Another David Nguyen Blog

Over the past year and a half, I’ve noticed a lot of my friends using the phrase “no homo”. The phrase is used to show that one is not gay after inadvertently saying something “gay”. I’ve never said “no homo” because it sounds so stupid to me. It makes a person sound insecure. Guys use it as a “get out of jail” free card. People who use the phrase are essentially telling people they can’t handle being teased. Guys are really weird thought of as gay. A classmate did a presentation of gay-marriage today, and before he started his presentation he had to announce to the class that he wasn’t gay. I know a lot of people who support gay marriage that do the same thing my classmate did. I always found that odd. People never do that with other causes they support. I’ve never heard anyone talk about how much they want to help out orphaned kids in Africa, but first mention they’re Americans with parents. 

hapless - adj; unfortunate 

vigilance - n; the action or state of keeping careful watch for possible danger or difficulties.

Last night, my boss asked me to help him cover an event that featured the Pakistani Foreign Minister. It was a pretty miserable five and a half hours. I was asked to show up to the event too early and had to stay longer than I wanted. For two hours, Pakistani Foreign Minister addressed the crowd on the issues facing Pakistan: the war on terror, flood relief, the economy, and the government. I should say I that I only assumed the Foreign Minister addressed those issues; he spoke in his native tongue. I wasn’t interested in anything that happened until the question and answer portion of the evening. Some of the questions asked from the audience was in english. The crowd asked some very probing questions and the Foreign Minister did a good job of not side-stepping the questions. The only thing I learned about Pakistan is that only 10% of the country pays taxes. Not sure if that what 10% he was talking about, but he went on to say that Pakistan needs to expand taxes. This state was met by applause from the crowd. He said that Pakistan needs to expand taxes to at least 15% to make Pakistan economically stable. I can’t help but feel that I would’ve enjoyed the event a lot more if I know what was going on. I did get a free Pakistani dinner out of working on the weekend. Making some extra cash during the holidays is a plus. 

incredulity - n; a state of being unwilling or unable to believe something

synecdoche - n; figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa

Last night the Forty Niners won their match up against the Arizona Cardinals, their record is now 4-7. For most teams, the season is a lost cause, but for the Niners, they’re still in the thick of winning their division. The team is only one game behind the Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams. Most pundits believe that the NFC West can be won by a team with a sub .500 record. I don’t think the team can make a strong push to win the division. The team is plain terrible. They’re too inconsistent and haven’t shown they can beat a team with a winning record or beat a team on the road. I’m already looking towards next season. A part of me wants the Niners to complete implode and insure that the executives of the organization fires the head coach. A part of me also wants the team to lose all their remaining games so the team can get a higher draft pick. The team’s biggest weakness is a coach that is in over his head. Mike Singletary was a great player and is a great motivator, but a coach cannot get a team to win on will alone. Singletary lacks technical knowledge on how to run a team. He lacks interest on the nuts and bolts of coaching. He’s stubborn in his vision and that affects the team on game day when they get behind and are unable to make adjustments. The team has all the talented players in place to have a better record, but you are what your record says you are. This team is terrible. Every sunday, I cheer the team on. A definition of insanity - or stupidity - is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. 

sage - adj; having, showing, or indicating profound wisdom.

laud - v; to praise. 

For the past couple of years, I’ve been in charge of preparing Thanksgiving Dinner. I took over the reigns from my older sister after she complained about not being appreciated for her past efforts. I’m not sure what she’s upset about. I can only recall one year where she lost her discretion when it came to garlic and everything tasted as if it was meant to be in a festival in Gilroy. I love Thanksgiving. Its the one holiday that doesn’t involve having to buy things for others. I loved Christmas until I got too old for toys. Now I sort of despise people who want to get me things because I feel obligated to get them something in return. Most of the things guys want, they get for themselves or are too expensive to gift. I’ve put some thought into it, and the only thing that Christmas has over Thanksgiving is I get to listen to Mariah Carey sing “All I Want for Christmas”. Another great thing about Thanksgiving is every year I get invited to play morning football with my friends where we burn some calories before gorging ourselves silly. Then I get to go home and turn on the NFL for hours more of football. I love Thanksgiving food. The best part is the week or two of leftovers - I savor every breakfast comprised of turkey cranberry sandwiches. I enjoy cooking Thanksgiving dinner, preparing the seasonal dishes gives me a chance to show off my amateur culinary prowess. 

