. On the other hand, sometimes a closed, bolt-locked door will be unlocked and open up for you.

When opportunity comes, take complete advantage of it before the door shuts.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Trailer

I love mystery novels and suspense movies. This should be right up my alley.

Martin Scorsese article: How to Lead a Creative Life

Fast Company magazine interviewed, the now 69-year old, filmmaker Martin Scorsese. The article touches on "Marty" being so in love with film, and him finding the balance between doing what he wants and doing what the studios want. It's a good read. Check it out here.

Marc Johns

I found out about Marc Johns almost a year ago after my copywriter partner bought one of his illustrations. He has a bunch of quirky, simple drawings, and people not only buy them, some people have gotten tattoos of his stuff. Check out his illustrations here.