Somerset

Wave to Mojo!

Welcome back.  It’s like we never left.  I want to thank all of you who continue to ask about how Mojo and family are doing in Belgium.  Rest assured they, deservedly, using our tax dollars to putz around Europe when possible and generally enjoying an incredible experience.  I was blessed to be able to plan a work trip back home to see them back in April, and rest assured my godson has not been tainted by his over-exposure to the Dutch and is continuing on his destiny of saving humanity from itself.  Oh, and the rest of them are good, too.

So why are we back?  Well, in many ways, Mojo and I never left.  We have not stopped writing, actually. We have just moved to a different forum with a different twist on what we write now.  It’s pretty powerful stuff, actually, just not quite the same vibe as Logical Betting. However, I have gotten several inquiries in the past few months as to where we “went.”  So to answer your question… 1. Belgium. Mojo and I developed a lot of our material over phone calls and texts, many of them while either actively drinking or recovering from drinking.  That’s tricky on a 6 hour time difference (his happy hour is my recovery). 2. Nowhere. It’s just that we haven’t shared in awhile. However, we were flattered by the inquiries, exchanged a few texts, and well… here we goes.

Twist.  Get it?  Already missing summer

Nowadays it can be difficult to be true to yourself.  It’s kind of a cop out to blame the Internet, but it’s hard to deny the effect the Internet, particularly social media, has on one’s ability to compare oneself to your neighbor, friend, community, etc.  Doing things “differently” from others, even if it’s what you feel is in your best interest, can be a real challenge. It feels like there is an increasing pressure to conform to norms, even if those norms go against your most deeply held values and beliefs.  Most behavioral research, in fact, speaks to the power of conformity in advertising and influencing people’s behaviors.

We have found persistence and keeping close the people who share your values to be the key to holding true to yourself when confronted with those set in more “negative” ways.  Rather than go all philosophical here (you can perhaps now see how Mojo and I took these talks off the LB radar), let’s get to true LB culture, to quote Mojo’s mother-in-law, “pretty silly, but sometimes a little serious.”  Football, yo.

For many, many, many, many, many, many, many years, Mojo and I froze our asses off in the hopes Army would finally end that cursed f**ing losing streak to N**y.  In 2017, we were rewarded with an epic victory on a glorious weekend in Baltimore, culminating with a lot of stunned Army vets whose faces I will never forget. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing.  That it actually happened. The reward for staying true. And now, Army, a preseason Top 20 in the Coach's Poll, in the midst of a winning streak that will end sometime in the 2140s, has all of us believing.

Yours truly is going through this again with my beloved Michigan Wolverines.  After having our hearts ripped out last year vs. the Suckeyes, all signs point to a resurgence.  I spent months hating them, but I’m back on board. I’ll never stop wearing my M gear here in Philly.  I’ll never stop wearing my Tigers gear (God, please, let me at least see them make the playoffs before I die.  I know it’s asking a lot, but I promise I’ll never drink I'll only drink 3x a week have a conversation with my kids about being safe and not stupid when they imbibe.  ** The preceding sentence was sponsored by Lyft ** Lyft, don’t sue us, you’re welcome for the free advert.

A couple years back, the wife and I went through a sort of cleansing of negativity.  Maybe not negativity, but we essentially decided we were only engaging in things that supported our values and made us happy.  It wasn’t easy, but let me tell you, so worth it. Fah T has been working on it with good results so far. Please feel free to find us if you want ideas or help with it if you want to give it a shot.  We did it with support, and would be honored to pay it forward. If you’re reading this, then you survived the purge. Good for you. More importantly, thank you from us. We appreciate your love and support, much more than you realize.  I especially appreciate those who were at our house when Michigan shit the bed against Ohio State last year. Thank you for helping me forget at least the last half of that awful day. I f**ing watched the highlights the next day with an epic hangover.  Like I was punishing myself for believing. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? God, beer me strength...

Enough of me.  Time to class up this joint.  Without further adieu, here’s Mojo.  I’ll be back to send us off. Leggo.

One for my godson

We left?  Nah, never. Just that when you hit 40 genius takes more time to develop :).  I’ll never stop writing with LB; it's too integral to my mental health. It is therapeutic and important.  We all know the genius we sound when we rant, but the best way to really understand how little you know about something is to write it down. The certain difficulty in doing so with ease shows the complexity of issues.  However, as topic one suggests, it is the persistence that brings one closer to the truth and the truth shall set you free. 

As the wise philosopher S. Tyler, Esquire once said, “Life’s a journey not a destination”.   It is the pursuit of happiness that we value as a right, not its attainment. Blame the internet, blame the media, blame whoever, but I think we should own the reality we have manifested.  We feel entitled to the attainment of happiness and have, sadly, convinced ourselves it is necessary for happiness. I would put forth the argument that attainment of said success, new job, new car, bigger house, would not fill a void, but rather create a new empty feeling about ‘what next’. You will just want greater things; rather we should want greater appreciation for what we have.  Success does not equal happiness for me. The persistent pursuit sure does, especially when you are surrounded by people who take you for what you can give to others, not what you can accumulate for yourself.