Great food, football all day, and I don’t have to buy anyone anything. 

Reticent - adj; not revealing one’s thoughts or feelings.

Lugubrious - adj; looking or sounding sad or dismal. 

I have reached the age where my friends are beginning to get married. I’ve received a fair share of wedding invitations in the mail this year. The last invitation i received this year was during the summer and I remembered thinking how wasteful invitations are. I talked to a female friend about this and I learned from her the average cost of wedding invitations is $200. Of all the wedding expenses, invitations to me are the most frivolous. It is one of those girl things that I can’t understand nor can any of my female friends explain to me. The thought of sending out a mass text, email or evite was vulgar to my friend. I think women take the “I want to feel like a princess” mentality too far. Its bizarre to think this out loud, but wedding invites is where I draw the line. Its ridiculous that men have to save up three months pay to buy a blood diamond a poor African kid died mining, but now a tree has to to be mowed down so a girl can feel like a princess is unacceptable. I also never understood the princess mentality some women have. That should’ve been weeded out when we learned U.S. history. America fought war to expel the monarchy. Weddings are suppose to be all about the bride because she’s put so much thought into the one day. I think I’ll insist there be no physical wedding invite should I ever get to be part of a wedding. 

corrigible - n; capable of being corrected, rectified, or reformed

 balk - v; hesitate or be unwilling to accept an idea or undertaking 

Continued Unrest

Its been two weeks since the interview portion of the 100w profile project was due and I still haven’t secured an interview. I was advised to interview someone with intimate knowledge concerning my research paper. The topic of my project was Congressional involvement in sports. I’ve emailed congressmen, doctors, and authors of the articles I’ve been using in my research. A couple of the people I’ve emailed have been kind enough to respond, but it was to inform me that they couldn’t help me. Its been difficult to write the follow up paper, a call to arms. 

ennui - noun; a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satietyor lack of interest

surfeit - noun; and excessive amount of someting

Diaster

Part of my portfolio project for 100w is to interview a person that is intimately involved in the topic that I’m writing about. The topic I chose to write about is Congress’ involvement with professional sports. My first choice of interviewee was Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (D-CA). She had appeared in an article that I read for research. I visited the Congresswoman’s website to get her contact information. Upon review of her website, I find out that she can only respond to her constituents. The site requires visitors to type in a zip code to prove you live within the Congresswoman’s district. I thought about forging a zip code, but fearing that I would be violating some ethics clause that would get me in trouble with school, I decided to contact someone. I went back to the article where I discovered Congresswoman Sanchez and decided to see if the article’s author would talk to me. I sent an email to Alan Schwarz of the New York Time. It took a couple of days to get a response - it was not the response I was hoping for. Schwarz said something along the lines that he does not comment directly on the stories he reports on and I should seek out those in the article. I have a couple of friends in Southern California where Congresswoman Sanchez resides and I’m hoping one of them might live in her district. I’ll have them forward and email for me. I have two days left until I need to turn something in to class. As Schwarz turned my request for additional insight, he wished me luck - I’m going to need it.

proprietorship - noun; the owner of a business

err - verb; be mistaken or incorrect; make a mistake

Research Introduction Rough Draft

The 2005 Congressional baseball steroids hearings were met with intense criticism. Doesn’t Congress have better things to do than waste tax dollars? While the steroid scandal was the most publicized occurrence of Congress’ involvement with professional sports, it was neither the first nor the last time. What I’m trying to figure out is whether Congress should continue to meddle in sports or whether critics are correct in saying Congress should focus on more important issues. To decide if the government isn’t stepping beyond its boundaries, I’ve looked into past and current relationships between the government and professional sports leagues. One of Congress’ responsibilities is to ensure fair business practice. I’ll be looking into the anti-trust exemptions professional leagues and the college Bowl Championship Series to see if these practices are operating on an even playing field. I’ve also done research on student athletes suing for their right to go pro. Congress has always had the duty to protect the welfare of the public and I’ve looked into the steroid scandal of 2005 as well as the more recent hearings over concussions. What I hope to find out in my research is whether or not Congress is wasting its time when by getting involved in professional sports.

