Check This Out

Hey everyone. If you're a fan of The STATEtorialist you might like this as well. Check out our buddy Joe's Blogspot blog.

http://theyachtclubs.blogspot.com/

We must be doing something right?

Check out GQ's blog, "The GQ Eye", and thier their "obsession of the day". Hmmm looks like something the Statetorialists endorsed here.

http://www.gq.com/style/blogs/the-gq-eye/2009/11/obsession-of-the-day-9.html

Hey, we might actually know what we're talking about!

My Spanish Professor, Ernesto.

Mi profesor de español canta y toca la guitarra. He's got some serious pipes on him, not to mention he's definitely looking good in his black tux.

"God's Work"

Lloyd Blankfein believes Goldman Sachs is doing "God's work". If God was on Goldman's side, I don't think He would have needed TARP money. This is a sad joke and I truly hope Blankfein chose his words incorrectly and isn't being serious. Amidst the controversy over the size of GS's employee compensation and the general discontent of Main St. towards Wall St., Blankfein found it appropriate to declare that GS serves a "social purpose." All of this commentary coming from an interview with London's Sunday Times. Blankfein says they're doing social work. "Social work," eh? Well to those who have lost their jobs recent and who's monthly budgets cost less than Lloyd's shoes, this social work hasn't quite helped society. Also, these guys sure get paid a lot for doing social work, don't you think? Well, maybe it's not such a great deal. My cousin Ron joked that aside from the humongous salaries public school teachers make in the south Bronx, they also get a 10% discount at the museums! Now THAT is a great deal. I don't know what it is with these executives, but Jeffrey Skilling (ex-CEO of Enron) also believed that he was "on the side of angels."

So, let me recap. Lloyd says that he and his crew are doing "God's work" and are serving a social purpose. He is equating GS and himself to likes of any Saint, and great social workers like Martin Luther King, Jr. My brother, Pete, had a great idea; maybe we should conduct a re-vote of the Nobel Peace Prize and give it to Blankfein instead of Obama. According to Lloyd, he is just continuing the work of Mother Teresa, the hand of God.

It's scary, they have lost touch with reality. The culture that they live in surrounded by like-minded people and their money has made them believe they really are adding something to society. Sheesh.

MWD

Be a Renaissance Man

I'm not a huge believer of some of the nit-picky "don'ts" aimed towards the fashion of everyday people. I realize in the high-end fashion world there are spoken and unspoken rules and they're going to be followed, but I'm talking about things that influence normal people when they look into their closet each morning. The biggest one, and I think this happens subconsciously, is that everyone feels like they have to be ONE demographic. There are unspoken rules for each type of person. Athlete's wear sweats and hoodies with some Air 1's, or anything supporting their favorite squad. Hipsters rock skinny jeans and a shirt they've had since 6th grade with chucks or combat boots. Thugs take the Athlete look to the extreme, making things baggier, adding hints of colors like neon green and electric blue, and have a collection of New Era 59/50 fitted caps. Rich kids wear some kind of Ralph Lauren oxford with normal jeans or khakis and loafers or some kind of classy boot. The list goes on and on. I could include a few female ones but that list could literally take me all night, but everyone knows these stereotypes. The thing is, the people I see everyday and am impressed with, are the people that don't give in to these things.

I read an interview on The Sartorialist a few days ago where Scott asked a woman a fill in the blank question. It said, "I build my everyday look on:". This woman's answer was exactly what everyone else's should be. She simply said, "An emotion". I love this because I feel like when you wake up in the morning, and walk to your closet, your thought shouldn't be, "What can I wear today that is similar to what I always wear, and not too different that people will think I'm trying too hard, but still represents my image?" That's too many things to think about! Build your daily look on an emotion. Be a Renaissance Man (or woman), a Jack (or Jill) of all trades! In a similar sense, don't just try to blend in with what you think other people are doing. Eliminate the mentality of, "Well I think other people would do this too so that's okay". I realize what I am saying may not apply completely at the collegiate level. We all have seen people on College, Beaver, Pollock, and Curtin wearing something out of the ordinary, and a majority of the people they pass give them some sort of look. I get it, college kids are judgmental. But there are ways to be innovative, and still be simple. I guess my goal with writing this would be to motivate people not to give in to the zombie population of day after day of Penn State Hoodies, Sweats, Uggs, etc. Do something different more often than not, and bum it when you're bummed. Dress on your daily emotion, not on others expectations.

