The Joy of Disappointment

by J. Brown

My favorite sports team is the New York Knicks. The Knicks, for the lack of a better phrase, are not good. Over the past 10 years, they’ve made the NBA playoffs three times, twice losing in the first round. They’ve finished with a record above .500 only three times in the past 14 seasons. And Knicks fans older than me haven’t fared much better; their last championship was in 1973. As a fan, rooting for the Knicks has been a mixture of frustration, despair, apathy, false hopes and disappointment. 

It would be easy for an outsider to wonder why I cheer for a team that has given me so little to cheer for. The easy thing for me to do would be to drop them for a perennial winner (like the Spurs) or an exciting young team with newfound success (like the Warriors). To be honest, there have been seasons when the team was so bad that I flat out refused to watch them – I touched on that idea in a previous post. But I’ve been rooting for the Knicks since 1998. Over the past 18 seasons, they’ve become my team. At this point, it wouldn’t even feel right cheering for another team. I’m in too deep now. 

Moreover, I doubt that I would really be able to enjoy rooting for a team that was significantly better than the rest. One of the biggest reason we watch sports is for the mystery of the unknown. We’re intrigued by the idea that anything could happen. It becomes a lot less fulfilling to watch a team win when you already expected them to do so. 

When Being Right is Wrong

by J. Brown

As you all know by now, France was attacked by terrorists on Friday night. In an event that felt eerily similar to 9/11, 129 people were killed by attacks at six different French locations. ISIS has since claimed responsibility for the attacks, and it can be assumed that the attacks were due to France's involvement in the US airstrikes in Syria. (For more information on the Syrian war, check this out. I was a bit in the dark myself, and this video helped to clear up a lot for me.)

Since news of the French attacks surfaced in the US, many Americans have taken to social media to express their well-wishes and to show solidarity for the innocent lives that were lost. Others, after seeing these displays of sympathy, took to social media to explain why we should not be supporting the French. 

This makes no sense.

One argument is that we are extending a level of sympathy to France that was not given to Beirut, Lebanon, which experienced similarly devastating terrorist attacks, and that we routinely do not show enough support to other victims around the globe. This may be true, and in all honesty, it probably is. What I don't understand, though, is how any of that makes it wrong to show support to the French. Should we be talking about Lebanon and the other nations that have been devastated by terrorists? Absolutely. Does that mean we must now stop talking about France? No, not at all.

The (Alleged) Importance of Education

by J. Brown

During college, I took a number of courses on African-American History and Literature. In one such course, we discussed and wrote essays comparing and contrasting the views of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois. Both men were influential Black figures during the Reconstruction era that followed the abolition of slavery. After freedom was finally achieved, most former slaves found themselves in a very fragile state. Newly-freed Blacks now had to find places to live, find ways to make a living, and ultimately learn how to survive on their own. As one might imagine, this led to various opinions on how best to achieve these newfound goals. While many African-Americans held polarizing views, Du Bois and Washington served as figureheads representing the opposite ends of the spectrum. 

Du Bois, who was born free, was well educated and graduated from Harvard. He believed that the key to Black success would come from education, knowledge of the arts, and access to equal opportunities. Washington, who was born a slave, graduated from Hampton, a historically black college. He founded Tuskegee Institute, which focused on teaching agricultural and technical skills. He believes that the key to Black success would come from learning job skills that would allow Blacks to earn money for themselves. 

Learning about these two men, I always leaned in favor of Du Bois' ideas. To me, Du Bois' plan was more long-term, while Washington's plan seemed temporary. Sure, vocational skills can get you a job, but how can you ever expect to get a better job in the future without an education? I also read about the so-called Atlanta Compromise, and that really turned me off from Booker T. Washington for good. It always seemed to me that Washington was a bit of an Uncle Tom, appeasing to the fears of whites by assuring them that Blacks would never be their equal as long as white philanthropists supported and funded his industrial efforts. 