Neophyte – noun; a new participant and in some activity.

Equine – adj; resembling a horse. 

Rough Rough Draft

In 2005, Congress held a series of hearings after a steroid scandal involving Major League Baseball (MLB) was making a run through the news cycle. I remember people getting upset with the notion that American tax dollars were spent interrogating big league ball players while the country was still fighting two wars. “Congress has better things to do”, was a phrase I heard often during the 2005 hearings where Senators were threatening MLB with legislation if the league didn’t implement an effective drug policy.

In the summer of 2010, I was watching TV and saw another Congressional hearing involving professional sports. This time, Congress wanted to address the National Football league on the issue of concussions. The issue of sports related concussion has garnered some national attention, but mainly through sports centric media and publications. Even though America is still fighting two wars and suffering through a weak economy, there isn’t as much outrage with Congress holding a hearing over regulating professional sports in 2010 as there was in 2005.

Congress has the right to hold hearings to collect more information as an aid for making more effective legislation. Part of Congress’ responsibility it to protect the American public. Protecting the U.S. citizens from harm drugs or avoidable injuries is as important as any other responsibility Congress might have.

Critics in 2005 felt that Congress was over stepping its boundaries, they felt that sports was a pure entity that would sullied if the government got involved. The fact of the matter is, professional sports is an industry, a billion dollar industry. Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce, so regulating leagues with teams spread out across the nation falls well within the government’s rights. What happens in the major leagues, trickle down to the collegiate and high school levels. Student athletes that see their sports’ icons using performance-enhancing drugs to get an edge could be inclined to do drugs themselves. A high school football player is susceptible to a concussion as a 10-year pro in the NFL.

What I’ll be researching in my paper is whether or not Congress should be involving itself with professional sports. Congress has the duty to protect the general public, but some say that the government should focus on more important issues. 

Grating - adjective; sounding harsh and unpleasant

Consortium - noun;an association, typically of several business companies.

Themes

The best movie I’ve seen this year so far is the Social Network. The movie is about the people involved in creating the social networking site, Facebook; mainly it’s co-founder Mark Zuckerberg.  There were a lot of themes that the Social Network covered that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since seeing the movie.

One thing I took away from the movie is that money inhibits creativity. It seems to me that nowadays, people don’t do anything seriously if they can’t make money off of it. Throughout the film, Mark Zuckerberg’s partner and the co-founder of Facebook keeps pushing Zuckerberg to monetize Facebook with ads. Mark kept retorting that neither of them knew what Facebook is or what it’s potential was. What they did know was that Facebook was cool and ads aren’t cool. Had they added ads to Facebook when Mark’s partner wanted to, Facebook may not have gained the popularity it now has.

Ambition was a major theme in the film. Most stories that discuss ambition, the personal life of ambitious is the first to be sacrificed. For Zuckerberg, nothing was more important than Facebook. He knew what he was doing would revolutionize the world. When someone finds something they’re passion about, that passion takes precedent over all things in that person’s life. I’ve been thinking to myself what I need to do to accomplish all the things that I want to do.

The last theme I’ll discuss in this entry is to have a worthwhile life. Zuckerberg didn’t create Facebook to be rich, so then, what was his motivation? He wanted to change the world, but why would he or any of us want to do that? I think at the root, we all want a legacy. People want to be remembered; its why people have mid life crisis. Right now, many of my friends are going through a quarter century crisis. We’re aware of our mortality and we don’t want to have wasted our time on earth.

hyperbole noun; exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

onerous adjective; (of a task, duty, or responsibility) involving an amount of effort and difficulty that is oppressively burdensome