So even though it's "old news" now I can't help but put my 2 cents worth in on Ray Rice and the RIDICULOUS "punishment" he received for knocking out his fiancee, now wife, in an elevator...here is the video...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB3HVknCusQ

So he drags his unconscious fiancee out of an elevator and makes a phone call probably for someone to come help drag her away and admits to knocking her out. The NFL in it's infinite wisdom suspends him only 2 games! What's worse is that the police didn't charge him AT ALL !!!

Ok...so if you're a pro athlete and you smoke a joint you get minimum 4 game suspension. But apparently if you beat up a woman and get caught and admit it you only get 2 games??? NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell justified it by saying noone else punished him at all.  What a crock!

Domestic violence, violence in general, is out of control and should not be taken lightly.  In the case of a pro athlete, they are role models, whether they like it or not. Kids are running around wearing their jerseys and pretending to BE them. To only slap him on the wrist sends ABSOLUTELY the wrong message and is not a deterrent for future incidents. He should have been suspended for at least half the season and fined a BUNCH of money. He should have been made an example of like we did with Mike Vic (dog fighting), Plaxico Burress (shooting HIMSELF in the leg). Hell Pete Rose has been banned from baseball for LIFE for gambling! 

Are you kidding me? I will be interested to see coverage from the first Baltimore Ravens home game this season.  If there are not people protesting outside the stadium I will be totally shocked.

Rant over.

Farewell to a True Genius

So I struggled a bit with what I wanted my first post to discuss. After some back and forth I decided that the untimely death of Robin Williams is foremost in my mind today. I never met him but as I thought about it for awhile I realized just how significant a role he played in some of my most vivid memories.  Let me explain...

The first time I saw him, like most people, was when his egg landed in Milwaukee, WI and he was introduced on Happy Days.  It was 1978 (I looked that up by the way) and I was 9. My grandfather's favorite non-cartoon was Happy Days. His favorite show, by the way, was The Adventures of Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote. Anyway, we were watching it together before bed. Not that is was a significant event in my life but I was very close with my grandfather and I remember distinctly watching THAT epsiode with him.

These are not chronological by the way...just memories...

In 1992 I was in the Army and stationed at Schofield Barracks, HI. New to the area and to the Army I wasn't really sure of what to do around the island so my best friend Jimmy and I decided to go the on base movie theater to see Aladdin. I have NEVER laughed so hard in my entire life! He and I were like the only people in there without kids and we were cracking up more than anyone. That genie was real I swear! Jimmy and I talked about that for years after and, though I haven't seen him in some time, my guess is he remembers too.

Finally, how could any of us not recall the crooning of Airman Adrian Kronauer..."Goooooooood Morning Viet-naaaaaaaaaaaam." To this day I can remember the first time I watched that movie. The thought in my mind was the old saying "I laughed. I cried. It moved me." GMV had it all. His brilliant, off the cuff humor in that role was one for the ages and I don't think has been matched by anyone else. But entwined in the humor was the serious struggle of a man stuck between humor and horror. Representing America but befriending the enemy (but not his enemy). I still believe it was his defining role.

Mrs. Doubtfire, Dead Poet's Society, Awakenings, Good Will Hunting, Hook, The Bird Cage...there are so many roles that touched us in so many ways. Rest in peace Mr. Williams. Your struggle is over but your memory will remain forever.

In Memory of Robin Williams
1951-2014