The Unwritten Rules of the Men's Restroom (Written Down)

by J. Brown

Life is all about rules. When you were growing up, there were rules at school. Then when you got home, your parents had their own rules, too. You dreamed of the day when you would be an adult and rid yourself of these pesky limitations. But alas, you grew up and realized that adulthood has even more rules than childhood. Rules like "Pay your bills", "Stop at red lights" and "Don't punch other humans in the face" are really what define our lives. Without rules, everything is mayhem. Unbeknownst to some, even the most menial tasks in our lives require rules. Going to the bathroom is one such task. I don't know the rules to the ladies' room, because I don't go in there. However, the following rules are those that should be applied in the men's bathroom. Take heed, or be judged accordingly.

1. The Buffer Urinal Rule

The urinal was designed to appease the lazy desires of men everywhere. It allows men to use the toilet without having to unbuckle or unbutton a thing. You just unzip, flip, whizz, and dip. The only issue with urinals is that they don't exactly allow for the same type of privacy that you would get in a stall. What you end up with is a room full of men pulling their manhood out of their pants and peeing at a wall. This can be awkward. To quell the discomfort, the Buffer Urinal Rule states that when another man has occupied a urinal, the urinal that you use must be at least two spaces away from him, creating a one-urinal buffer zone. If we're going to be standing in the same room holding our privates, we don't need to be standing right next to each other. Some smaller bathrooms only have two urinals; the second one is simply a decoration. If one is occupied, you go and pee in the stall. Another caveat to this rule is that when you're in a larger bathroom with 10 or more urinals, you should always choose the ones furthest away from the entrance. Don't force everyone who enters to walk right past you. Caring is not sharing.

How I Became Boring

by J. Brown

They say that a man that doesn't change is a man that doesn't mature. If this is true, then one could argue that change is a natural process of growing up. If we're to be honest, everyone reading this is probably much different than they were 10 years ago, and probably even different in some ways than they were five years ago. Change is normal. Change is good. Change should be embraced. I understand this idea, but still, I've come to a conclusion about my most recent behaviors that I've had a bit of a hard time embracing. 

I'm not as much fun as I used to be.

Now, this doesn't mean my life is boring... at least, not to me. But I have noticed that I've become more anti-social over the past year or so. A few years ago, my definition of a great night would probably include bar-hopping, loud music, shots and 3 a.m. pizza. Nowadays, I look forward to just sitting on my couch and watching shows on my Roku box for 4 or 5 hours. Honestly, I think that sounds awesome. 

That doesn't mean I never go out anymore, because I still do. But my excursions are much less consistent now, and every time I'm about to make plans, there's a little voice in my head that questions me. "Do you really want to be around people? Is the activity you're about to commit to going to be worth the money you'll have to spend? Are you really going to enjoy yourself, or are you just going to spend the whole time wishing you were at home watching Curb Your Enthusiasm reruns?" These are the questions, literally every single time.

Nightman: The Podcast - Episode 8

"Power Hour"

Cast: J. Brown, Andrene, B. Cole

For this episode, we decided to do a power hour while recording the podcast, and the results were magical. While pounding beers and ciders, we discuss the story arcs and character developments in "Orange is the New Black", breaking girl code, the GOP Presidential debate, and the problematic viewpoints of one Ben Carson. 

We also talk about smegma. Yes, smegma.

Work vs. Real Life: Which You are You?

by J. Brown

Earlier this week, a coworker said something to me that's bothered me all week long. We were debating whether or not I owed it to her to be more talkative at work, despite the fact that our actual work requires very little interaction with one another. In defending her argument that we should interact more consistently, she said, "I spend more time with you than I do with my own family."

Wow.

The sad part about it is, she's absolutely right. During my four-year stint as a teacher, I would often point out that my students spent more time with me than they did with their actual parents. What I failed to realize was that I was simultaneously spending more time with them than I was with any of my family or friends. In fact, most of us probably spend more time at work or doing work than we spend doing anything else. Something seems wrong about that equation, but I'm not sure any of us really know how to fix it. 

I've always tried to maintain a separation between my work self and my real self. As a teacher, I was able to delineate a clear separation between "Joel" from "Mr. Brown". (Trust and believe, these were two decidedly different people.) Even now, working an office job, I like to think that I save some parts of my true personality for outside of work. My belief has always been that the workplace is for work, and I can enjoy my actual life after I clock out. More and more, though, I'm wondering how feasible that actually is.