BWB

"The Book the NBA Doesn't Want You to Read"

As Ben mentioned in a previous article, the NBA is becoming a little ridiculous. In the summer of 2007, allegations came out about a referee, Tim Donaghy, betting on games. It was shown that Donaghy had placed thousands of dollars on games and eventually became involved in a low-level mob gambling ring. He was eventually sentenced to 30 months in jail and proceeded to write a book. (I feel like I'm the only one not writing a book these days! I guess that's why I have a blog). Well, this book, titled Blowing the Whistle by Tim Donaghy, has been released and there is a great set of excerpts available at Deadspin.com. I will leave the reading up to you guys, but I have a few things on my mind about the National Basketball Association related to the exceprts, or as my favorite writer Bill Simmons calls it, the "No Balls Association."

The first problem I have is with star treatment and how it affects the way the game is played. Something I'm glad Donaghy mentioned in his section on star treatment was the specific "relationship" between Kobe Bryant and Raja Bell. Donaghy says Bell was penalized by the league and referees for being too good! Too good! Are you kidding me? Raja Bell has the ability to shut down Kobe Bryant, who he met often and "shut down" in the Western Conference playoffs. Shut down is a relative term because there's really no shutting down the Black Mamba. But see, Kobe had some help. The league doesn't like to see Raja Bell shut down a superstar who can score 40 a game, it's "not good for business." People don't pay to watch a defensive stud like Bell, they pay to watch Kobe and Tim Duncan and most superstars for that matter, get calls and put up inflated numbers. More times than not, those who pay to watch Kobe wouldn't know a good basketball player if Bill Russell punched them in the face with a fist full of rings. For those who remember watching Jordan, there was nothing I'd rather pay for than to see him get mauled by Detroit's Bad Boys or the 90's Knicks and still put up 30. It may not be 40 or 50, but it's a magical performance seeing him earn his points. The problem with today's NBA is that these refs are directed by David Stern to make sure the game is a good show his paycheck suppliers. Sure it's fun to watch today's stars put up insane numbers, but it's not good basketball. The hand-check era is over and there is nothing to help a defender against a scorer other than pure talent; and even when that comes along, the refs are there to make sure the offense has the advantage.

Donaghy also writes about other referees he worked with and all of their evils. For example, Dick Bavetta loved the spot light more than he loved refereeing. See any problems? For one, when the referee thinks the game is less important than his face-time, he starts controlling the game instead of making sure the game stays under control. Bavetta even speaks of specific games he was assigned to work to make sure one team had a favorable advantage. Another ref, Tommy Nunez, loved the Hispanic community in San Antonio so decided that they would win a 2007 playoff series against the Suns so he could go back to San Antonio to ref. Yup! That's fair! There are also a couple accounts of player-referee feuds (and friendships) that affected games.

It's very disturbing that many of these refs have been in the league for a decade or so, and that David Stern has been the commish for even longer. This only says one thing. Sure "the NBA cares" but about dollar signs, not basketball. The reason NCAA basketball is so much fun to watch, is because those guys go out there and play hard. Not always does the most talented team win, but the team that plays good basketball and works harder normally wins. The quality of basketball has undoubtedly declined over the past few years, and something needs to change.

Don't get me wrong, there are some SERIOUS basketball players in the NBA. Chris Paul's court sense is awesome to watch. Watching Kobe slice and dice a defense (and not get a call) is spectacular. The physical dominance of LeBron. The run and gun Phoenix Suns. And Shane Battier and Raja Bell's defense that makes real basketball fans smile no matter your loyalties. I guess I'm saying that once the players are allowed to play basketball, and it's talent vs. talent, we'll re-run the glory days of Bird, McHale, Magic and MJ.

With a fade away J,

Mike Donchez