Yummy!

I must admit that I was elated when Army beat Navy in football.. Knowing I would be in Belgium the next three I was very happy to witness it.  However, the next year I watched the game with different excitement. I almost missed that sense in the air about ending the streak. The happiness from the previous year was long gone.  Replacing it was the quest to repeat; to start our own streak. There was something new to the rivalry, but the constant was the persistence for it. It is the same for me with Michigan against O**o S***e and the never to be sadly missed Urban Liar Meyer.  The same goes for the DETROIT Lions - being a fan asks for persistence more than it gives rewards, but that is in of itself the reward for me, and that too will change when they win the Super Bowl in 3 years. (LB Note - The beer in Belgium is reportedly verrrrrrry good...)

Sparty on?

As for point two: surrounding yourself with people who share your values. I feel it is important to clarify the idea of friends being those really close to you, and not just someone on Facebook you met once.  We may have diluted the idea and meaning of "friend" through globalization and social media. While we can have many friends, our time and energy is finite, so finding a few that you can truly love in the sense that E. Lockhart once said, “Love is when you give someone else the power to destroy you, and you trust them not to do it.”  If you can find these people, you should keep them close. Our relationships either make us a better person or a worse person; choose your friends wisely, you will unwittingly become like those you surround yourself with.  Also, you must show dignity to all and yes, it is possible to be kind to and coexist with misguided people; look at me, I married a Spartan :P

Powerball, here we come

That does not mean to find people who only think like you, but rather the people who can stand on a coin and see there are two sides.  The people who can hold opposing views glued together by curiosity, not separated by emotion. This will not lead to a circle of friends who agree with you or just support you endlessly; in fact they are quite the opposite; those who will listen, but challenge what you say with the goal of engaging in real debate.  The kind that improves our intelligence and done so in a way that also improves our character; for disagreement is necessary for growth. Sure, disagreement can lead to a heated debate and one that someone will lose, but losing should be the goal of debate.  You win, you learn nothing, i.e., you lose. You gain new knowledge. I wonder if LB or I win the lottery if he is up for buying a bunch of land in Michigan and creating several acres where our close friends can build homes and come live! We could watch football every weekend!

I have been reviewing writing about relationships a great deal more doing the positivity project (www.posproject.org) with my daughters in the morning.  A non-profit founded by SMF’s Godfather, it takes 10 min a day to focus on the mantra of the late Dr. Chris Peterson that ‘Other People Matter’.  Done so by studying one of the 24 character strengths from positive psychology and discussing it with my children. He categorized these 24 strengths after a 3-year sabbatical from the University of Michigan.  Talk about persistence that leads to strong relationships, what Dr. Peterson called ‘The Good Life’.

The Neverending Story!!!

If I can show even a bit of that neverending persistence to build strong relationships for myself and my family, that will be a wonderful relationship with the never ending pursuit of happiness.

"There isn't time, so brief is life, for bickerings, apologies, heartburnings, callings to account. There is only time for loving, and but an instant, so to speak, for that." The good life is built with good relationships.  -Mark Twain

Crazy American football (that is the European in me) predictions:

Yeah, that's bad.

1.  Alabama over 4. Georgia and 2. Clemson over 3. Florida.  Final is Clemson over Georgia

2.  Army loses to Michigan by 7 and only after Michigan stops them on a final drive 4th and 1.  Army goes 12-1 and finishes Top 20 in the rankings.

3. Final prediction, there will never be a uniform ever again as ugly the Spartans. Come on, guys.

Hey, it's me again.  Mojo definitely classing up the place.  Well done, old friend.  That's enough serious.  Let's finish with some silly.

Old School LB Predictions

Silly

College - Just can’t go chalk, too easy

Semis - 1. Clemson over 4. Alabama.  2. Georgia over 3. Michigan. Champs - Clemson over Georgia

Army 284, Navy 0.  Oh, sorry. Halftime score. For real tho - Army 28, Navy 7. Also, take the over 1.5 bags of Nacho Cheese Doritos consuming during tailgate and drive home by our Army/Navy crew.

NFL

AFC - Kansas City over Cleveland.  NFC - New Orleans over Philly. Super Bowl - Kansas City over New Orleans  

Bonus Pick - New England goes out in the first round, and only makes the playoffs cause they play in a garbage division.

Can't thank everyone enough for taking the time to read it, especially those who encouraged us to do another post.  Mojo and I had a lot of fun with this one and are glad we got a chance to share a sliver of what we've been writing about behind the scenes.  Who the hell knows when we will manage to get this again, so until then, we'd like to thank Pearl Jam for playing us out this evening.  Hasta.