NBA Lame Dunk Contest

Terrence Ross, Paul George, and John Wall won the Slam Dunk Contest as a team, but did it add anything?

The NBA All-Star festivities were in their second day yesterday, with the the Shooting Stars Challenge, Skills Contest, 3 Point Shootout, and Slam Dunk Contest.  Usually, these events are promoted as the highlight of the whole weekend, but after watching them, I have to say that they were all a complete dud.  The challenges had their moments individually, but they were all boring as a whole.  Even the Slam Dunk Contest, which actually had good dunkers in it, was not as good as I thought it'd be with their confusing new format, and the fact that everyone besides John Wall couldn't do their dunk on their first try.  Yes, there was some good teamwork involved, but if they left things in the traditional format, I think people would have enjoyed that more since it would have just made more sense.

Can All-Star weekend be salvaged?  I would like to say yes because the NBA is always changing and trying to appeal to fans, but they've already tried changing their format so many times, so I don't know if anything new would drastically improve things.  One thing I will say though, is that I think it's taking a step in the right direction with more superstars being in it.  As long as that's the case, then there will always be fan interest during All-Star weekend, even if it sucks.  I think yesterday night's commentary proved something though.  They kept talking about how Paul George was the best athlete and dunker that night, and they were right.  But we all know if LeBron James, Kevin Durant, or more superstars were in it, the quality would have been better.  KD gets a pass because he's competed in the festivities before, but we know LeBron never will (even for charity).  It's a shame, but as long as things stay like that, with mediocre competition and rules, the All-Star weekend will always be a dud.

John Wall doing the best dunk of the night

Love Day

Yesterday, I prayed for a snow day and got it.  And while that alone would be enough for me to rejoice and celebrate, that's not the only reason I'm feeling good today.  I'm happy because Valentine's Day (or Love Day, as I call it) is here once again.  Last year, when I blogged about this holiday, I kept wondering why people disliked it.  Was it because they didn't have somebody, the materialism of it, or did it people just hate that couples needed a day to show someone they cared?  I'm sure the reason why people dislike Love Day is a mix of all those reasons, but after thinking about it, my opinion of the day is still the same, which is that I love it!  Yes, there are negative aspects to it, but all holidays have that.  Love Day is a day where love is the central theme of the day.  I know that can be tiring and even unecessarily dramatic, but it's still a beautiful thing when it goes right for two people.

Now, since I've never been in a relationship, you'd think a day like this would bring me down, but while it has in the past, it doesn't much anymore because I know good, deserving people who are happy.  A few of them are in relationships, while others aren't, but the point of the day is that they're happy and spreading the feeling of love and togetherness all around.  That might not focus specifically on love, like Love day entails, but as long as you have people around you that care, you can find love in all sorts of ways besides the traditional way.

Happy Love Day everyone!  If you have plans tonight, I hope they go well.  And shout out to my friend Steph, whose favorite day is Love Day! 

Praying For Snow

I usually don't hope for a snow day, but with tomorrow's supposed Nor'easter on the way, and my area likely to get a bulk of it, I'm hoping they cancel classes.  I know we had a snow day just a week ago, but that was on a Wednesday, when I only have one class.  On Thursdays, I have 3 classes, and am on campus for close to 8 hours, which is so tiring, even the teachers want the day off.  Now, I was planning on going out anyways because I have to go back to Boston, but my trip would be a lot easier if I had a head start in the morning.  Guess we won't know for a few hours, but here's hoping.  And if we do have class, at least make it so it isn't that bad.  I'm begging you God!

Less Than Necessary

For the past few days, I've been spending my time on the school library website, looking up database sources for a paper.  Being an English major, this is nothing new to me, but now that this is my final full semester, I have to admit, I'm pretty tired of it.  Looking up sources is necessary and even easy at times, but not this time.  I have a research paper to write that needs 6 outside sources.  Now, the fact that my paper only needs to be 5 pages and is only 10% of the grade is a plus, but it also needs 6 scholarly sources, which is hard to find.  It's not like there isn't any information out there, but with so much garbage and duplicates, it's hard to keep track of what you need and what you don't.  My friend Phu always used to complain about essays because he said teachers always made them unnecessarily tedious for no reason.  Like why would we need X amount of sources or words when we can do it in less.  I understand his points, but I also know teachers need to have guidelines, and that sources back up what you're trying to say.  Still, sometimes, I wish it were easier.

Only 11 weeks of school to go...  

Gratuitousness

There's an old cliché that "you can never have too much of anything", which can be used for economics, food, etc.  In writing, that's called gratuitousness, in which you can have too much or too little of something, such as a detail.  It's usually seen as a negative since you're doing/giving more than what the read wants, but you can't help doing it because you want to be honest and give it your all.  Speaking on broader terms though, I wonder if gratuitousness in real life really is a bad thing like the cliché says.  Usually, I would say no, but when you eat too much, that's bad for you.  Of if you have too much money or power, that can corrupt you.  I suppose it isn't important, but when I look at people who have too much time on their hands, or are too reliant on technology, I can't help wondering if we have too much.  Having a lot of something is nice and makes everyone feel more secure, but there has to be a limit, or else it would get out of hand. 

What do you think though?  Are people too gratuitous with certain things?     

The Knockout Game

On Youtube, there's a viral sensation going on in the world currently, though I wouldn't necessarily call it a sensation, since usually that label is saved for something positive.  The thing I'm talking about is knockout videos, which have to do with The Knockout Game.  I don't know much about it myself, but from what I've heard, a person or group of people wait for an unsuspecting person and then punch them in the back of the head, resulting in a knockout.  This type of behavior is cruel in itself, but the fact some people find it amusing sickens me. 

Now, some will try to justify the game, saying it's just people having a little fun, but that's what everyone says before something violent happens like dares or drunk driving.  They start out harmless, but then the ramifications come.  Case in point, a couple of days ago, I heard that someone knocked out a guy, only to be shot by him right after.  You can feel however you want to about that, but anyone who instigates that in the first place is stupid, especially if they didn't know what they were getting themselves into.  There are games in real life, but the Knockout Game is not one of them.  If you want a real one, play a board game, or buy a game system.  Don't play this ridiculous game because you're hurting both the person and yourself by bringing violence, and just being a bully, which the world already has enough of.