Went on a walk the other day, and decided to listen to music instead of a pod cast to mix things up. Started by playing the new Marillion Song “Be Hard On Yourself ” from their upcoming album An Hour Before its Dark. Then listened to the new Men Without Hats EP “Again, Pt. 1” which includes a cover of the David Bowie / Mott the Hoople song “All the Young Dudes”, as well as a reimagining of their classic “Safety Dance”. I then decided I play the next song that came to my mind just to mix things up (This is where my subscription to Apple Music comes in handy). Ended up listening to The Grateful Dead, Harry Styles, Brighton Rock, Adel, La Roux to name a few. It was a very exhilarating to get lost in the music and not worry about things. I truly recommend everybody take some time, and simply play a bunch of random songs that come into your mind. Not a playlist from your songs, but completely random like an old AOR radio station.

Despite all the negativity I have seen I am really enjoying this season of Survivor. Do a like all the new twists and turns, no, but that’s only part of the game. Also all the talk of the show trying to hard to be politically correct, or not allowing players to where bathing suits instead of underwear have more to do with the current times we are in, and less about the integrity of the show. The world has become an open forum for everybody to express their opinions (just like I am expressing mine) but now these opinions are broadcasted freely across the internet, and taken actual new. I try my best to let most of this go in one year and out the other, and not let it effect my enjoyment of Survivor, or any other show, song, movie.

Back to Survivor, the back in time twist is actually quite interesting. In the current game it seems like a no brainer to smash the hour glass, since Erika is an odd man out. But I could see in future episodes where the correct choice would be not to shake things up if some of your former teammates were on the winning team and you wanted to keep them safe. With all new ideas, some work, some don’t, and some need more time, but I applaud the show for taking chances and trying new things.

I was a big Ranger fan back in the days, but must admit that I have not really followed them (and the NHL) for possibly the last 15+ years. I do keep an eye on the standings now and then, and will kind of follow the play-offs, but its on the back burner and I won’t go out of my way to watch.

That said, when a story like the Chicago Blackhawks sexual assault situation comes along, as wells as the mess with the Washington Football Team, I can’t help but take interest and conclude how some of the commissioners, owners, and coaches in all sports league are hypocrites and sadly a microcosm of our society. They all pretend to care about sexual assaults but really could care less as long as they are making money. If they do get caught, they say and do the same thing that big corporations do, say they condone such behavior, and we will work hard to put things in place so this doesn’t happen again. This is complete bullshit, and they really just hope the incident goes away. Sooner or later the public needs to realize that there are still a bunch of older assholes in high power positions that do not think sexual harassment is a problem, and its always the victims fault. They see it as a disruption to their old boys network, and just a nuisance. But until there are significant penalties (Forfeit and entire season, lose 5 years of draft picks), they will hid behind their lawyers, and continue making money from the fans and others.

I’m partially to blame as well, as I still root for and watch my sports teams each week. I justify this by separating the games from the people in charge. Going forward I need to do better myself. Not sure of the best way, but I will start by writing a letter to both the NHL and NFL explaining my feelings. I may also write a letter to some of the corporations that sponsor the Blackhawks and Washington Football Team and let them know I will no longer be purchasing anything from them unless the publicly denounce the teams and pull some of their sponserships.

Saw a story about the UN World Food Program and Elon Musk

The UN World Food Program put out a tweet asking for the top 1% to donate 6 Billion Dollars to help combat world hunger.  ELon Musk responded that he would sell 6 Billion worth of Tesla Stock right now if the UNWFP could show where the money would go and what would be done.  Lets hope both sides can come together for the greater good and get some kind of deal done.  I have always thought that the truly wealthy people would want to help the less fortunate by donating some of their wealth.  They are free to do whatever they want, and I realize there are a lot of scammers and jerks out there looking to sucker the rich out of their money.  But for the top 1%, they must be smart enough (or have people that are smart enough) to weed out most of this and help those who really need it.   John Oliver had a great piece on homelessness, and John Stewart talked about the inequality between the rich investor class and the poorer working class on his new Pod Cast.   It just seems there should be a way to help reduce a lot of human suffering issues if there was more discussion between the rich and poor.   

Somebody from the UNWFP should have already been on a plane to Elon Musk’s headquarters with an outline of what they do, and how his donation would be used.   This could be the start of some great things if both sides agree to work things out.   Fingers crossed

I voted today in my local elections.  Every time there is an election, I tell myself I should be more informed (especially for the local positions like the school board).  Some of the people running didn’t even have an opposition.   Seems crazy to me that their is really nobody they can find to represent their party.  I think I will see what the position entails, and what is needed to get on the ballot

I have more to say but need to take a break for a bit.

If you have any thoughts / opinions / ideas / suggestions, feel free to leave a comment, or send me an email at andyrupprecht@gmail.com

AverageAndy